title: Sensitivity of prestin-based membrane motor to membrane thickness.
abstract: Prestin is the membrane protein in outer hair cells that harnesses electrical energy by changing its membrane area in response to changes in the membrane potential. To examine the effect of membrane thickness on this protein, phosphatidylcholine (PC) with various acyl-chain lengths were incorporated into the plasma membrane by using gamma-cyclodextrin. Incorporation of short chain PCs increased the linear capacitance and positively shifted the voltage dependence of prestin, up to 120 mV, in cultured cells. PCs with long acyl chains had the opposite effects. Because the linear capacitance is inversely related to the membrane thickness, these voltage shifts are attributable to membrane thickness. The corresponding voltage shifts of electromotility were observed in outer hair cells. These results demonstrate that electromotility is extremely sensitive to the thickness of the plasma membrane, presumably involving hydrophobic mismatch. These observations indicate that the extended state of the motor molecule, which is associated with the elongation of outer hair cells, has a conformation with a shorter hydrophobic height in the lipid bilayer.
authors.affiliation: Biophysics Section, National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders, National Institutes of Health, Rockville, Maryland, USA.
authors.forename: Jie
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Fang
authors.forename: Chisako
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Izumi
authors.forename: Kuni H
authors.initials: KH
authors.lastname: Iwasa
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D002460:Cell Line; D002462:Cell Membrane / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000378:metabolism*; D002465:Cell Movement; D025802:Electric Capacitance; D006168:Guinea Pigs; D018072:Hair Cells, Auditory, Outer / Q000166:cytology / Q000378:metabolism; D006801:Humans; D020409:Molecular Motor Proteins / Q000737:chemistry / Q000378:metabolism*; D017711:Nonlinear Dynamics; D010713:Phosphatidylcholines / Q000737:chemistry / Q000378:metabolism; D011487:Protein Conformation; D011506:Proteins / Q000737:chemistry / Q000378:metabolism*; D014162:Transfection; D047408:gamma-Cyclodextrins / Q000737:chemistry / Q000378:metabolism
chemical_list: D020409:Molecular Motor Proteins; D010713:Phosphatidylcholines; C498722:Pres protein, Cavia porcellus; D011506:Proteins; D047408:gamma-Cyclodextrins