Protein complexes on the cell membrane

The main project of my PhD thesis was to analyse collective behaviour of the ion channels responsive to mechanical stimuli, known as Mechonosensitive Channels (MS). More specifically I have studied the particular interplay be- tween the gating (opening) of these channels and their spatial organization, where channels interact due to the deformation of the lipid bilayer that surrounds them. This was done by means of a lattice model and Monte Carlo simulations, as well as analytical methods. Our model predicted formation of clusters of Mechanosensitive Channels, and that these clusters in turn were shown to prevent excessive opening within them. This analysis was later extended to included a mean field approximation to derive the equilibrium properties of the system.

Publications:

– Collective response of self-organized clusters of mechanosensitive channels Guseva, Ksenia, Thiel, Marco, Booth, Ian, Miller, Samantha, Grebogi, Celso, and Moura, Alessandro Physical Review E Feb 2011

– Formation and Cooperative Behaviour of Protein Complexes on the Cell Membrane Guseva, Ksenia, Springer Theses, Springer-Verlag, Berlin Heidelberg, 2012.

– Cooperative response and clustering: Consequences of membrane-mediated interactions among mechanosensitive channels Fernandes, Lucas D., Guseva, Ksenia, and Moura, Alessandro P. S. Physical Review E Aug 2017