Lipid perturbation by membrane proteins and the lipophobic effect
Jean-Pierre Duneau1, Jonathan Khao1, James N Sturgis1
1Laboratoire d'Ingénierie des Systèmes Macromoléculaires, UMR 7255, CNRS and Aix-Marseille Univ, Marseille 13402 cedex 20, France.
Biochimica Et Biophysica Acta. Biomembranes
|November 5, 2016
Summary
Membrane proteins alter their lipid environment through complex interactions beyond simple elastic deformations. These changes influence protein organization via a proposed lipophobic effect, impacting lipid structure and dynamics long-range.
Area of Science:
- Biophysics
- Computational Biology
- Membrane Biology
Background:
- Understanding membrane protein interactions with lipids is crucial for their structure-function relationship.
- Lipid environment significantly influences membrane protein behavior and organization.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate how membrane proteins perturb their surrounding lipid environment.
- To identify factors beyond elastic deformations and local interactions that explain these perturbations.
Main Methods:
- Coarse-grained molecular dynamics simulations were employed.
- Simulations analyzed lipid perturbations around various membrane proteins.
Main Results:
- Elastic deformations and local lipid-protein interactions alone do not fully explain observed lipid perturbations.
- Membrane proteins induce changes in lipid conformation and dynamics, affecting structure far from the protein surface.
- These modifications mediate long-range interactions between membrane proteins.
Conclusions:
- Multiple modifications to lipid behavior contribute to membrane protein organization.
- A proposed lipophobic effect, driven by these molecular-level lipid changes, explains observed membrane protein organization patterns.
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