RESEARCH GROUPS
PAGES
GENERAL PAGES
News
Select submenu
New publication from Lolicato and Nickel groups in Nature Commun.
Date: November 29, 2025PI(4,5)P₂ transbilayer asymmetry facilitates unconventional secretion of FGF2
Published: 29 November 2025
The Nickel and Lolicato groups have uncovered how the asymmetric plasma membrane transbilayer distribution of the membrane lipid PI(4,5)P₂ drives unconventional secretion of Fibroblast Growth Factor 2 (FGF2). Using complimentary in vitro reconstitution systems and cell-based assays, the team demonstrated that PI(4,5)P₂ transbilayer asymmetry strongly promotes FGF2 membrane translocation. The study shows that this asymmetry is essential for efficient secretion: while enhancing asymmetry boosts FGF2 membrane translocation in vitro, disrupting asymmetry inhibits FGF2 secretion from cells. These findings provide direct mechanistic evidence that PI(4,5)P₂ asymmetry lowers the energetic barrier for membrane pore formation, enabling rapid membrane translocation, the underlying mechanism of unconventional secretion of FGF2.
Publication: Manpreet Kaur, Fabio Lolicato & Walter Nickel (2025). Plasma membrane transbilayer asymmetry of PI(4,5)P2 drives unconventional secretion of Fibroblast Growth Factor 2. Nat. Commun. (2025). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-025-66860-z
Published: 29 November 2025
The Nickel and Lolicato groups have uncovered how the asymmetric plasma membrane transbilayer distribution of the membrane lipid PI(4,5)P₂ drives unconventional secretion of Fibroblast Growth Factor 2 (FGF2). Using complimentary in vitro reconstitution systems and cell-based assays, the team demonstrated that PI(4,5)P₂ transbilayer asymmetry strongly promotes FGF2 membrane translocation. The study shows that this asymmetry is essential for efficient secretion: while enhancing asymmetry boosts FGF2 membrane translocation in vitro, disrupting asymmetry inhibits FGF2 secretion from cells. These findings provide direct mechanistic evidence that PI(4,5)P₂ asymmetry lowers the energetic barrier for membrane pore formation, enabling rapid membrane translocation, the underlying mechanism of unconventional secretion of FGF2.
Publication: Manpreet Kaur, Fabio Lolicato & Walter Nickel (2025). Plasma membrane transbilayer asymmetry of PI(4,5)P2 drives unconventional secretion of Fibroblast Growth Factor 2. Nat. Commun. (2025). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-025-66860-z
