ArticlePLoS computational biology2017
Modeling of the axon membrane skeleton structure and implications for its mechanical properties.
Article in PLoS computational biology, 2017. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 48 papers.
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Who cites it
48 citing papers in PubMed, 93 citations in OpenAlex.
- Neuromorphic Devices and Computing for Sensing, Memory, and Control.Advanced science (Weinheim, Baden-Wurttemberg, Germany) · 2026Review
- External mechanical force drives axonal cytoskeletal rearrangements.Current biology : CB · 2026Article
- Mitochondrial mechanics nucleates axonal jamming and swelling.bioRxiv : the preprint server for biology · 2026Article
- Article
- Tunable hydrogel-based micropillar arrays for myelination studies.Nature methods · 2026Article
- A Computationally Efficient Viscoelastic Eukaryotic Cell Model.Annals of biomedical engineering · 2025Article
- Dynamic mechanisms for membrane skeleton transitions.Journal of cell science · 2025Article
- Axonal Mechanotransduction Drives Cytoskeletal Responses to Physiological Mechanical Forces.bioRxiv : the preprint server for biology · 2025Article
- Stress landscape of folding brain serves as a map for axonal pathfinding.Nature communications · 2025Article
- Intrinsic and synaptic regulation of axonal excitability in dopaminergic neurons.Frontiers in cellular neuroscience · 2025Review
- Membrane mechanics dictate axonal pearls-on-a-string morphology and function.Nature neuroscience · 2025Article
- Understanding mechanotransduction in the distal colon and rectum via multiscale and multimodal computational modeling.Journal of the mechanical behavior of biomedical materials · 2024Article
- Mechanical characterization of spectrin at the molecular level.Scientific reports · 2024Article
- Dynamic mechanisms for membrane skeleton transitions.bioRxiv : the preprint server for biology · 2024Article
- Multiscale Computational and Artificial Intelligence Models of Linear and Nonlinear Composites: A Review.Small science · 2024Article
- The response of Dual-leucine zipper kinase (DLK) to nocodazole: Evidence for a homeostatic cytoskeletal repair mechanism.PloS one · 2024Article
- Computational study of the mechanical behavior of the astrocyte network and axonal compartments in the mouse optic nerve head.Biomechanics and modeling in mechanobiology · 2023Article
- The role of mechanics in axonal stability and development.Seminars in cell & developmental biology · 2023Review
- Mild traumatic brain injury history is associated with lower brain network resilience in soldiers.Brain communications · 2023Article
- The periodic axon membrane skeleton leads to Na nanodomains but does not impact action potentials.Biophysical journal · 2022Article
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
6 authors at 2 institutions in 1 country.
Funding
Abstract
Super-resolution microscopy recently revealed that, unlike the soma and dendrites, the axon membrane skeleton is structured as a series of actin rings connected by spectrin filaments that are held under tension. Currently, the structure-function relationship of the axonal structure is unclear. Here, we used atomic force microscopy (AFM) to show that the stiffness of the axon plasma membrane is significantly higher than the stiffnesses of dendrites and somata. To examine whether the structure of the axon plasma membrane determines its overall stiffness, we introduced a coarse-grain molecular dynamics model of the axon membrane skeleton that reproduces the structure identified by super-resolution microscopy. Our proposed computational model accurately simulates the median value of the Young's modulus of the axon plasma membrane determined by atomic force microscopy. It also predicts that because the spectrin filaments are under entropic tension, the thermal random motion of the voltage-gated sodium channels (Nav), which are bound to ankyrin particles, a critical axonal protein, is reduced compared to the thermal motion when spectrin filaments are held at equilibrium. Lastly, our model predicts that because spectrin filaments are under tension, any axonal injuries that lacerate spectrin filaments will likely lead to a permanent disruption of the membrane skeleton due to the inability of spectrin filaments to spontaneously form their initial under-tension configuration.
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Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.