Membrane curvature as an allosteric modulator of protein localization and function

by Prof. Dimitrios Stamou (University of Copenhagen, Denmark)

Thursday 11 Nov 2010, 09:00 → 10:00 Europe/Stockholm

FB42

It is becoming more and more evident that protein-protein interactions are greatly influenced by the properties of lipid membranes. This is especially true for transmembrane but also for membrane-associated proteins. Inspired by several recent high impact publications we became interested in exploring the importance of a novel membrane attribute on protein-protein interactions: membrane shape or curvature. We have recently demonstrated the possibility to construct a high throughput array of unique nanoscale membrane curvatures using single small unilamellar liposomes of different diameters (30 nm to 700 nm), and therefore curvature, that are immobilized on a surface. Here I will provide detailed biophysical information on the influence of membrane shape on the localization of membrane anchored proteins (G proteins) and the structure and function of selected channel forming transmembrane proteins.