Berlin 2012 – wissenschaftliches Programm
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BP: Fachverband Biologische Physik
BP 18: Posters: Statistical Physics in Biological Systems
BP 18.39: Poster
Mittwoch, 28. März 2012, 17:30–19:30, Poster A
Artificial Neuron — •Matthias Garten1, Gilman Toombes2, Sophie Aimon1, and Patricia Bassereau1 — 1Institut Curie, Paris, France — 2NIST Center for Neutron Research , Gaithersburg, USA
Signal processing in the brain builds up on biophysical principles that are the bases for essential features like protein targeting, voltage sensing and signal propagation amongst many others. Many open questions remain that are difficult to attack as the cellular environment is inherently complex.
In this study, an ex-vivo, bottom-up approach was pursued by reconstituting the purified voltage sensitive potassium channel of Aeropyrum pernix (KvAP) into cell-sized artificial lipid vesicles (giant unilamellar vesicles - GUVs). The next step is to gain electrical control over the system to investigate the function of voltage-gated ion channels (here KvAP), but also pumps and porins in the controlled ex-vivo environment. The prospect is then to create a model system for action potential propagation in a biomimetic axon that can be formed by pulling a lipid nano-tube from the giant vesicle thus providing a biomimetic neuronal geometry in which membrane curvature, lipid composition and protein concentration can be controlled in contrary to an in-vivo Neuron.
This work will contribute to our understanding of the effect of membrane morphology on ion channels distribution and provide experimental data for the theory of signal propagation with respect to axon diameter, morphology and stochastic noise.