Biophysical investigations with MARCKS-ED: dissecting the molecular mechanism of its curvature sensing behaviors.

ABSTRACT: Curved membranes are a common and important attribute in cells. Protein and peptide curvature sensors are known to activate signaling pathways, initiate vesicle budding, trigger membrane fusion, and facilitate molecular transport across cell membranes. Nonetheless, there is little understanding how these proteins and peptides achieve preferential binding of different membrane curvatures. The current study is to elucidate specific factors required for curvature sensing. As a model system, we employed a recently identified peptide curvature sensor, MARCKS-ED, derived from the effector domain of the myristoylated alanine-rich C kinase substrate protein, for these biophysical investigations. An atomistic molecular dynamics (MD) simulation suggested an important role played by the insertion of

SUBMITTER: Morton LA 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4194239 | biostudies-literature | 2014 Dec

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature