MP

Dimerization propensity of the β1-adrenergic receptor in lipid nanodiscs probed by DEER and single-molecule spectroscopies.

Kubatova N, Schmidt T, Wang Q, Clore GM.

Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 2025 Sep 23;122(38):e2519609122. 

doi: 10.1073/pnas.2519609122. Epub 2025 Sep 18.

PMID: 40966289.

DEER + sm-fluorescence to quantify β1AR dimerization in ND. 

=> β1AR exists in a monomer-dimer equilibrium, modulated by agonist binding and lipid environment. 

Dimer formation = weak but specific, with dynamic exchange between states.

An Orchestrated Interaction Network at the Binding Site of Human SERT Enables the Serotonin Occlusion and Import.

Zhao Z, Wen PC, Tajkhorshid E.

Biochemistry. 2025 Aug 19;64(16):3652-3662. 

doi: 10.1021/acs.biochem.5c00240. Epub 2025 Jul 28.

PMID: 40722230.

MD => how serotonin forms cooperative interaction network in the human serotonin transporter (SERT). 

Hydrophobic gate (critical for occlusion) must close to allow serotonin transport into the cell. 

Reconciling a Kinetic Model for Dimerization of the EGFR Using Single-Molecule Tracking in Living Cells.

Kim K, Jang J, Cho J, Ahn Y, Jeong S, Shin J, Yea K, Lee WJ, Seo D.

J Phys Chem B. 2025 Sep 10. 

doi: 10.1021/acs.jpcb.5c01291. Online ahead of print.

PMID: 40929241.

EGFR tracking in live cells => kinetics of collision, transient association, and stable dimer formation. 

=> both ligand presence and membrane crowding modulate the frequency and stability of dimerization. 

=> refined kinetic model is proposed.

Regulating Transport Preferences of Fucosylated Sugars: Revealing Transport Mechanisms via Sugar Efflux Transporter A Transformation Into a “Tight-in, Tight-out” Mode.

Wenxian L, Shengjie S, Jing P, Sini Z, Haina C, Zhu C, Yuguang W, Hongbo Z.

Biotechnol Bioeng. 2025 Oct;122(10):2675-2687. 

doi: 10.1002/bit.70019. Epub 2025 Jul 11.

PMID: 40643009.

Engineered a sugar efflux transporter to modify its preference for fucosylated sugars. 

Kinetic studies => conformational gating and binding-pocket coupling can be tuned.

Engineered Coenzyme A Biosynthesis and Butyrate Transporter Drives High-Efficient Butyrate Synthesis in Escherichia coli.

Li J, Xing Y, Wang X, Zhu T, Fan F, Xu H, Han P, Cai J, Zhu X, Zhang X.

Biotechnol Bioeng. 2025 Oct;122(10):2850-2861. 

doi: 10.1002/bit.70018. Epub 2025 Jul 10.

PMID: 40641096.

Boosting of CoA biosynthesis + dedicated butyrate exporter => E. coli optimized for high-yield butyrate production.

Water molecules in the cannabinoid receptor 2 binding site crucially impact the discovery of novel ligands.

Scharf MM, Scott-Dennis M, Borrega-Roman L, Giese FNZ, Plevako D, Sykes DA, Veprintsev DB, Kolb P.

Eur J Med Chem. 2025 Dec 5;299:117846. 

doi: 10.1016/j.ejmech.2025.117846. Epub 2025 Aug 10.

PMID: 40812071.

Identification of conserved water molecules in the CB2 receptor that mediate ligand recognition and efficacy: some are structural, others can be displaced to improve potency or induce signaling bias. 

Incorporating water into docking models => enhances virtual screening success.

Multistate Kinetic Model of the Sodium-Potassium ATPase.

Guerra J, Rui H, Roux B.

J Phys Chem B. 2025 Sep 11. 

doi: 10.1021/acs.jpcb.5c04069. Online ahead of print.

PMID: 40934481.

Detailed kinetic model of the NaK ATPase, incorporating voltage, ion concentrations, and phosphorylation states. 

Model relevant with electrophysiological and biochemical data (key transitions between E1 and E2 states, saturation effects and ion competition under physiological conditions).

A kinetic study of Multi-Substrate uniporters.

de Pereda AS, Park J, Cheung LS.

J Theor Biol. 2025 Sep 9:112267. 

doi: 10.1016/j.jtbi.2025.112267. Online ahead of print.

PMID: 40935078.

Theoretical model to describe how uniporters handle multiple competing substrates. 

Influence of substrate abundance and affinity on apparent transport rates. 

Membrane protein hydration bridges polymer physics and biology.

Menon CSK, Huber T, Thaller LE, Struts AV, Cheng EW, Bachler ZT, Perera SMDC, Sakmar TP, Brown MF.

Biophys J. 2025 Sep 17:S0006-3495(25)00600-9. 

doi: 10.1016/j.bpj.2025.09.020. Online ahead of print.

