The surface of a cell experiences frequent stretching and compression. The resulting membrane tension is converted to intracellular electrochemical signals via mechanosensitive proteins such as Piezo channels. However, our understanding of the subcellular sorting and activation of mechanosensitive proteins is still in its infancy. Moreover, mapping the spatiotemporal heterogeneity of cell membrane tension remains technically challenging. Further into the cell, membraneless organelles represent a new class of subcellular structures whose mechanical responses are determined by their interfacial tension and viscoelasticity, two material properties that play pivotal biological and pathological roles. A major challenge lies in the quantification of these condensate material properties, especially in living cells.
In this talk, I will first present our recent progress in unraveling the intricate interplay between cell membrane properties and the subcellular behavior of mechanosensitive membrane proteins. Next, I will discuss our current efforts toward developing fluorescent sensors that could map the dynamics of cell membrane tension. Finally, I will describe our contribution to quantifying the material properties of biomolecular condensates involved in various cellular functions. By decoding the mechanical signaling pathways from the cell surface to intracellular organelles, we aim to shed light on various mechanobiological and aging-related diseases.
Zheng is an assistant professor in Chemistry and Chemical Biology and an associate member in Biomedical Engineering at Rutgers-New Brunswick. He is also a member of the Cancer Pharmacology Program at the Cancer Institute of New Jersey and a member of the Rutgers Center for Lipid Research.
Before joining Rutgers, Zheng was a postdoc with Adam Cohen at Harvard University. He got his Ph.D. in Chemistry in the lab of Tobias Baumgart at the University of Pennsylvania and Bachelor’s degree in Physics at the University of Science and Technology of China.
Zheng has received the NSF CAREER award and the Maximizing Investigators’ Research Award (MIRA) from NIH.