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Hanssen KØ, Malthe-Sørenssen A. Perineuronal nets restrict transport near the neuron surface: A coarse-grained molecular dynamics study. Front Comput Neurosci 2022; 16:967735. [DOI: 10.3389/fncom.2022.967735] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/13/2022] [Accepted: 11/02/2022] [Indexed: 11/18/2022] Open
Abstract
Perineuronal nets (PNNs) are mesh-like extracellular matrix structures that wrap around certain neurons in the central nervous system. They are hypothesized to stabilize memories in the brain and act as a barrier between cell and extracellular space. As a means to study the impact of PNNs on diffusion, the nets were approximated by negatively charged polymer brushes and simulated by coarse-grained molecular dynamics. Diffusion constants of single neutral and single charged particles were obtained in directions parallel and perpendicular to the brush substrate. The results for the neutral particle were compared to different theories of diffusion in a heuristic manner. Diffusion was found to be considerably reduced for brush spacings smaller than 10 nm, with a pronounced anisotropy for dense brushes. The exact dynamics of the chains was found to have a negligible impact on particle diffusion. The resistance of the brush proved small compared to typical values of the membrane resistance of a neuron, indicating that PNNs likely contribute little to the total resistance of an enwrapped neuron.
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Yuan J, Antila HS, Luijten E. Structure of Polyelectrolyte Brushes on Polarizable Substrates. Macromolecules 2020. [DOI: 10.1021/acs.macromol.9b02749] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/29/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Jiaxing Yuan
- School of Physics and Astronomy, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai 200240, China
- Institute of Natural Sciences, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai 200240, China
| | - Hanne S. Antila
- Department of Materials Science and Engineering, Northwestern University, Evanston, Illinois 60208, United States
- Department of Theory and Bio-Systems, Max Planck Institute of Colloids and Interfaces, 14476 Potsdam, Germany
| | - Erik Luijten
- Department of Materials Science and Engineering, Northwestern University, Evanston, Illinois 60208, United States
- Department of Engineering Sciences and Applied Mathematics, Northwestern University, Evanston, Illinois 60208, United States
- Department of Chemistry, Northwestern University, Evanston, Illinois 60208, United States
- Department of Physics and Astronomy, Northwestern University, Evanston, Illinois 60208, United States
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The effects of grafting density and charge fraction on the properties of ring polyelectrolyte brushes: a molecular dynamics simulation study. Colloid Polym Sci 2019. [DOI: 10.1007/s00396-019-04579-2] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/26/2022]
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