PMID: 40968532.

How hydration shells of MPs mediate interactions and dynamics in the lipid bilayer. 

Polymer theory + biophysical data => hydration layers modulate MP packing and motion. 

De novo design of semisynthetic protein nanopores.

Lee Schnaider, Anna Katherine Hatstat, Alistair J. Scott, Sophia K Tan, Richard G. Hambley, William M. Dawson, Rhys C. Griffiths, Rian C Kormos, Arthur A. Melo, Eric Tse, Nicholas C Polizzi, E. Jayne Wallace, Gregory E Merz, and William F. DeGrado.

bioRxiv posted 8 September 2025. 

doi:10.1101/2025.09.08.674823.

Semisynthetic nanopores with tunable size, stability, and gating. 

Engineered peptides => controlled membrane insertion and conductance. 

Biophysical characterization: selective transport and robust pore behavior.

Off-target structural insights: ArnA and AcrB in bacterial membrane-protein cryo-EM analysis.

Caliseki M, Borucu U, Yadav SKN, Schaffitzel C, Kabasakal BV.

Acta Crystallogr D Struct Biol. 2025 Oct 1. 

doi: 10.1107/S2059798325007089. Online ahead of print.

PMID: 40927951.

Unexpected cryoEM structures of ArnA and AcrB from bacterial samples. 

Off-target reconstructions = issues in sample preparation, such as sticky proteins dominating particle selection !

Cautionary tale for cryo-EM workflows on bacterial MPs.

Cryo-EM structure of Chlamydomonas Photosystem I complexed with the alternative electron donor cytochrome c6.

Yu Ogawa, Gyana Prakash Mahapatra, Yuval Milrad, Michelle Schimpf, Genji Kurisu, MIchael Hippler, and Jan Michael Schuller.

bioRxiv posted 8 September 2025. 

doi:10.1101/2025.09.08.674899.

Structure of PSI bound to cytochrome c6, an alternative to plastocyanin in algal photosynthesis. 

The interaction surface shows electrostatic complementarity and unique binding geometry. 

=> suggests mechanisms for efficient electron transfer and adaptability to copper-limited environments.

Humanized Fruit Flies as a Novel Pre-Clinical Test Model for Membrane Drug Transporters.

Wang Y, Yang J, Schaeffeler E, Jaeger SU, Schwab M, Nies AT, Moussian B.

Front Biosci (Landmark Ed). 2025 Aug 25;30(8):42817. 

doi: 10.31083/FBL42817.

PMID: 40917054.

Drosophila engineered with human transporter orthologs => platform for in vivo testing. 

Expression and localization assays : correct targeting for selected SLC/ABC transporters. 

Pharmacology: conserved transport and drug–drug interaction phenotypes. 

Heteropentameric architecture predisposes functional inequivalence of acetylcholine receptor agonist sites.

Johnathon R. Emlaw, Christian J.G. Tessier, Mariam Taktek, André R. Paquette, Christopher N. Boddy, and Corrie J.B. daCosta.

bioRxiv posted 15 September 2025.

doi:10.1101/2025.09.13.676060.

Heteropentameric composition of nicotinic acetylcholine receptors => unequal agonist site behavior. 

Structural and functional analyses: not all binding sites contribute equally to gating. 

This supports  models where subunit composition encodes receptor responsiveness and pharmacology.

Insights into the linker domain in ABCB1/P-glycoprotein.

Alessandro Barbieri, Nopnithi Thonghin, Richard F Collins, Stephen M Prince, Robert C Ford, and Hao Fan.

bioRxiv posted 12 September 2025. 

doi:10.1101/2025.09.08.674578.

Study how the flexible linker between ABCB1’s transmembrane and nucleotide-binding domains influences allosteric communication. 

Identification of linker segments critical for the coupling of ATP hydrolysis to substrate transport. 

Alteration of linker dynamics => modulation of efflux efficiency and drug resistance.

TurboID-based mapping of organelle membrane protein interactomes with digitonin-permeabilization.

Sun Y, Yang L, Zhang J, Tian P, Chen S, Fang L, Hong Z.

Biophys Rep. 2025 Aug 31;11(4):219-231. 

doi: 10.52601/bpr.2025.240051.

PMID: 40933732. 

Digitonin-permeabilization + TurboID => proximity labeling of MPs in organelle context. 

The method reduces cytosolic background and improves identification of lumenal and membrane-embedded partners. 

Membranes

Conformational changes of the ABC Transporter BmrA Depend on Membrane Curvature.

Alicia Damm, Kemil Belhadji, Raj Kumar Sadhu, Su-Jin Paik, Aurelie Di Cicco, John Manzi, Michele Castellana, Raju Regmi, Emmanuel Margeat, Maxime Dahan, Pierre Sens, Daniel Levy, and Patricia Bassereau.

bioRxiv posted 9 September 2025. 

doi:10.1101/2024.01.24.577054.

