Biochemistry. 2021 Apr 13;60(14):1108-1119. doi: 10.1021/acs.biochem.0c00924. Epub 2021 Mar 23.
Methods for maintaining membrane proteins in their native state after removal from the lipid bilayer are essential for the study of this important class of biomacromolecules. Common solubilization strategies range from the use of detergents to more complex systems that involve a polypeptide working in concert with lipids or detergents, such as nanodiscs, picodiscs, and peptidiscs, in which an engineered protein or synthetic peptide surrounds the membrane protein along with a lipid sheath. Picodiscs employ the protein saposin A, which naturally functions to facilitate lipid degradation in the lysozome. Saposin A-amphiphile complexes therefore tend to be most stable at acidic pH, which is not optimal for most membrane protein applications. In search of new picodisc assemblies, we have explored pairings of saposin A or other saposin proteins with a range of detergents, and we have identified a number of combinations that spontaneously co-assemble at neutral pH. The resulting picodiscs are stable for weeks and have been characterized by size-exclusion chromatography, native mass spectrometry, and small angle X-ray scattering. The new assemblies are formed by double-tail detergents rather than more traditional single-tail detergents; the double-tail detergents can be seen as structurally intermediate between single-tail detergents and common lipids. In addition to saposin A, an engineered variant of saposin B (designated saposin B) forms picodisc assemblies. These findings provide a framework for future efforts to solubilize membrane proteins with multiple picodisc systems that were previously unknown.
从脂质双层中去除后保持膜蛋白处于天然状态的方法对于研究这种重要的生物大分子类群至关重要。常见的增溶策略范围从使用去污剂到更复杂的系统,涉及与脂质或去污剂协同作用的多肽,例如纳米盘、皮克盘和肽盘,其中工程蛋白或合成肽与脂质鞘一起包围膜蛋白。皮克盘采用天然功能是促进溶酶体中脂质降解的类脂运载蛋白 A。因此,类脂运载蛋白 A-两亲复合物在酸性 pH 下通常最稳定,这对于大多数膜蛋白应用不是最佳的。为了寻找新的皮克盘组装体,我们探索了类脂运载蛋白 A 或其他类脂运载蛋白蛋白与一系列去污剂的配对,并且已经确定了许多在中性 pH 下自发共组装的组合。所得皮克盘稳定数周,并且已经通过尺寸排阻色谱法、天然质谱法和小角度 X 射线散射法进行了表征。新的组装体是由双尾去污剂而不是更传统的单尾去污剂形成的;双尾去污剂可以被视为介于单尾去污剂和常见脂质之间的结构中间体。除了类脂运载蛋白 A 之外,类脂运载蛋白 B 的工程变体(指定为类脂运载蛋白 B)也形成皮克盘组装体。这些发现为未来用以前未知的多个皮克盘系统溶解膜蛋白的努力提供了框架。