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arXiv · 2506.14739

Repulsive particle interactions enable selective information processing at cellular interfaces

Jenna Elliott·Hiral Shah·Roman Belousov·Gautam Dey·Anna Erzberger
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Abstract

Living systems relay information across membrane interfaces to coordinate compartment functions. We identify a physical mechanism for selective information transmission that arises from the sigmoidal response of surface-bound particle densities to spatial features in adjacent external structures through a non-uniform binding energy. This mechanism implements a form of spatial thresholding, enabling the binary classification of external cues. Expansion microscopy measurements of nuclear pore complex distributions in S. arctica show signatures of such physical thresholding.

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Jenna Elliott, Hiral Shah, Roman Belousov, Gautam Dey, Anna Erzberger. 2025-06-17. Repulsive particle interactions enable selective information processing at cellular interfaces. https://doi.org/10.1103/ywr6-mzz5

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