A dynamic view of peptides and proteins in membranes.
Biological membranes are highly dynamic supramolecular arrangements of lipids and proteins, which fulfill key cellular functions. Relatively few high-resolution membrane protein structures are known to date, although during recent years the structural databases have expanded at an accelerated pace. In some instances the structures of reaction intermediates provide a stroboscopic view on the conformational changes involved in protein function. Other biophysical approaches add dynamic aspects and allow one to investigate the interactions with the lipid bilayers. Membrane-active peptides fulfill many important functions in nature as they act as antimicrobials, channels, transporters or hormones, and their studies have much increased our understanding of polypeptide-membrane interactions. Interestingly several proteins have been identified that interact with the membrane as loose arrays of domains. Such conformations easily escape classical high-resolution structural analysis and the lessons learned from peptides may therefore be instructive for our understanding of the functioning of such membrane proteins.
Bechinger
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B
Institut de chimie, CNRS, Université Louis Pasteur, UMR 7177, 4 rue Blaise Pascal, 67000, Strasbourg, France. bechinger@chimie.u-strasbg.fr
D008051:Lipid Bilayers / Q000737:chemistry; D008055:Lipids / Q000737:chemistry; D008565:Membrane Proteins / Q000737:chemistry / Q000378:metabolism*; D008566:Membranes / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000378:metabolism; D010455:Peptides / Q000737:chemistry / Q000378:metabolism*
D008051:Lipid Bilayers; D008055:Lipids; D008565:Membrane Proteins; D010455:Peptides