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Mihailescu M, Worcester DL, Carroll CL, Chamberlin AR, White SH. DOTAP: Structure, hydration, and the counterion effect. Biophys J 2023; 122:1086-1093. [PMID: 36703558 PMCID: PMC10111261 DOI: 10.1016/j.bpj.2023.01.031] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/24/2022] [Revised: 01/04/2023] [Accepted: 01/23/2023] [Indexed: 01/27/2023] Open
Abstract
The cationic lipid 1,2-dioleoyl-3-trimethylammonium propane (DOTAP) is one of the original synthetic cationic lipids used for the liposomal transfection of oligonucleotides in gene therapy. The key structural element of DOTAP is its quaternary ammonium headgroup that is responsible for interactions with both nucleic acids and target cell membranes. Because these interactions are fundamental to the design of a major class of transfection lipids, it is important to understand the structure of DOTAP and how it interacts with halide counterions. Here, we use x-ray and neutron diffraction techniques to examine the structure of DOTAP and how chloride (Cl-) and iodide (I-) counterions alter the hydration properties of the DOTAP headgroup. A problem of particular interest is the poor solubility of DOTAP/I- in water solutions. Our results show that the poor solubility results from very tight binding of the I- counterion to the headgroup and the consequent expulsion of water. The structural principles we report here are important for assessing the suitability of DOTAP and its quaternary ammonium derivatives for transfection.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mihaela Mihailescu
- Institute for Bioscience and Biotechnology Research, Rockville, Maryland.
| | - David L Worcester
- Biology Division, University of Missouri, Columbia, Missouri; NIST Center for Neutron Research, National Institute of Standards and Technology, Gaithersburg, Maryland; Department of Physiology and Biophysics, University of California at Irvine, Irvine, California
| | | | - A Richard Chamberlin
- Department of Chemistry, University of California at Irvine, Irvine, California; Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences, University of California at Irvine, Irvine, California
| | - Stephen H White
- NIST Center for Neutron Research, National Institute of Standards and Technology, Gaithersburg, Maryland; Department of Physiology and Biophysics, University of California at Irvine, Irvine, California
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Musculoskeletal Features without Ataxia Associated with a Novel de novo Mutation in KCNA1 Impairing the Voltage Sensitivity of Kv1.1 Channel. Biomedicines 2021; 9:biomedicines9010075. [PMID: 33466780 PMCID: PMC7829709 DOI: 10.3390/biomedicines9010075] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/30/2020] [Revised: 01/02/2021] [Accepted: 01/06/2021] [Indexed: 02/06/2023] Open
Abstract
The KCNA1 gene encodes the α subunit of the voltage-gated Kv1.1 potassium channel that critically regulates neuronal excitability in the central and peripheral nervous systems. Mutations in KCNA1 have been classically associated with episodic ataxia type 1 (EA1), a movement disorder triggered by physical and emotional stress. Additional features variably reported in recent years include epilepsy, myokymia, migraine, paroxysmal dyskinesia, hyperthermia, hypomagnesemia, and cataplexy. Interestingly, a few individuals with neuromyotonia, either isolated or associated with skeletal deformities, have been reported carrying variants in the S2–S3 transmembrane segments of Kv1.1 channels in the absence of any other symptoms. Here, we have identified by whole-exome sequencing a novel de novo variant, T268K, in KCNA1 in a boy displaying recurrent episodes of neuromyotonia, muscle hypertrophy, and skeletal deformities. Through functional analysis in heterologous cells and structural modeling, we show that the mutation, located at the extracellular end of the S3 helix, causes deleterious effects, disrupting Kv1.1 function by altering the voltage dependence of activation and kinetics of deactivation, likely due to abnormal interactions with the voltage sensor in the S4 segment. Our study supports previous evidence suggesting that specific residues within the S2 and S3 segments of Kv1.1 result in a distinctive phenotype with predominant musculoskeletal presentation.
