scholarly journals Investigating the structural properties of hydrophobic solvent-rich lipid bilayers.

Soft Matter ◽  
2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Valeria Zoni ◽  
Pablo Campomanes ◽  
Stefano Vanni

In vitro reconstitutions of lipid membranes have proven to be an indispensable tool to rationalize the complexity of lipid membranes and to understand their role in countless cellular processes. However,...

Membranes ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (11) ◽  
pp. 857
Author(s):  
Md. Sirajul Islam ◽  
James P. Gaston ◽  
Matthew A. B. Baker

Ion channels are membrane proteins that play important roles in a wide range of fundamental cellular processes. Studying membrane proteins at a molecular level becomes challenging in complex cellular environments. Instead, many studies focus on the isolation and reconstitution of the membrane proteins into model lipid membranes. Such simpler, in vitro, systems offer the advantage of control over the membrane and protein composition and the lipid environment. Rhodopsin and rhodopsin-like ion channels are widely studied due to their light-interacting properties and are a natural candidate for investigation with fluorescence methods. Here we review techniques for synthesizing liposomes and for reconstituting membrane proteins into lipid bilayers. We then summarize fluorescence assays which can be used to verify the functionality of reconstituted membrane proteins in synthetic liposomes.


2017 ◽  
Vol 53 (24) ◽  
pp. 3458-3461 ◽  
Author(s):  
Shota Kobayashi ◽  
Takuya Terai ◽  
Yuki Yoshikawa ◽  
Ryoya Ohkawa ◽  
Mika Ebihara ◽  
...  

The first in vitro selection of binding peptides against artificial lipid membranes was performed using a cDNA display method.


2011 ◽  
Vol 31 (6) ◽  
pp. 457-463 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jiajie Diao ◽  
Yuji Ishitsuka ◽  
Woo-Ri Bae

Membrane fusion is one of the most important cellular processes by which two initially distinct lipid bilayers merge their hydrophobic cores, resulting in one interconnected structure. Proteins, called SNARE (soluble N-ethylmaleimide-sensitive factor-attachment protein receptor), play a central role in the fusion process that is also regulated by several accessory proteins. In order to study the SNARE-mediated membrane fusion, the in vitro protein reconstitution assay involving ensemble FRET (fluorescence resonance energy transfer) has been used over a decade. In this mini-review, we describe several single-molecule-based FRET approaches that have been applied to this field to overcome the shortage of the bulk assay in terms of protein and fusion dynamics.


2014 ◽  
Vol 228 (10-12) ◽  
Author(s):  
Maikel Rheinstädter ◽  
Laura Toppozini ◽  
Hannah Dies

AbstractFor the past 100 years, X-ray diffraction has been a powerful and indispensable tool to study the structure of matter. The challenge when studying molecular ordering in biological materials is their inherent disorder and strong fluctuations, which often suppress the formation of Bragg peaks. In the case of membranes, X-rays can detect molecules inside and confined between membranes. In this article we review examples to highlight the capabilities and accomplishments of X-ray scattering for the determination of membrane structure. X-ray diffraction gives quantitative information about partitioning of a small molecule, ethanol, in lipid bilayers. By taking amyloid-


Author(s):  
Neng-Bo He ◽  
S.W. Hui

Monolayers and planar "black" lipid membranes have been widely used as models for studying the structure and properties of biological membranes. Because of the lack of a suitable method to prepare these membranes for electron microscopic observation, their ultrastructure is so far not well understood. A method of forming molecular bilayers over the holes of fine mesh grids was developed by Hui et al. to study hydrated and unsupported lipid bilayers by electron diffraction, and to image phase separated domains by diffraction contrast. We now adapted the method of Pattus et al. of spreading biological membranes vesicles on the air-water interfaces to reconstitute biological membranes into unsupported planar films for electron microscopic study. hemoglobin-free human erythrocyte membrane stroma was prepared by hemolysis. The membranes were spreaded at 20°C on balanced salt solution in a Langmuir trough until a surface pressure of 20 dyne/cm was reached. The surface film was repeatedly washed by passing to adjacent troughs over shallow partitions (fig. 1).


2019 ◽  
Vol 16 (12) ◽  
pp. 1360-1369 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rail Khaziev ◽  
Nikita Shtyrlin ◽  
Roman Pavelyev ◽  
Raushan Nigmatullin ◽  
Raylya Gabbasova ◽  
...  

