Chain-melting reentrant transition in bimolecular layers at large separations

Reconstitution and real-time quantification of membrane remodeling by single proteins and protein complexes

Cellular membrane processes, from signal transduction to membrane fusion and fission, depend on acute membrane deformations produced by small and short-lived protein complexes working in conditions far from equilibrium. Real-time monitoring and quantitative assessment of such deformations are challenging; hence, mechanistic analyses of the protein action are commonly based on ensemble averaging, which masks important mechanistic details of the action. In this protocol, we describe how to reconstruct and quantify membrane remodeling by individual proteins and small protein complexes in vitro, using an ultra-short (80- to 400-nm) lipid nanotube (usNT) template. We use the luminal conductance of the usNT as the real-time reporter of the protein interaction(s) with the usNT. We explain how to make and calibrate the usNT template to achieve subnanometer precision in the geometrical assessment of the molecular footprints on the nanotube membrane. We next demonstrate how membrane deformations driven by purified proteins implicated in cellular membrane remodeling can be analyzed at a single-molecule level. The preparation of one usNT takes ~1 h, and the shortest procedure yielding the basic geometrical parameters of a small protein complex takes 10 h.

Evidence for water structuring forces between surfaces

Structured water on apposing surfaces can generate significant energies due to reorganization and displacement of water as the surfaces encounter each other. Force measurements on a multitude of biological structures using the osmotic stress technique have elucidated commonalities that point toward an underlying hydration force. In this review, the forces of two contrasting systems are considered in detail: highly charged DNA and nonpolar, uncharged hydroxypropyl cellulose. Conditions for both net repulsion and attraction, along with the measured exclusion of chemically different solutes from these macromolecular surfaces, are explored and demonstrate common features consistent with a hydration force origin. Specifically, the observed interaction forces can be reduced to the effects of perturbing structured surface water.

Direct measurement of forces between self-assembled proteins: temperature-dependent exponential forces between collagen triple helices

We report direct measurements of force vs. separation between self-assembled proteins. These forces are observed between collagen triple helices in native and reconstituted fibers. They are a combination of a short-range repulsion, which varies exponentially over at least five decay lengths, and an inferred, longer-ranged attraction responsible for spontaneous assembly. From 5 degrees C to 35 degrees C the relative contribution of the attraction to the net force increases with temperature. These forces are strikingly similar to the "hydration" forces measured between several other linear macromolecules (DNA, polysaccharides) and between lipid bilayer membranes. The decay length of the repulsive force agrees well with a theoretical estimate based on axial periodicity of the triple helix, suggesting another connection between molecular architecture and protein-protein interaction.