Curvature sorting of peripheral proteins on solid-supported wavy membranes

Langmuir. 2012 Sep 4;28(35):12838-43. doi: 10.1021/la302205b. Epub 2012 Aug 23.

Abstract

Cellular membrane deformation and the associated redistribution of membrane-bound proteins are important aspects of membrane function. Current model membrane approaches for studying curvature sensing are limited to positive curvatures and often require complex and delicate experimental setups. To overcome these challenges, we fabricated a wavy substrate by imposing a range of curvatures onto an adhering lipid bilayer membrane. We examined the curvature sorting of several peripheral proteins binding to the wavy membrane and observed them to partition into distinct regions of curvature. Furthermore, single-molecule imaging experiments suggested that the curvature sensing of proteins on low-curvature substrates requires cooperative interactions.

Publication types

  • Research Support, N.I.H., Extramural
  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't
  • Research Support, U.S. Gov't, Non-P.H.S.

MeSH terms

  • Glass / chemistry*
  • Lipid Bilayers / chemistry
  • Membrane Proteins / chemistry*
  • Protein Structure, Tertiary
  • Sequence Homology, Amino Acid
  • Surface Properties
  • Unilamellar Liposomes / chemistry*

Substances

  • Lipid Bilayers
  • Membrane Proteins
  • Unilamellar Liposomes