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Orädd F, Andersson M. Tracking Membrane Protein Dynamics in Real Time. J Membr Biol 2021; 254:51-64. [PMID: 33409541 PMCID: PMC7936944 DOI: 10.1007/s00232-020-00165-8] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/21/2020] [Accepted: 12/11/2020] [Indexed: 12/14/2022]
Abstract
Abstract Membrane proteins govern critical cellular processes and are central to human health and associated disease. Understanding of membrane protein function is obscured by the vast ranges of structural dynamics—both in the spatial and time regime—displayed in the protein and surrounding membrane. The membrane lipids have emerged as allosteric modulators of membrane protein function, which further adds to the complexity. In this review, we discuss several examples of membrane dependency. A particular focus is on how molecular dynamics (MD) simulation have aided to map membrane protein dynamics and how enhanced sampling methods can enable observing the otherwise inaccessible biological time scale. Also, time-resolved X-ray scattering in solution is highlighted as a powerful tool to track membrane protein dynamics, in particular when combined with MD simulation to identify transient intermediate states. Finally, we discuss future directions of how to further develop this promising approach to determine structural dynamics of both the protein and the surrounding lipids. Graphic Abstract ![]()
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Affiliation(s)
- Fredrik Orädd
- Department of Chemistry, Umeå University, Umeå, Sweden
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Zubcevic L. Temperature‐sensitive transient receptor potential vanilloid channels: structural insights into ligand‐dependent activation. Br J Pharmacol 2020; 179:3542-3559. [DOI: 10.1111/bph.15310] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/06/2020] [Revised: 10/19/2020] [Accepted: 10/27/2020] [Indexed: 12/15/2022] Open
Affiliation(s)
- Lejla Zubcevic
- Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology The University of Kansas School of Medicine Kansas City KS USA
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5
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Zubcevic L. TRP Channels, Conformational Flexibility, and the Lipid Membrane. J Membr Biol 2020; 253:299-308. [DOI: 10.1007/s00232-020-00127-0] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/15/2020] [Accepted: 06/11/2020] [Indexed: 02/06/2023]
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Cholesterol-Dependent Gating Effects on Ion Channels. ADVANCES IN EXPERIMENTAL MEDICINE AND BIOLOGY 2019; 1115:167-190. [PMID: 30649760 DOI: 10.1007/978-3-030-04278-3_8] [Citation(s) in RCA: 17] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/24/2022]
Abstract
Biomembranes separate a live cell from its environment and keep it in an off-equilibrium, steady state. They contain both phospholipids and nonphospholipids, depending on whether there are phosphate groups in the headgroup regions. Cholesterol (CHOL) is one type of nonphospholipids, and one of the most abundant lipid molecules in humans. Its content in plasma membranes and intracellular membranes varies and is tightly regulated. Voltage-gated ion channels are universally present in every cell and are fairly diversified in the eukaryotic domain of life. Our lipid-dependent gating hypothesis postulates that the controlled switch of the voltage-sensor domains (VSDs) in a voltage-gated potassium (Kv) channel between the "down" and the "up" state (gating) is sensitive to the ratio of phospholipids:nonphospholipids in the annular layer around the channel. High CHOL content is found to exert strong inhibitory effects on Kv channels. Such effects have been observed in in vitro membranes, cultured cells, and animal models for cholesterol metabolic defects. Thermodynamic analysis of the CHOL-dependent gating suggests that the inhibitory effects of CHOL result from collective interactions between annular CHOL molecules and the channel, which appear to be a more generic principle behind the CHOL effects on other ion channels and transporters. We will review the recent progress in the CHOL-dependent gating of voltage-gated ion channels, discuss the current technical limitations, and then expand briefly the learned principles to other ion channels that are known to be sensitive to the CHOL-channel interactions.
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7
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Uptake dynamics in the Lactose permease (LacY) membrane protein transporter. Sci Rep 2018; 8:14324. [PMID: 30254312 PMCID: PMC6156506 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-018-32624-7] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/18/2018] [Accepted: 09/12/2018] [Indexed: 11/08/2022] Open
Abstract
The sugar transporter Lactose permease (LacY) of Escherichia coli has become a prototype to understand the underlying molecular details of membrane transport. Crystal structures have trapped the protein in sugar-bound states facing the periplasm, but with narrow openings unable to accommodate sugar. Therefore, the molecular details of sugar uptake remain elusive. In this work, we have used extended simulations and metadynamics sampling to explore a putative sugar-uptake pathway and associated free energy landscape. We found an entrance at helix-pair 2 and 11, which involved lipid head groups and residues Gln 241 and Gln 359. Furthermore, the protein displayed high flexibility on the periplasmic side of Phe 27, which is located at the narrowest section of the pathway. Interactions to Phe 27 enabled passage into the binding site, which was associated with a 24 ± 4 kJ/mol binding free energy in excellent agreement with an independent binding free energy calculation and experimental data. Two free energy minima corresponding to the two possible binding poses of the lactose analog β-D-galactopyranosyl-1-thio-β-D-galactopyranoside (TDG) were aligned with the crystal structure-binding pocket. This work outlines the chemical environment of a putative periplasmic sugar pathway and paves way for understanding substrate affinity and specificity in LacY.