Background: Adamantane derivatives possess multiple pharmacological activities such as antiviral, anticancer, antimycobacterial, antidiabetic, antiparkinsonian and others. The interest of medicinal chemists in adamantane compounds is due to their unique spatial structure, high lipophilicity, and carbon cage rigidity. As a result, these molecules can easily penetrate biological lipid membranes and often have unique target-specific activity profile. Another pharmacophore studied in this work is pyridoxine (vitamin B6). Pyridoxine plays highly important roles in living cells as a key cofactor of many enzymes. On the other hand, its molecular scaffold is a valuable structural platform which has led to the development of several launched drugs (Pyritinol, Pirisudanol, Cycletanine, Mangafodipir) and a wide number of preclinical and clinical drug candidates. Objective: The objective of this study is a synthesis of pyridoxine-adamantane and pyridoxinecyclooctane dipharmacophore molecules. The underlying idea was to assess the antibacterial and antiviral potential of such dipharmacophores, based on multiple examples of promising antiinfective agents which have in their structures adamantane and pyridoxine moieties. Another specific reason was to explore the ability of pyridoxine pharmacophore to suppress the potential of microbial pathogens to develop resistance to drug molecules. Methods: In this study, a series of pyridoxine-adamantane and pyridoxine-cyclooctane dipharmacophore molecules were synthesized based on reactions of three different cycloalkyl amines with the corresponding electrophilic derivatives of pyridoxine aldehydes, chlorides and acetates. All synthesized compounds have been tested for their in vitro activity against M. tuberculosis H37Rv strain and H3N2 (A/Aichi/2/68) influenza virus. Results: Series of pyridoxine-adamantane and pyridoxine-cyclooctane dipharmacophore molecules were synthesized based on reactions of three different cycloalkylamines with the corresponding electrophilic derivatives of pyridoxine aldehydes, chlorides and acetates. Reaction of cycloalkylamines with pyridoxine derivatives, in which meta-hydroxyl and ortho-hydroxymethyl groups are protected by acetyl groups, represents a useful alternative to reductive amination of aldehydes and nucleophilic substitution of alkyl halides. According to a tentative mechanism, it proceeds via paraand ortho-pyridinone methides which readily react with nucleophiles. None of the synthesized dipharmacophore compounds showed activity against M. tuberculosis H37Rv strain. At the same time, three compounds demonstrated some antiviral activity against H3N2 (A/Aichi/2/68) influenza virus (EC50 52-88 µg/mL) that was comparable to the activity of Amantadine, though lower than the activity of Rimantadine. The results of this work can be useful in the design of physiologically active derivatives of pyridoxine and adamantane. Conclusion: The results of this work can be useful in the design of physiologically active derivatives of pyridoxine and adamantane.


2021 ◽  
Vol 22 (15) ◽  
pp. 8350
Author(s):  
Naďa Labajová ◽  
Natalia Baranova ◽  
Miroslav Jurásek ◽  
Robert Vácha ◽  
Martin Loose ◽  
...  

DivIVA is a protein initially identified as a spatial regulator of cell division in the model organism Bacillus subtilis, but its homologues are present in many other Gram-positive bacteria, including Clostridia species. Besides its role as topological regulator of the Min system during bacterial cell division, DivIVA is involved in chromosome segregation during sporulation, genetic competence, and cell wall synthesis. DivIVA localizes to regions of high membrane curvature, such as the cell poles and cell division site, where it recruits distinct binding partners. Previously, it was suggested that negative curvature sensing is the main mechanism by which DivIVA binds to these specific regions. Here, we show that Clostridioides difficile DivIVA binds preferably to membranes containing negatively charged phospholipids, especially cardiolipin. Strikingly, we observed that upon binding, DivIVA modifies the lipid distribution and induces changes to lipid bilayers containing cardiolipin. Our observations indicate that DivIVA might play a more complex and so far unknown active role during the formation of the cell division septal membrane.


Membranes ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (5) ◽  
pp. 364
Author(s):  
Marcelo Ayllon ◽  
Gamid Abatchev ◽  
Andrew Bogard ◽  
Rosey Whiting ◽  
Sarah E. Hobdey ◽  
...  

The need for alternatives to antibiotics in the fight against infectious diseases has inspired scientists to focus on antivirulence factors instead of the microorganisms themselves. In this respect, prior work indicates that tiny, enclosed bilayer lipid membranes (liposomes) have the potential to compete with cellular targets for toxin binding, hence preventing their biological attack and aiding with their clearance. The effectiveness of liposomes as decoy targets depends on their availability in the host and how rapidly they are cleared from the circulation. Although liposome PEGylation may improve their circulation time, little is known about how such a modification influences their interactions with antivirulence factors. To fill this gap in knowledge, we investigated regular and long-circulating liposomes for their ability to prevent in vitro red blood cell hemolysis induced by two potent lytic toxins, lysenin and streptolysin O. Our explorations indicate that both regular and long-circulating liposomes are capable of similarly preventing lysis induced by streptolysin O. In contrast, PEGylation reduced the effectiveness against lysenin-induced hemolysis and altered binding dynamics. These results suggest that toxin removal by long-circulating liposomes is feasible, yet dependent on the particular virulence factor under scrutiny.


2021 ◽  
Vol 359 ◽  
pp. 129931
Author(s):  
Nicola Landi ◽  
Sara Ragucci ◽  
Rosanna Culurciello ◽  
Rosita Russo ◽  
Mariangela Valletta ◽  
...  

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document