Theoretical study of protein--lipid interactions in bilayer membranes.

Publisher Website
Google Scholar
Abstract
An analysis is given for the perturbation of the order and composition of lipid bilayers near an intrinsic membrane protein. Two cases are examined: the protein influences the lipid order (i.e., fluidity), and the protein associates with one component of a lipid mixture preferentially. The order perturbation is studied as a function of temperature and lateral pressure by using Landau-de Gennes theory and a variational procedure. For a given lateral pressure, the greatest amount of boundary lipid is present at the lipid phase-transition temperature. A critical point for the phase transition occurs, near which the amount of boundary lipid increases dramatically. The composition perturbation is modeled in a binary lipid mixture by using a simple regular solution theory. The perturbation is found not to extend much beyond the directly bound layer of lipids unless the solution is near a critical mixing point.

This publication has 19 references indexed in Scilit: