When detergent meets bilayer: Birth and coming of age of lipid bicelles

The fusion peptide of SARS-CoV-2 spike is essential for infection. How this charged and hydrophobic domain occupies and affects membranes needs clarification. Its depth in zwitterionic, bilayered micelles at pH 5 (resembling late endosomes) was measured by paramagnetic NMR relaxation enhancements used to bias molecular dynamics simulations. Asp830 inserted deeply, along with Lys825 or Lys835. Protonation of Asp830 appeared to enhance agreement of simulated and NMR-measured depths. While the fusion peptide occupied a leaflet of the DMPC bilayer, the opposite leaflet invaginated with influx of water and choline head groups in around Asp830 and bilayer-inserted polar side chains. NMR-detected hydrogen exchange found corroborating hydration of the backbone of Thr827-Phe833 inserted deeply in bicelles. Pinching of the membrane at the inserted charge and the intramembrane hydration of polar groups agree with theory. Formation of corridors of hydrated, inward-turned head groups was accompanied by flip-flop of head groups. Potential roles of the defects are discussed.

Homeoprotein transcription factors have the property of interacting with membranes through their DNA-binding homeodomain, which is involved in unconventional internalization and secretion. Both processes depend on membrane-translocating events but their detailed molecular mechanisms are still poorly understood. We have previously characterized the conformational properties of Engrailed 2 homeodomain (EnHD) in aqueous solution and in micelles as membrane-mimetic environments. In the present study, we used small isotropic lipid bicelles as a more relevant membrane-mimetic model to characterize the membrane-bound state of EnHD. We show that lipid bicelles, in contrast to micelles, adequately reproduce the requirement of anionic lipids in the membrane binding and conformational transition of EnHD. The fold-unfold transition of EnHD induced by anionic lipids was characterized by NMR using ¹H, ¹³C, ¹⁵N chemical shifts, nuclear Overhauser effects, residual dipolar couplings, intramolecular and intermolecular paramagnetic relaxation enhancements induced by site-directed spin-label or paramagnetic lipid probe, respectively. A global unpacking of EnHD helices is observed leading to a loss of the native fold. However, near-native propensities of EnHD backbone conformation are maintained in membrane environment, including not only the three helices but also the turn connecting helices H2 and H3. NMR and coarse-grained molecular dynamics simulations reveal that the EnHD adopts a shallow insertion in the membrane, with the three helices oriented parallel to the membrane. EnHD explores extended conformations and closed U-shaped conformations, which are stabilized by anionic lipid recruitment.

Supported lipid bilayer (SLB) coatings are versatile, cell-membrane-mimicking biointerfaces that are useful for fundamental biophysical studies and for various applications such as biosensors, diagnostics, and antifouling surfaces. However, until recently, SLB research was mainly limited to niche interfacial science research communities and ongoing material science advances have expanded the fabrication ease, scalability, and utility of SLB platforms for medical and biotechnology applications. Herein, we critically discuss ongoing progress in SLB fabrication, bioconjugation, and diagnostic applications, with particular focus on clinical-stage circulating tumor cell (CTC) detection for cancer diagnosis. A comprehensive overview of conventional and emerging SLB fabrication methods is provided along with different bioconjugation strategies to attach biomacromolecules such as proteins to SLB surfaces for molecular recognition purposes. We then examine how antibody-functionalized SLB platforms are being utilized for CTC detection and introduce clinical application examples. Future trends and application possibilities are also projected and demonstrate how SLB coatings are evolving into a robust surface functionalization option for endowing sensor surfaces with biomimetic functionalities.

