The existence of an information vector common to very different pathologies is the hypothesis of one of us, the argumentation and discussion of which we present here. It is a mesomorphic state of material called liquid crystal. The liquid-ordered (Lo) phase, made up of membrane rafts mediated by cholesterol, lies at the center of our concept. This mesophase is either preexistent and then modified by the pathogenic process, or initiated by the latter. The most notable disorders involved are Alzheimer's, Parkinson's, Charcot and Creutzfeldt-Jakob diseases, flu-like illnesses and acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS), although this list may well be extended to include other anisotropic, birefringent amyloid proteinopathies, which have properties compatible with those of liquid crystals. Incidentally, numerous conventional infectious pathologies can also induce a mesomorphic state in cell membranes. It has already been established that mesophases contain the chemical information transmitted from the intramolecular microscopic level, where covalent bonds are applied. Information is then transmitted at the intermolecular macroscopic level, where it is made up of informed, self-organized collections. Electrostatic interactions, coordination of metallic ions, van der Waals forces and donor-acceptor interactions of hydrogen bonding all come into play. These reactions are produced notably in the nanodomains enriched by cholesterol and sphingolipids. Lipids in the cell membrane are where the phase separations favoring elastic hydrodynamic instabilities conducive to the Lo phase take place. In addition, perturbations of the mesomorphic states of membrane rafts due, for example, to lipid dysfunction-even mild ones-with an intracerebral or generalized location could bring about a displacement of thermodynamic equilibrium favoring the initiation and progression of the pathologies under consideration here. Indeed, the most recent work has rendered our hypothesis highly probable. Moreover, our hypothesis is supported by medical and biological observations arising essentially from biophysics and widely documented in the literature. Thus, these facts expand the number of diagnostic and therapeutic perspectives that could be evoked and perhaps even demand exploration.

Liquid crystals (LC) are an intermediate state between an ordered crystalline solid and a more disordered liquid. LCs (or mesophases) are ubiquitous in living systems, optimizing multiple biological functions that could not operate in purely solid or liquid environments as both mobility and organization are needed. One of us recently suggested that there is an information vector, shared by neurodegenerative and infectious pathologies, to be found within lipid rafts in an ordered liquid (Lo) form mediated by cholesterol. Here we extend this underlying mechanism to oncogenic processes. The specificity of our approach lies in highlighting the direct involvement of liquid crystals in early carcinogenic processes, by identifying specific metabolic pathways, with the intention of focusing research effort on this level, now that this has become technically feasible. Exploring LCs in living bodies reveals links between numerous oncogenic mechanisms. The approach is based on the geometric properties of amphiphilic (hydrophilic and lipophilic) plasma and intracellular membranes, the phospholipids of which are an example of the lamellar LC phase. These LCs underlie cell signaling and signaling pathways disorders at membrane level: consequently, they are directly concerned with deregulation underlying many cancerous processes.We demonstrate the implication of cancer cell membranes mesophases. That is in the membranes mesophases that are initiated most of metabolic pathways, leading to downstream pathogenic intracellular mechanisms. The concepts of order and of symmetry, in the mathematical sense, involved in condensed matter accompany informed adaptive supramolecular chemical processes in forming self-organizing mesogenic molecular assemblies. Multidisciplinary teamwork combining knowledge from different fields holds out the hope of therapeutic progress upstream of irreversible cancerous processes, while conserving the physiological integrity of the cells themselves.

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We highlight changes to cell signaling under virus invasion (with the example of SARS-CoV-2), involving disturbance of membranes (plasma, mitochondrial, endothelial-alveolar) and of nanodomains, modulated by the cytoskeleton. Virus alters the mechanical properties of the membranes, impairing mesophase structures mediated by the fractal architecture initiated by actomyosin. It changes the topology of the membrane and its lipid composition distribution. Mechano-transduction, self-organization and topology far from equilibrium are omnipresent. We propose that the actomyosin contractility generates the cytoskeletons fractal organization. We focus on three membranar processus: The transition from lamellar configuration in cell and viral membranes to a bi-continuous organization in the presence of ethanolamine. (The energy for this transition is provided by change of the folding of the viral fusion protein from metastable to stable state). The action of mitochondrial antiviral signaling protein on the external mitochondrial envelope in contact with mitochondrial-associated membranes, modified by viral endoribonuclease, distorting innate immune response. The increased permeability of the epithelial-alveolar-pulmonary barrier involves the cytoskeleton membranes. The pulmonary surfactant is also perturbed in its liquid crystal state. Viral subversion disorganizes membrane structure and functions and thus the metabolism of the cell. We advocate systematic multidisciplinary exploration of membrane mesophases and their links with fractal dynamics, to enable novel therapies for SARS-CoV-2 infection.