Energetic modeling and single-molecule verification of dynamic regulation on receptor complexes by actin corrals and...

We developed an energetic model by integrating the generalized Langevin equation with the Cahn-Hilliard equation to simulate the diffusive behaviors of receptor proteins in the plasma membrane of a living cell. Simulation results are presented to elaborate the confinement effects from actin corrals and protein-induced lipid domains. Single-molecule tracking data of epidermal growth factor receptors (EGFR) acquired on live HeLa cells agree with the simulation results and the mechanism that controls the diffusion of single-molecule receptors is clarified. We discovered that after ligand binding, EGFR molecules move into lipid nanodomains. The transition rates between different diffusion states of liganded EGFR molecules are regulated by the lipid domains. Our method successfully captures dynamic interactions of receptors at the single-molecule level and provides insight into the functional architecture of both the diffusing EGFR molecules and their local cellular environment.