Interactions of the M2delta segment of the acetylcholine receptor with lipid bilayers: a continuum-solvent model study.

ABSTRACT: M2delta, one of the transmembrane segments of the nicotinic acetylcholine receptor, is a 23-amino-acid peptide, frequently used as a model for peptide-membrane interactions. In this and the companion article we describe studies of M2delta-membrane interactions, using two different computational approaches. In the present work, we used continuum-solvent model calculations to investigate key thermodynamic aspects of its interactions with lipid bilayers. M2delta was represented in atomic detail and the bilayer was represented as a hydrophobic slab embedded in a structureless aqueous phase. Our calculations show that the transmembrane orientation is the most favorable orientation of the peptide in the bilayer, in good agreement with both experimental and computational data. Moreover, our calcu

SUBMITTER: Kessel A 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC1303672 | biostudies-literature | 2003 Dec

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature