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Updated: Jun 8, 2026

Method to Visualize and Analyze Membrane Interacting Proteins by Transmission Electron Microscopy
Published on: March 5, 2017
Dependency of γ-secretase complex activity on the structural integrity of the bilayer
Hua Zhou1, Shuxia Zhou, Peter J Walian
1Life Sciences Division, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, University of California, Berkeley, CA 94720, USA. hzhou2@lbl.gov
Abstract:
γ-secretase is a membrane protein complex associated with the production of Aβ peptides that are pathogenic in Alzheimer's disease. We have characterized the activity of γ-secretase complexes under a variety of detergent solubilization and reconstitution conditions, and the structural state of proteoliposomes by electron microscopy. We found that γ-secretase activity is highly dependent on the physical state or integrity of the membrane bilayer--partial solubilization may increase activity while complete solubilization will abolish it. The activity of well-solubilized γ-secretase can be restored to near native levels when properly reconstituted into a lipid bilayer environment.
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