Lipid bicelles are cell membrane-mimicking nanostructures that self-assemble from mixtures of long- and short-chain lipidic components and are widely used in various applications related to structural biology, drug delivery, and interfacial science. To date, most research efforts have focused on bicelles as passive structural carriers to host membrane proteins or hydrophobic drugs, while there remains untapped potential to engineer functionally active lipid bicelles that contain biologically important lipidic components for targeted applications. Herein, we developed antibiotic-free, antibacterial bicellar nanostructures composed of a long-chain phospholipid and glycerol monolaurate, which is a monoglyceride that exhibits membrane-disruptive inhibitory activity against various bacteria and membrane-enveloped viruses. Quartz crystal microbalance-dissipation and time-lapse fluorescence microscopy imaging experiments were conducted to identify fusogenic bicellar compositions with optimal levels of pore-like, membrane-disruptive activity that was distinct from the activity of the monoglyceride alone. Cryogenic transmission electron microscopy was performed to characterize the lamellar-phase nanostructure properties of the lead bicelle composition along with in vitro antibacterial assays, which identified that the bicelles inhibited Staphylococcus aureus bacteria via a killing mechanism. Collectively, these findings demonstrate the potential of applying molecular-level engineering strategies to fabricate lipid bicelles with membrane-disruptive properties relevant to anti-infective applications.

Supported lipid bilayers (SLBs) spanning hydrophilic surfaces are industrially attractive biomimetic coatings that mimic critical aspects of lipid membrane interfaces and are increasingly used in applications spanning medicine, biotechnology, and environmental science. The use of adsorbing bicelle lipid nanostructures composed of long- and short-chain phospholipid mixtures is an effective self-assembly driven process for streamlined SLB fabrication. However, existing studies use synthetic short-chain phospholipids as a necessary bicelle component and such materials are not practical for industrial applications. Herein, we investigated optimal conditions to fabricate SLBs from bicelles containing an industrially useful monoglyceride called monocaprin (MC) in place of short-chain phospholipids. The ratio of long-chain phospholipid to MC along with total lipid concentration were systematically tested. Quartz crystal microbalance-dissipation (QCM-D) and time-lapse fluorescence microscopy experiments were performed to characterize bicelle adsorption onto silicon dioxide surfaces, and fluorescence recovery after photobleaching (FRAP) measurements were conducted to evaluate lateral lipid diffusion within the fabricated lipid adlayers. Depending on bicelle parameters, high-quality SLB formation with uniform phase properties was achieved and optimal ranges are described to ensure target performance outcomes without phase separation. Together, our findings demonstrate that MC-containing bicelles are useful tools to form high-quality SLBs suitable for surface coating and biosensing applications.

The biophysical characterisation of membrane proteins and their interactions with lipids in native membrane habitat remains a major challenge. Indeed, traditional solubilisation procedures with detergents often causes the loss of native lipids surrounding membrane proteins, which ultimately impacts structural and functional properties. Recently, copolymer-based nanodiscs have emerged as a highly promising tool, thanks to their unique ability of solubilising membrane proteins directly from native membranes, in the shape of discoidal patches of lipid bilayers. While this methodology finally set us free from the use of detergents, some limitations are however associated with the use of such copolymers. Among them, one can cite the tedious control of the nanodiscs size, their instability in basic pH and in the presence of divalent cations. In this respect, many variants of the widely used Styrene Maleic Acid (SMA) copolymer have been developed to specifically address those limitations. With the multiplication of new SMA copolymer variants and the growing interest in copolymer-based nanodiscs for the characterisation of membrane proteins, there is a need to better understand and control their formation. Among the techniques used to characterise the solubilisation of lipid bilayer by amphipathic molecules, cryo-TEM, ³¹P NMR, DLS, ITC and fluorescence spectroscopy are the most widely used, with a consensus made in the sense that a combination of these techniques is required. In this work, we propose to evaluate the capacity of Microfluidic Diffusional Sizing (MDS) as a new method to follow copolymer nanodiscs formation. Originally designed to determine protein size through laminar flow diffusion, we present a novel application along with a protocol development to observe nanodiscs formation by MDS. We show that MDS allows to precisely measure the size of nanodiscs, and to determine the copolymer/lipid ratio at the onset of solubilisation. Finally, we use MDS to characterise peptide/nanodisc interaction. The technique shows a promising ability to highlight the pivotal role of lipids in promoting interactions through a case study with an aggregating peptide. This confirmed the relevance of using the MDS and nanodiscs as biomimetic models for such investigations.