Grant: Project Grant

Membrane proteins are a vital component of cells. Until recently, membrane proteins were not studied as extensively as cytosolic proteins. This is due to the propensity of membrane proteins to aggregate outside a membrane environment during their isolation using detergents. Therefore, in recent years, several membrane mimics have been developed in order to facilitate interrogation of membrane proteins by rigorous biophysical and analytical techniques. However, stabilization of membrane proteins in these mimetic remains laborious, costly and difficult to perform. To overcome these limitations, our laboratory has developed a simple method to stabilize membrane proteins in aqueous solution. Called the "peptidisc", the method uses multiple copies of a unique peptide that wraps around membrane proteins to make them feel like they never left the membrane environment. The end result is membrane proteins that are perfectly stable, soluble and free of detergent effects. The peptidisc technology will allow us to better study membrane proteins, yielding a better understanding of their structure and activity, which ones associates and how they interact in the cell and with their environment. Since the peptidisc approach is both simple and easy to apply, more membrane proteins can now also be included in high-throughput searches for new drugs that target medical conditions.