Publications related to Asymmetric opening of the homopentameric 5-HT3A serotonin receptor in lipid bilayers

Organ Neuroprosthetics: Connecting Transplanted and Artificial Organs with the Nervous System

Implantable neural interfaces with the central and peripheral nervous systems are currently used to restore sensory, motor, and cognitive functions in disabled people with very promising results. They have also been used to modulate autonomic activities to ...

Wiley2024

Membrane specificity of the human cholesterol transfer protein STARD4

Charlotte Julie Caroline Gehin

STARD4 regulates cholesterol homeostasis by transferring cholesterol between the plasma membrane and endoplasmic reticulum. The STARD4 structure features a helix-grip fold surrounding a large hydrophobic cavity holding the sterol. Its access is controlled ...

Academic Press Ltd- Elsevier Science Ltd2024

Uncovering interactions between Descending Neurons as a functional principle of behavioural control

Jonas Friedrich Braun

Animals, including humans, exhibit a remarkable variety of complex behaviours. How the nervous system controls all these behaviours ranging from simple, stereotyped movements to flexible, adaptive actions is a central questions of neuroscience. One of the ...

EPFL2024

Biophysically accurate and machine learning-based surrogate models to optimize neuroprosthesis design and operation

Simone Romeni

Electrical stimulation of the nervous system has emerged as a promising assistive technology in case of many injuries and illnesses across various parts of the nervous system. In particular, the invasive neuromodulation of the peripheral nervous system see ...

EPFL2024

Computational drug development for membrane protein targets

Pierre Vogel, Henning Paul-Julius Stahlberg, Dongchun Ni, Babatunde Edukpe Ekundayo, Shuguang Yuan

The application of computational biology in drug development for membrane protein targets has experienced a boost from recent developments in deep learning-driven structure prediction, increased speed and resolution of structure elucidation, machine learni ...

2024

Unraveling behavior and cortical signals to guide the development of soft neuroprostheses for auditory restoration and spreading depolarization

Emilie Cornelia Maria Revol

Neuroprostheses have been used clinically for decades, to help restore or preserve brain functions, when pharmaceutical treatments are inefficient. Although great progress in the field has been made over the years to interface with the nervous system, surf ...

EPFL2024

S-acylation and lipid exchange at the ER-Golgi membrane contact sites regulate pathogen entry in human cells

Muhammad Umair Anwar

Cells have evolved endocytic pathways to internalize different molecules, to regulate intra-cellular communication and their interaction with external environment. Pathogens have co-evolved with cells to exploit these processes for infections. In particula ...

EPFL2024

Investigating the intra-molecular and inter-molecular effects of post-translational modifications on intrinsically disordered protein regions and structured protein regions

Zhidian Zhang

Post-translational modifications (PTMs) play a pivotal role in regulating protein structure, interaction, and function. Aberrant PTM patterns are associated with diseases. Moreover, individual PTMs have a complex interaction with each other, known as PTM c ...

EPFL2024

A method and system for optimizing design, implantation, and stimulation protocols of electrodes stimulating the nervous system

Silvestro Micera, Simone Romeni

A method for optimizing at least one of a geometry, an implantation procedure, and/or stimulation protocol of one or more electrodes for an electrical stimulation of a target structure in a nervous system of a living being by a computer device, the method ...

2024

From Sequence to Dynamics to Function: Computational Design of Allostery and Ligand Selectivity in G-Protein Coupled Receptors

Mahdi Hijazi

The phenomenon of allostery, a general property in proteins that has been heralded as "the second secret of life" remains elusive to our understanding and even more challenging to incorporate into protein design. One example of allosteric proteins with gre ...

EPFL2024