Native mass spectrometry of membrane protein-lipid interactions in different detergent environments

Native mass spectrometry (MS) is revealing the role of specific lipids in modulating membrane protein structure and function. Membrane proteins solubilized in detergents are often introduced into the mass spectrometer; however, commonly used detergents for structural studies, such as dodecylmaltoside, tend to generate highly charged ions, leading to protein unfolding, thereby diminishing their utility for characterizing protein-lipid interactions. Thus, there is a critical need to develop approaches to investigate protein-lipid interactions in different detergents. Here, we demonstrate how charge-reducing molecules, such as spermine and trimethylamine-N-oxide, enable characterization of lipid binding to the bacterial water channel (AqpZ) and ammonia channel (AmtB) in complex with regulatory protein GlnK in different detergent environments. We find protein-lipid interactions are not only protein-dependent but can also be influenced by the detergent and type of charge-reducing molecule. AqpZ-lipid interactions are enhanced in LDAO (n-dodecyl-N,N-dimethylamine-N-oxide), whereas the interaction of AmtB-GlnK with lipids is comparable among different detergents. A fluorescent lipid binding assay also shows detergent dependence for AqpZ-lipid interactions, consistent with results from native MS. Taken together, native MS will play a pivotal role in establishing optimal experimental parameters that will be invaluable for various applications, such as drug discovery, as well as biochemical and structural investigations.