Stabilization of membranes upon interaction of amphipathic polymers with membrane proteins

Amphipathic polymers derived from polysaccharides, namely hydrophobically modified pullulans, were previously suggested to be useful as polymeric substitutes of ordinary surfactants for efficient and structure-conserving solubilization of membrane proteins, and one such polymer, 18C(10), was optimized for solubilization of proteins derived from bacterial outer membranes (Duval-Terrie et al. 2003). We asked whether a similar ability to solubilize proteins could also be demonstrated in eukaryotic membranes, namely sarcoplasmic reticulum (SR) fragments, the major protein of which is SERCA1a, an integral membrane protein with Ca(2+)-dependent ATPase and Ca(2+)-pumping activity. We found that 18C(10)-mediated solubilization of these SR membranes did not occur. Simultaneously, however, we found that low amounts of this hydrophobically modified pullulan were very efficient at preventing long-term aggregation of these SR membranes. This presumably occurred because the negatively charged polymer coated the membranous vesicles with a hydrophilic corona (a property shared by many other amphipathic polymers), and thus minimized their flocculation. Reminiscent of the old Arabic gum, which stabilizes Indian ink by coating charcoal particles, the newly designed amphipathic polymers might therefore unintentionally prove useful also for stabilization of membrane suspensions.