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8
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Grønberg C, Sitsel O, Lindahl E, Gourdon P, Andersson M. Membrane Anchoring and Ion-Entry Dynamics in P-type ATPase Copper Transport. Biophys J 2016; 111:2417-2429. [PMID: 27926843 PMCID: PMC5153542 DOI: 10.1016/j.bpj.2016.10.020] [Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/06/2016] [Revised: 09/29/2016] [Accepted: 10/17/2016] [Indexed: 12/23/2022] Open
Abstract
Cu+-specific P-type ATPase membrane protein transporters regulate cellular copper levels. The lack of crystal structures in Cu+-binding states has limited our understanding of how ion entry and binding are achieved. Here, we characterize the molecular basis of Cu+ entry using molecular-dynamics simulations, structural modeling, and in vitro and in vivo functional assays. Protein structural rearrangements resulting in the exposure of positive charges to bulk solvent rather than to lipid phosphates indicate a direct molecular role of the putative docking platform in Cu+ delivery. Mutational analyses and simulations in the presence and absence of Cu+ predict that the ion-entry path involves two ion-binding sites: one transient Met148-Cys382 site and one intramembranous site formed by trigonal coordination to Cys384, Asn689, and Met717. The results reconcile earlier biochemical and x-ray absorption data and provide a molecular understanding of ion entry in Cu+-transporting P-type ATPases.
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Affiliation(s)
| | | | - Erik Lindahl
- Biochemistry & Biophysics, Science for Life Laboratory, Stockholm University, Stockholm, Sweden
| | - Pontus Gourdon
- University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark; Department of Experimental Medical Science, Lund University, Lund, Sweden
| | - Magnus Andersson
- Theoretical Physics and Swedish e-Science Research Center, Science for Life Laboratory, KTH Royal Institute of Technology, Solna, Sweden.
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9
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Yazdi S, Stein M, Elinder F, Andersson M, Lindahl E. The Molecular Basis of Polyunsaturated Fatty Acid Interactions with the Shaker Voltage-Gated Potassium Channel. PLoS Comput Biol 2016; 12:e1004704. [PMID: 26751683 PMCID: PMC4709198 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pcbi.1004704] [Citation(s) in RCA: 41] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/06/2015] [Accepted: 12/11/2015] [Indexed: 11/19/2022] Open
Abstract
Voltage-gated potassium (KV) channels are membrane proteins that respond to changes in membrane potential by enabling K+ ion flux across the membrane. Polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs) induce channel opening by modulating the voltage-sensitivity, which can provide effective treatment against refractory epilepsy by means of a ketogenic diet. While PUFAs have been reported to influence the gating mechanism by electrostatic interactions to the voltage-sensor domain (VSD), the exact PUFA-protein interactions are still elusive. In this study, we report on the interactions between the Shaker KV channel in open and closed states and a PUFA-enriched lipid bilayer using microsecond molecular dynamics simulations. We determined a putative PUFA binding site in the open state of the channel located at the protein-lipid interface in the vicinity of the extracellular halves of the S3 and S4 helices of the VSD. In particular, the lipophilic PUFA tail covered a wide range of non-specific hydrophobic interactions in the hydrophobic central core of the protein-lipid interface, while the carboxylic head group displayed more specific interactions to polar/charged residues at the extracellular regions of the S3 and S4 helices, encompassing the S3-S4 linker. Moreover, by studying the interactions between saturated fatty acids (SFA) and the Shaker KV channel, our study confirmed an increased conformational flexibility in the polyunsaturated carbon tails compared to saturated carbon chains, which may explain the specificity of PUFA action on channel proteins.
