From Homogeneity to Turing Pattern: Kinetically Controlled Self-Organization of Transmembrane Protein

Understanding the spatial organization of membrane proteins is crucial for unraveling key principles in cell biology. The reaction–diffusion model is commonly used to understand biochemical patterning; however, applying reaction–diffusion models to subcellular phenomena is challenging because of the difficulty in measuring protein diffusivity and interaction kinetics in the living cell. In this work, we investigated the self-organization of the plasmalemma vesicle-associated protein (PLVAP), which creates regular arrangements of fenestrated ultrastructures, using single-molecule tracking. We demonstrated that the spatial organization of the ultrastructures is associated with a decrease in the association rate by actin destabilization. We also constructed a reaction–diffusion model that accurately generates a hexagonal array with the same 130 nm spacing as the actual scale and informs the stoichiometry of the ultrastructure, which can be discerned only through electron microscopy. Through this study, we integrated single-molecule experiments and reaction–diffusion modeling to surpass the limitations of static imaging tools and proposed emergent properties of the PLVAP ultrastructure.