Issue 18, 2023

Temperature-responsive membrane permeability of recombinant fusion protein vesicles

Abstract

In this study, we investigate the changes in the permeability of the recombinant fusion protein vesicles with different membrane structures as a function of solution temperature. The protein vesicles are self-assembled from recombinant fusion protein complexes composed of an mCherry fused with a glutamic acid-rich leucine zipper and a counter arginine-rich leucine zipper fused with an elastin-like polypeptide (ELP). We have found that the molecular weight cut-off (MWCO) of the protein vesicle membranes varies inversely with solution temperature by monitoring the transport of fluorescent-tagged dextran dyes with different molecular weights. The temperature-responsiveness of the protein vesicle membranes is obtained from the lower critical solution temperature behavior of ELP in the protein building blocks. Consequently, the unique vesicle membrane structures with different single-layered and double-layered ELP organizations impact the sensitivity of the permeability responses of the protein vesicles. Single-layered protein vesicles with the ELP domains facing the interior show more drastic permeability changes as a function of temperature than double-layered protein vesicles in which ELP blocks are buried inside the membranes. This work about the temperature-responsive membrane permeability of unique protein vesicles will provide design guidelines for new biomaterials and their applications, such as drug delivery and synthetic protocell development.

Graphical abstract: Temperature-responsive membrane permeability of recombinant fusion protein vesicles

Supplementary files

Article information

Article type
Paper
Submitted
23 Jan 2023
Accepted
15 Apr 2023
First published
24 Apr 2023

Soft Matter, 2023,19, 3273-3280

Author version available

Temperature-responsive membrane permeability of recombinant fusion protein vesicles

J. Powers and Y. Jang, Soft Matter, 2023, 19, 3273 DOI: 10.1039/D3SM00096F

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