TY  - JOUR
AU  - Mangiarotti, Agustin
AU  - Sabri, Elias
AU  - Schmidt, Kita Valerie
AU  - Hoffmann, Christian
AU  - Milovanovic, Dragomir
AU  - Lipowsky, Reinhard
AU  - Dimova, Rumiana
TI  - Lipid packing and cholesterol content regulate membrane wetting and remodeling by biomolecular condensates.
JO  - Nature Communications
VL  - 16
IS  - 1
SN  - 2041-1723
CY  - [London]
PB  - Springer Nature
M1  - DZNE-2025-00449
SP  - 2756
PY  - 2025
AB  - Biomolecular condensates play a central role in cellular processes by interacting with membranes driving wetting transitions and inducing mutual remodeling. While condensates are known to locally alter membrane properties such as lipid packing and hydration, it remains unclear how membrane composition and phase state in turn affect condensate affinity. Here, we show that it is not only the membrane phase itself, but rather the degree of lipid packing that determines the condensate affinity for membranes. Increasing lipid chain length, saturation, or cholesterol content, enhances lipid packing, thereby decreasing condensate interaction. This regulatory mechanism is consistent across various condensate-membrane systems, highlighting the critical role of the membrane interface. In addition, protein adsorption promotes extensive membrane remodeling, including the formation of tubes and double-membrane sheets. Our findings reveal a mechanism by which membrane composition fine-tunes condensate wetting, highlighting its potential impact on cellular functions and organelle interactions.
KW  - Cholesterol: metabolism
KW  - Cholesterol: chemistry
KW  - Wettability
KW  - Biomolecular Condensates: metabolism
KW  - Biomolecular Condensates: chemistry
KW  - Cell Membrane: metabolism
KW  - Membrane Lipids: metabolism
KW  - Membrane Lipids: chemistry
KW  - Lipid Bilayers: metabolism
KW  - Lipid Bilayers: chemistry
KW  - Lipids: chemistry
KW  - Adsorption
KW  - Cholesterol (NLM Chemicals)
KW  - Membrane Lipids (NLM Chemicals)
KW  - Lipid Bilayers (NLM Chemicals)
KW  - Lipids (NLM Chemicals)
LB  - PUB:(DE-HGF)16
C6  - pmid:40113768
C2  - pmc:PMC11926106
DO  - DOI:10.1038/s41467-025-57985-2
UR  - https://pub.dzne.de/record/277728
ER  -