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| Title | The membrane-to-cortex distance regulates mDia1 activity to control cortical mechanics. |
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| Journal, issue, pages | Nat Commun, Vol. 17, Issue 1, Year 2026 |
| Publish date | Sep 4, 2026 |
 Authors | Léanne Strauss / Sergio Lembo / Samuel F Gérard / Marc Siggel / Dorothy Cheng / Martin Bergert / Sarah K Foster / Joseph Vermeil / Mauricio Toro-Nahuelpan / Lena M Fischer / Qin Yu / Ewa Sitarska / Chii Jou Chan / Jan Kosinski / Matthieu Piel / Olivia du Roure / Julien Heuvingh / Julia Mahamid / Alba Diz-Muñoz /       |
| PubMed Abstract | The shape of animal cells is controlled by their surface, which comprises the cell cortex, a peripheral actin network, tethered to the plasma membrane by membrane-to-cortex attachment proteins. ...The shape of animal cells is controlled by their surface, which comprises the cell cortex, a peripheral actin network, tethered to the plasma membrane by membrane-to-cortex attachment proteins. Changes in cortical components have long been considered to dominate the regulation of forces and mechanical properties at the cell surface and drive morphogenesis. Here, we show that the coupling of the cortex to the membrane is also key for the regulation of its mechanical properties. By combining molecular engineering with biophysical approaches and in-cell cryo-electron tomography we describe the cell surface with nanometer-resolution and link its organization to cell-scale mechanics. We find that membrane-to-cortex attachment proteins can physically draw the cortex closer to the membrane, in a density and length-dependent manner. This reduction of the membrane-to-cortex distance controls the activity of the formin mDia1, leading to a reduction in cortical tension. Our study thus defines a novel mechanism whereby the membrane-to-cortex distance is a functional geometrical parameter that regulates cell surface properties. |
 External links | Nat Commun / PubMed:42697882 / PubMed Central |
| Methods | EM (tomography) |
| Structure data |  EMDB-56367: Cryo-electron tomogram acquired on a cryo-FIB lamella of two adjacent NIH 3T3 cells. |
| Source |
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Mus musculus (house mouse)