Conveners
Biological membranes and interfaces: Biological membranes and interfaces
- Giovanna Fragneto (EUROPEAN SPALLATION SOURCE)
Neutron reflectometry (NR) is intrinsically a low-resolution structural technique, yielding one-dimensional scattering length density profiles that are often inadequate for detailed structural biology applications. However, NR stands out as one of the few methods capable of characterizing membrane-bound proteins and protein assemblies in a biomimetic, solvent-immersed, and thermodynamically...
Lipid membranes are the backbone for biologicals cells and to understand intercellular, and cell-cell interaction is of fundamental interest. The lipid molecules within the membrane define the cell properties and mesophase, and influence the functionality and efficiency of membrane proteins. [1,2,3] Therefore, controlled interaction between proteins and lipids in the biological membrane yields...
Mitochondria are well known as the ‘powerhouse of the cell’. Mitochondria also play a crucial role in apoptosis, a programmed mechanism of cell death. This process is tightly regulated by proteins at the mitochondrial outer membrane (MOM).
In this mechanism of cell death, the pro-apoptotic Bax protein is attracted to the outer mitichondrial membrane (MOM), where it induces membrane leakage....
Deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) is a negatively charged bio-macromolecule that helps in the transmission of genetic information for the growth and functioning of a living organism. Therefore, it is considered as a potential tool in gene therapeutics. Packing or condensing of this macromolecule is difficult because of the intra and intermolecular repulsive electrostatic and entropic interactions....
Plasma proteins are often used as biomarkers for severe pathologies including cancers and autoimmune diseases since they provide a circulating representation of the body conditions. Nevertheless, their detection in blood samples is still challenging due to their low abundance (pico- and nano-grams level), but mostly due to their glycosylated state which is believed to favor protein-lipid...
Invasive fungal infections (IFIs) are an underappreciated public health threat that cause > 1.6 million deaths p/a with mortality rates between 20-80% [1,2]. Amphotericin B (AmB) is one of the most effective anti-fungal drugs. It kills fungal cells by binding to ergosterol in fungal cell membranes, causing membrane permeabilisation and changes in ergosterol-dependent signalling pathways [3 4]....