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Affiliation(s)
- Samira Yazdi
- Max Planck Institute for Dynamics of Complex Technical Systems, Molecular Simulations and Design Group, Magdeburg, Germany
| | - Matthias Stein
- Max Planck Institute for Dynamics of Complex Technical Systems, Molecular Simulations and Design Group, Magdeburg, Germany
| | - Fredrik Elinder
- Department of Clinical and Experimental Medicine, Linköping University, Linköping, Sweden
| | - Magnus Andersson
- Science for Life Laboratory, Stockholm and Uppsala, Stockholm, Sweden
- Theoretical and Computational Biophysics, Department of Theoretical Physics, KTH Royal Institute of Technology, Stockholm, Sweden
| | - Erik Lindahl
- Science for Life Laboratory, Stockholm and Uppsala, Stockholm, Sweden
- Theoretical and Computational Biophysics, Department of Theoretical Physics, KTH Royal Institute of Technology, Stockholm, Sweden
- Department of Biochemistry and Biophysics, Center for Biomembrane Research, Stockholm University, Stockholm, Sweden
- * E-mail:
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Rajapaksha SP, Pal N, Zheng D, Lu HP. Protein-fluctuation-induced water-pore formation in ion channel voltage-sensor translocation across a lipid bilayer membrane. PHYSICAL REVIEW. E, STATISTICAL, NONLINEAR, AND SOFT MATTER PHYSICS 2015; 92:052719. [PMID: 26651735 DOI: 10.1103/physreve.92.052719] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/24/2015] [Indexed: 06/05/2023]
Abstract
We have applied a combined fluorescence microscopy and single-ion-channel electric current recording approach, correlating with molecular dynamics (MD) simulations, to study the mechanism of voltage-sensor domain translocation across a lipid bilayer. We use the colicin Ia ion channel as a model system, and our experimental and simulation results show the following: (1) The open-close activity of an activated colicin Ia is not necessarily sensitive to the amplitude of the applied cross-membrane voltage when the cross-membrane voltage is around the resting potential of excitable membranes; and (2) there is a significant probability that the activation of colicin Ia occurs by forming a transient and fluctuating water pore of ∼15 Å diameter in the lipid bilayer membrane. The location of the water-pore formation is nonrandom and highly specific, right at the insertion site of colicin Ia charged residues in the lipid bilayer membrane, and the formation is intrinsically associated with the polypeptide conformational fluctuations and solvation dynamics. Our results suggest an interesting mechanistic pathway for voltage-sensitive ion channel activation, and specifically for translocation of charged polypeptide chains across the lipid membrane under a transmembrane electric field: the charged polypeptide domain facilitates the formation of hydrophilic water pore in the membrane and diffuses through the hydrophilic pathway across the membrane; i.e., the charged polypeptide chain can cross a lipid membrane without entering into the hydrophobic core of the lipid membrane but entirely through the aqueous and hydrophilic environment to achieve a cross-membrane translocation. This mechanism sheds light on the intensive and fundamental debate on how a hydrophilic and charged peptide domain diffuses across the biologically inaccessible high-energy barrier of the hydrophobic core of a lipid bilayer: The peptide domain does not need to cross the hydrophobic core to move across a lipid bilayer.
