Comparison of Integrin αIIbβ3 Transmembrane Association in Vesicles and Bicelles

Membrane proteins are commonly reconstituted in membrane mimics exhibiting discontinuous lipid bilayers. In contrast, the continuous membranes of cells are conceptually best represented by large unilamellar vesicles (LUVs). Here, we compared the thermodynamic stability of the integrin αIIbβ3 transmembrane (TM) complex between vesicles and bicelles to assess the consequence of this simplification. In LUVs, we further evaluated the strength of the αIIb(G972S)-β3(V700T) interaction that corresponds to the hydrogen bond interaction postulated for β2 integrins. An upper limit of 0.9 kcal/mol was estimated for superior TM complex stabilization in LUVs relative to bicelles. Compared to the αIIbβ3 TM complex stability in LUVs of 5.6 ± 0.2 kcal/mol, this limit is modest, indicating that bicelles performed well relative to LUVs. The implementation of β3(V700T) alleviated αIIb(G972S) destabilization by 0.4 ± 0.2 kcal/mol in confirmation of relatively weak hydrogen bonding. Interestingly, the hydrogen bond adjusts the TM complex stability to a level that is not achievable by merely varying the residue corresponding to αIIb(Gly972).