Issue 30, 2012

Membrane curvature recognition by C-reactive protein using lipoprotein mimics

Abstract

It has been reported that the oxidation of phosphatidylcholine (PC) is necessary for C-reactive protein (CRP) to bind to lipid membranes, but it remains elusive why CRP only binds oxidized membranes. Here we offer a new perspective on the role of membrane curvature in CRP binding using engineered lipoprotein particle (LPP) mimics. We show that CRP binds preferentially to LPP mimics with diameters of ≤28 nm, and binding of CRP to these mimics leads to the dissociation of native CRP into monomeric CRP, exposing CRP neo-epitopes that bind C1q. We also show that the smaller LPP mimics compete for CRP binding to oxidized low density lipoproteins (oxLDLs), suggesting that these mimics expose the same PC epitopes as those found on oxLDLs. Results from this study suggest that membrane curvature could be an additional factor influencing CRP binding of damaged membranes distinct from the oxidation of PC lipids.

Graphical abstract: Membrane curvature recognition by C-reactive protein using lipoprotein mimics

Supplementary files

Article information

Article type
Paper
Submitted
03 Apr 2012
Accepted
12 Jun 2012
First published
28 Jun 2012

Soft Matter, 2012,8, 7909-7918

Membrane curvature recognition by C-reactive protein using lipoprotein mimics

M. S. Wang, R. E. Messersmith and S. M. Reed, Soft Matter, 2012, 8, 7909 DOI: 10.1039/C2SM25779C

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