Resolving mixed mechanisms of protein subdiffusion at the T cell plasma membrane.

ABSTRACT: The plasma membrane is a complex medium where transmembrane proteins diffuse and interact to facilitate cell function. Membrane protein mobility is affected by multiple mechanisms, including crowding, trapping, medium elasticity and structure, thus limiting our ability to distinguish them in intact cells. Here we characterize the mobility and organization of a short transmembrane protein at the plasma membrane of live T cells, using single particle tracking and photoactivated-localization microscopy. Protein mobility is highly heterogeneous, subdiffusive and ergodic-like. Using mobility characteristics, we segment individual trajectories into subpopulations with distinct Gaussian step-size distributions. Particles of low-to-medium mobility consist of clusters, diffusing in a viscoelastic a

SUBMITTER: Golan Y 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC5481838 | biostudies-literature | 2017 Jun

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature