Oleg Mikhajlov

🐟 Great time at the 17th Annual Swiss Zebrafish Meeting in Bern! Thanks to the organizers for the chance to present my work and connect with this amazing community. Top-notch science & discussions!

#SwissZebra2025 #Zebrafish #DevBio #RegMed #ModelOrganisms #BernScience

Just returned from the GDR AQV 2025 meeting in beautiful Sète 🇫🇷. Grateful to the organizers for the opportunity to present my work. The event was filled with stimulating scientific talks and engaging interactions. Looking forward to the next edition! #AQVDays2025 #GDR

Today we had a beatiful talk of @mikhajlov-oleg.bsky.social in the Biology Club.
We learned a lot about sguanine crystalls and their physical properties 🐟🐠.
Don't miss the next Biology Club!

Great job, Olga! Congrats!

11/11
These findings have broad implications for understanding cell–cell interactions, such as those between immune cells and target cells.
#CellAdhesion #Mechanotransduction #Microtubules #Dynein #Integrin #IntegrinAffinity #FluidSubstrates #CellSpreading

10/11
Overall, our study emphasizes the pivotal role of ligand-integrin affinity in mediating adhesion on fluid substrates and the critical function of microtubules in mechanotransduction.

9/11
Microtubule depolymerization impairs cell adhesion on SLBs, contrasting with its effect on rigid substrates—where it actually boosts actomyosin activity.

8/11
Dynein and microtubules transport integrin clusters toward the cell periphery on SLBs, correlating with enhanced cell spreading on Invasin-SLBs. Their outward push is balanced by actomyosin contractility.

7/11
Our model, which accounts for mobile ligands on a fluid substrate, reveals that higher receptor–ligand affinity drives the formation of denser, more force-resistant clusters.

6/11
Vertical forces generated by microtubules and dynein motors are crucial for integrin cluster growth on SLBs. The appearance of membrane tubes and local deformations provides clear evidence of these mechanical forces at work.

5/11
Interestingly, no actin stress fibers form on SLBs—unlike on rigid substrates. Meanwhile, F-actin is notably enriched at adhesion sites on RGD-SLBs, and microtubules play a key role on Invasin-SLBs.

4/11
We observed increased recruitment of focal adhesion (FA) proteins (except talin) to integrin clusters on Invasin-SLBs, suggesting that cells experience greater mechanical forces when bound to Invasin.

3/11
On Invasin-SLBs, integrin clusters are larger and denser—resembling those on glass but distinct from clusters on RGD-SLBs. This underscores the importance of ligand-integrin affinity in driving cluster formation.

2/11
Our experiments show that cells spread much more on Invasin-SLBs than on RGD-SLBs. Although initial adhesion is faster on RGD-SLBs, adding Mn²⁺ greatly enhances adhesion on Invasin-SLBs, leading to more extensive cell spreading.

Cell adhesion and spreading on fluid membranes through microtubules-dependent mechanotransduction - Nature Communications During cell adhesion, integrins are typically thought to require immobilized ligands for spreading. Here, the authors demonstrate that cells can spread and form mature integrin adhesions on fluid subs...

1/11 🚨 New research! 🚨 We explored how cells adhere to supported lipid bilayers (SLBs) using Invasin, a high-affinity integrin ligand. Surprisingly, cells spread and form mature integrin adhesions on fluid SLBs, revealing a novel microtubule-driven mechanotransduction! www.nature.com/articles/s41...