A Class of Rigid Linker-bearing Glucosides for Membrane Protein Structural Study.
Membrane proteins are amphipathic bio-macromolecules incompatible with the polar environments of aqueous media. Conventional detergents encapsulate the hydrophobic surfaces of membrane proteins allowing them to exist in aqueous solution. Membrane proteins stabilized by detergent micelles are used for structural and functional analysis. Despite the availability of a large number of detergents, only a few agents are sufficiently effective at maintaining the integrity of membrane proteins to allow successful crystallization. In the present study, we describe a novel class of synthetic amphiphiles with a branched tail group and a triglucoside head group. These head and tail groups were connected via an amide or ether linkage by using a tris(hydroxylmethyl)aminomethane (TRIS) or neopentyl glycol (NPG) linker to produce TRIS-derived triglucosides (TDTs) and NPG-derived triglucosides (NDTs), respectively. Members of this class conferred enhanced stability on target membrane proteins compared to conventional detergents. Because of straightforward synthesis of the novel agents and their favourable effects on a range of membrane proteins, these agents should be of wide applicability to membrane protein science.
Department of Bionanotechnology, Hanyang University, Ansan, 426-791 (Korea).
Aiman
A
Sadaf
Department of Neuroscience and Pharmacology, University of Copenhagen, DK-2200 Copenhagen (Denmark).
Jonas S
JS
Mortensen
Department of Life Sciences, Imperial College London London, SW7 2AZ (UK) ; Department of Biotechnology, University of Verona, 37134 Verona (Italy).
Stefano
S
Capaldi
Department of Cell Physiology and Molecular Biophysics, Center for Membrane Protein Research, School of Medicine, Texas Tech University Health Sciences.
Elena
E
Tikhonova
Department of Cell Physiology and Molecular Biophysics, Center for Membrane Protein Research, School of Medicine, Texas Tech University Health Sciences.
Parameswaran
P
Hariharan
Department of Neuroscience and Pharmacology, University of Copenhagen, DK-2200 Copenhagen (Denmark).
Orquidea
O
de Castro Ribeiro
Claus J
CJ
Loland
Lan
L
Guan
Bernadette
B
Byrne
Pil Seok
PS
Chae