Simulation toolkits at the molecular scale for trans-scale thermal signaling

TL;DR

This paper reviews atomistic simulation tools for understanding how heat generated at the molecular level influences cellular functions and signaling across biological scales, addressing a gap in experimental accessibility.

Contribution

It introduces simulation methodologies for studying molecular thermal signaling mechanisms, bridging microscopic heat release to cellular processes.

Findings

Simulation tools elucidate heat transfer in biomolecules.

Thermal properties of membranes and proteins estimated.

Insights into molecular heat sources like ATP hydrolysis.

Abstract

Thermogenesis is a physiological activity of releasing heat that originates from intracellular biochemical reactions. Recent experimental studies discovered that externally applied heat changes intracellular signaling locally, resulting in global changes in cell morphology and signaling. Therefore, we hypothesize an inevitable contribution of thermogenesis in modulating biological system functions throughout the spatial scales from molecules to individual organisms. One key issue examining the hypothesis, namely, the "trans-scale thermal signaling," resides at the molecular scale on the amount of heat released via individual reactions and by which mechanism the heat is employed for cellular function operations. This review introduces atomistic simulation tool kits for studying the mechanisms of thermal signaling processes at the molecular scale that even state-of-the-art experimental methodologies of today are hardly accessible. We consider biological processes and biomolecules as potential heat sources in cells, such as ATP/GTP hydrolysis and multiple biopolymer complex formation and disassembly. Microscopic heat release could be related to mesoscopic processes via thermal conductivity and thermal conductance. Additionally, theoretical simulations to estimate these thermal properties in biological membranes and proteins are introduced. Finally, we envisage the future direction of this research field.