Reconstitution experiments + biophysical modeling => membrane curvature affects the conformational equilibria of BmrA. 

Local membrane geometry can directly modulate transporter function.

Asymmetric membrane properties through a protein lens.

Lorent JH, Cabrera-Jojoa A, Levental KR, Levental I, Lyman E.

Faraday Discuss. 2025 Aug 13;259(0):597-613. 

doi: 10.1039/d4fd00199k.

PMID: 40326394.

Discussion how proteins sense leaflet asymmetry in composition, thickness, and curvature. 

Simulations and experiments: reciprocal feedback between protein shapes and bilayer mechanics. 

Asymmetry = determinant of protein partitioning, diffusion, and function. 

Discussions about questions and tools to quantify asymmetry at molecular resolution.

Microfluidic Generation of Oxidized Phospholipid Gradients in Supported Lipid Bilayers to Examine Scavenger Receptor Interactions.

Berger BA, Brown TP, Im W, Wittenberg NJ.

Anal Chem. 2025 Sep 9. 

doi: 10.1021/acs.analchem.5c02906. Online ahead of print.

PMID: 40925666.

Microfluidic platform to create spatial gradients of oxidized PLs in supported bilayers. 

=>  binding, clustering, and motility studies of  receptors that recognize damaged lipids. 

Bacterial lipids traverse the hydrophobic groove of TamB.

Yiechang Lin and Ben Corry.

bioRxiv posted 12 September 2025. 

doi:10.1101/2025.03.12.642747.

A hydrophobic groove in TamB enables lipid transfer across bacterial membranes. The groove structure supports directional selectivity and transit from IM to OM. 

Mutagenesis validates the functional role of conserved residues lining the groove.

Methods

Illuminating High-Affinity ATP Binding to the Sodium-Potassium Pump Using Solid-State NMR Spectroscopy.

Middleton DA.

Molecules. 2025 Sep 3;30(17):3609. 

doi: 10.3390/molecules30173609.

PMID: 40942134.

ssNMR to visualize high-affinity ATP binding in the NaK ATPase. 

=> identification of specific binding interactions between ATP and key protein residues. 

Chemical shifts and dynamics => direct view of nucleotide engagement in the membrane environment.

Recent 19F NMR Applications to the Study of Membrane Proteins and Protein Complexes.

Drewniak P, Su CY, Francisco CB, Prosser RS.

J Mol Biol. 2025 Sep 9:169434. 

doi: 10.1016/j.jmb.2025.169434. Online ahead of print.

PMID: 40935285.

¹⁹F NMR to probes conformational changes, binding events, and dynamics in MPs. 

Labeling strategies, sensitivity improvements, and applications to large complexes. Versatility of ¹⁹F signals across different timescales and environments.

Single-Cell Membrane Molecular Cartography Enabled by Nanoengineered VUV-LDI Mass Spectrometry Imaging.

Zhao CL, Zhao LL, Kang B, Xing L, Mou HZ, Chen HY, Xu JJ.

Anal Chem. 2025 Sep 8. 

doi: 10.1021/acs.analchem.5c03479. Online ahead of print.

PMID: 40921696.

vacuum-UV LDI platform for label-free lipid/metabolite imaging at single-cell resolution. 

=> reveals spatial heterogeneity in membrane composition in individual cells.

High-Speed Atomic Force Microscopy Reveals the Dynamic Interplay of Membrane Proteins is Lipid-Modulated.

Shin E, Jiang Y, Thienpont B, Sturgis JN, Scheuring S.

Small Sci. 2025 Jul 8;5(9):2500258. 

doi: 10.1002/smsc.202500258. eCollection 2025 Sep.

PMID: 40917406. 

HS-AFM to capture real-time dynamics of MPs in a lipid bilayer. 

Lipid composition modulates frequency and duration of protein–protein contacts. 

Miscellaneous

Brain-wide representations of prior information in mouse decision-making. 

Findling C, et al.

Nature. 2025 Sep;645(8079):192-200. 

doi: 10.1038/s41586-025-09226-1. Epub 2025 Sep 3. 

PMID: 40903597.

Imaging and behavioral analysis in mice => map of neural encoding of prior expectations across the brain. 

Disruption of specific circuits alters decision biases.

AI is helping to decode animals’ speech. Will it also let us talk with them? 

Fieldhouse R.

Nature. 2025 Sep;645(8081):574-576. doi: 10.1038/d41586-025-02917-9. PMID: 40962981.

By studying the vocalizations of primates, birds and whales, researchers have spotted features of animal communication once thought unique to human language. To probe deeper, some researchers are turning to artificial intelligence tools to explore whether we can infer meaning from such communications. Their research raises a tantalizing question: if we can decode the ‘language’ of animals, could we one day talk back? If it’s possible, there are ethical issues to iron out, such as the impact it could have on animals’ behaviour, say researchers.

Mpox no longer an emergency, says WHO

Science

Jon Cohen

doi: 10.1126/science.zb3hane