Prof. Michael[misha] Kozlov

Professor, Department of Physiology and Pharmacology, Sackler Faculty of Medicine, Tel Aviv University

Joseph Klafter Chair in Biophysics

Education

Our lab models the mechanisms of shaping and remodeling of intracellular membranes by specialized proteins that includes generation of large membrane curvatures, membrane fission and fusion. Our goal is to reveal the common mechanistic themes in the function of membrane shaping proteins acting in different intracellular systems. In this way, we hope to be able to understand whether every stage of membrane shaping needs a special protein or the same protein machinery can enable both membrane curvature generation and fission and/or fusion. Specifically, we model the action of BAR domain proteins, Epsins and Dynamins in endocytosis, Reticulons and their partners in shaping the Endoplasmaic Reticulum, and ESCRT-III complexes in fission of cytokinetic tubes.

We model the mechanisms underlying the dynamic organization of the actin cytoskeleton and the system of cell adhesion in polarizing and moving cells. Our major goal is to understand the mechanosensitivity of the cytoskeletal systems and its role in the system temporal rearrangements and steady-state structures.

PDF links for selected articles available here.

Publications since 2012

Boucrot E., Pick A., Camdere G., Liska N., Evergren E., McMahon H.T., Kozlov M.M. Hydrophobic insertions promote, while crescent BAR scaffolds limit vesicle membrane fission. Cell. 2012. 149: 124-136.

Elia N., Fabrikant G., Kozlov M.M. Lippincott-Schwartz J. Computational model for cytokinetic abscission driven by ESCRT-III polymerization and remodeling. Biophys J. 2012. 102: 2309-2320

Shemesh T., Bershadsky A.D., Kozlov M.M. Physical model for self-organization of actin cytoskeleton and adhesion complexes at the cell front. Biophys J. 2012 ;102:1746-56

Leikina E., Melikov K., Sanyal S., Verma S.K., Eun B., Gebert C., Pfeifer K., Lizunov V.A., Kozlov M.M., Chernomordik L.V. Extracellular annexins and dynamin are important for sequential steps in myoblast fusion. J Cell Biol. 2013. 200:109-23. 

Schweitzer Y, Kozlov M.M. Cell motion mediated by friction forces: understanding the major principles. Soft Matter. 2013. 9:5186-5195

Terasaki M., Shemesh T., Kasthuri N., Klemm R.W., Schalek R., Hayworth K.J., Hand A.R., Yankova M., Huber G., Lichtman J.W., Rapoport T.A., Kozlov M.M. Stacked endoplasmic reticulum sheets are connected by helicoidal membrane motifs. Cell. 2013;154:285-96.

G. Fabrikant, S. Gupta, G.V. Shivashankar, M.M. Kozlov. Model of T-cell nuclear deformation by the cortical actin layer. Biophys J. 105:1316-23, 2013

F. Campelo, M.M. Kozlov. Sensing membrane stresses by protein insertions. PLoS Comp Biol. 10: e1003556, 2014.

Y. Schweitzer, A.D. Lieber, K. Keren, M.M. Kozlov. Theoretical analysis of membrane tension in moving cells. Biophys J.106:84-92, 2014.