Influence of hydrophobic mismatching on membrane protein diffusion

The observation of membrane domains in vivo and in vitro has triggered a renewed interest in the size-dependent diffusion of membrane inclusions (e.g., clusters of transmembrane proteins and lipid rafts). Here, we have used coarse-grained membrane simulations to quantify the influence of a hydrophobic mismatch between the inclusion's transmembrane portion and the surrounding lipid bilayer on the diffusive mobility of the inclusion. Our data indicate only slight changes in the mobility (<30%) when altering the hydrophobic mismatch, and the scaling of the diffusion coefficient D is most consistent with previous hydrodynamic predictions, i.e., with the Saffman-Delbruck relation and the edgewise motion of a thin disk in the limit of small and large radii, respectively.