Septin architecture dictates size-dependent diffusion barriers on biomimetic membranes
Abstract
Septins are cytoskeletal filaments bound to the inner leaflet of the plasma membrane, essential for cell division. They are involved in the formation of diffusion barriers for membrane-bound components. Whether septins directly function as barriers or as part of a broader regulatory cascade of events remains unclear. We address this using in vitro reconstituted assay of biomimetic synthetic membranes. We probe whether the diffusion of biomimetic fluorescent objects with tunable steric hindrance – mimicking membrane bound proteins – is constrained by septins. Our results indicate that (i) lipids and transmembrane proteins lacking cytosolic domains diffuse freely in the presence of septins (ii) membrane-bound objects with large cytosolic domains experience size-dependent diffusion constraints; and (iii) the ability of septins to act as diffusion barriers is finely tuned by their intrinsic filament organization. These findings demonstrate that septins can directly impose sizeselective diffusion barriers and that their filament organization critically tunes this function.
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BibTeX
@article{chauvin2026septin,
title = {{Septin architecture dictates size-dependent diffusion barriers on biomimetic membranes}},
author = {Brieuc Chauvin and Koyomi Nakazawa and Ingrid Adriaans and Marco Geymonat and Simonetta Piatti and Bassam Hajj and Stéphanie Mangenot and Aurélie Bertin},
journal = {Communications Biology},
year = {2026},
month = sep,
doi = {10.1038/s42003-026-10811-x},
url = {https://hal.science/hal-05767867v1},
note = {CC BY-NC-ND 4.0},
}
RIS
TY - JOUR
TI - Septin architecture dictates size-dependent diffusion barriers on biomimetic membranes
AU - Brieuc Chauvin
AU - Koyomi Nakazawa
AU - Ingrid Adriaans
AU - Marco Geymonat
AU - Simonetta Piatti
AU - Bassam Hajj
AU - Stéphanie Mangenot
AU - Aurélie Bertin
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/09/02
JO - Communications Biology
DO - 10.1038/s42003-026-10811-x
UR - https://hal.science/hal-05767867v1
AB - Septins are cytoskeletal filaments bound to the inner leaflet of the plasma membrane, essential for cell division. They are involved in the formation of diffusion barriers for membrane-bound components. Whether septins directly function as barriers or as part of a broader regulatory cascade of events remains unclear. We address this using in vitro reconstituted assay of biomimetic synthetic membranes. We probe whether the diffusion of biomimetic fluorescent objects with tunable steric hindrance – mimicking membrane bound proteins – is constrained by septins. Our results indicate that (i) lipids and transmembrane proteins lacking cytosolic domains diffuse freely in the presence of septins (ii) membrane-bound objects with large cytosolic domains experience size-dependent diffusion constraints; and (iii) the ability of septins to act as diffusion barriers is finely tuned by their intrinsic filament organization. These findings demonstrate that septins can directly impose sizeselective diffusion barriers and that their filament organization critically tunes this function.
SN - 2399-3642
ER -