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Affiliation(s)
- Suneth P Rajapaksha
- Department of Chemistry and Center for Photochemical Sciences, Bowling Green State University, Bowling Green, Ohio 43403, USA
| | - Nibedita Pal
- Department of Chemistry and Center for Photochemical Sciences, Bowling Green State University, Bowling Green, Ohio 43403, USA
| | - Desheng Zheng
- Department of Chemistry and Center for Photochemical Sciences, Bowling Green State University, Bowling Green, Ohio 43403, USA
| | - H Peter Lu
- Department of Chemistry and Center for Photochemical Sciences, Bowling Green State University, Bowling Green, Ohio 43403, USA
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11
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Kitjaruwankul S, Boonamnaj P, Fuklang S, Supunyabut C, Sompornpisut P. Shaping the Water Crevice To Accommodate the Voltage Sensor in a Down Conformation: A Molecular Dynamics Simulation Study. J Phys Chem B 2015; 119:6516-24. [DOI: 10.1021/acs.jpcb.5b00787] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/29/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Sunan Kitjaruwankul
- Graduate
School of Nanoscience and Technology, Chulalongkorn University, Bangkok 10330, Thailand
| | - Panisak Boonamnaj
- Department
of Chemistry, Faculty of Science, Chulalongkorn University, Bangkok 10330, Thailand
| | - Sunit Fuklang
- Department
of Chemistry, Faculty of Science, Chulalongkorn University, Bangkok 10330, Thailand
| | - Chirayut Supunyabut
- Department
of Chemistry, Faculty of Science, Chulalongkorn University, Bangkok 10330, Thailand
| | - Pornthep Sompornpisut
- Department
of Chemistry, Faculty of Science, Chulalongkorn University, Bangkok 10330, Thailand
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12
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Voltage-gated ion channel modulation by lipids: insights from molecular dynamics simulations. BIOCHIMICA ET BIOPHYSICA ACTA-BIOMEMBRANES 2014; 1838:1322-31. [PMID: 24513257 DOI: 10.1016/j.bbamem.2014.01.024] [Citation(s) in RCA: 30] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/05/2013] [Revised: 01/17/2014] [Accepted: 01/24/2014] [Indexed: 11/20/2022]
Abstract
Cells commonly use lipids to modulate the function of ion channels. The lipid content influences the amplitude of the ionic current and changes the probability of voltage-gated ion channels being in the active or in the resting states. Experimental findings inferred from a variety of techniques and molecular dynamics studies have revealed a direct interaction between the lipid headgroups and the ion channel residues, suggesting an influence on the ion channel function. On the other hand the alteration of the lipids may in principle modify the overall electrostatic environment of the channel, and hence the transmembrane potential, leading to an indirect modulation, i.e. a global effect. Here we have investigated the structural and dynamical properties of the voltage-gated potassium channel Kv1.2 embedded in bilayers with modified upper or lower leaflet compositions corresponding to realistic biological scenarios: the first relates to the effects of sphingomyelinase, an enzyme that modifies the composition of lipids of the outer membrane leaflets, and the second to the effect of the presence of a small fraction of PIP2, a highly negatively charged lipid known to modulate voltage-gated channel function. Our molecular dynamics simulations do not enable to exclude the global effect mechanism in the former case. For the latter, however, it is shown that local interactions between the ion channel and the lipid headgroups are key-elements of the modulation.
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Pan J, Cheng X, Heberle FA, Mostofian B, Kučerka N, Drazba P, Katsaras J. Interactions between ether phospholipids and cholesterol as determined by scattering and molecular dynamics simulations. J Phys Chem B 2012. [PMID: 23199292 DOI: 10.1021/jp310345j] [Citation(s) in RCA: 30] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/29/2022]
Abstract
Cholesterol and ether lipids are ubiquitous in mammalian cell membranes, and their interactions are crucial in ether lipid mediated cholesterol trafficking. We report on cholesterol's molecular interactions with ether lipids as determined using a combination of small-angle neutron and X-ray scattering, and all-atom molecular dynamics (MD) simulations. A scattering density profile model for an ether lipid bilayer was developed using MD simulations, which was then used to simultaneously fit the different experimental scattering data. From analysis of the data the various bilayer structural parameters were obtained. Surface area constrained MD simulations were also performed to reproduce the experimental data. This iterative analysis approach resulted in good agreement between the experimental and simulated form factors. The molecular interactions taking place between cholesterol and ether lipids were then determined from the validated MD simulations. We found that in ether membranes cholesterol primarily hydrogen bonds with the lipid headgroup phosphate oxygen, while in their ester membrane counterparts cholesterol hydrogen bonds with the backbone ester carbonyls. This different mode of interaction between ether lipids and cholesterol induces cholesterol to reside closer to the bilayer surface, dehydrating the headgroup's phosphate moiety. Moreover, the three-dimensional lipid chain spatial density distribution around cholesterol indicates anisotropic chain packing, causing cholesterol to tilt. These insights lend a better understanding of ether lipid-mediated cholesterol trafficking and the roles that the different lipid species have in determining the structural and dynamical properties of membrane associated biomolecules.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jianjun Pan
- Neutron Sciences Directorate, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Oak Ridge, Tennessee 37831, United States.
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