Scientists decipher the energy patterns in our cells

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Our cells harness energy for essential functions such as division, wound healing, and our immune response to diseases including cancer. But until now, the mechanics of how that energy affects cell behavior—and how this relates to health outcomes—have remained elusive.

Scientists at the Yale Systems Biology Institute have discovered the thermodynamic principles underpinning energy use in our cells. Published in Nature Physics, the discovery comes from the lab of Michael Murrell, associate professor of Biomedical Engineering and Physics.

For the first time, the scholars measured how energy is arranged into different wave patterns formed in the cell's external membrane and its internal structure, or "cytoskeleton"—both components of the cell "cortex."

Before our cells divide, they generate protein "wave patterns" in two distinctive forms—one pulsing like a heartbeat and the other displaying seemingly jumbled spiral patterns.

To understand how energy is arranged and consumed by both wave types, and how this relates to the laws of energy dissipation and distribution—or thermodynamics—postdoctoral fellow and first author of the study Sheng Chen measured the energy consumption of mechanical and chemical waves moving in different cells.

Far from being jumbled, the scholars were surprised to reveal an organized energy system dependent on distance from thermodynamic equilibrium. They found that cells displayed an optimal advantageous state—a sweet spot between the two wave types yielding maximum energy to drive cell functionality.

Discovering the principles of how energy is arranged inside our cells enhances our understanding of the physics governing cell energy dynamics and its crucial role in essential cell behavior.

From their labs at Yale's West Campus, the scientists plan to use mathematical modeling and machine learning to further quantify the relationship between different wave patterns and specific cell functions related to the spread of disease.

More information: Sheng Chen et al, Energy partitioning in the cell cortex, Nature Physics (2024). DOI: 10.1038/s41567-024-02626-6

Journal information: Nature Physics

Provided by Yale University