Force transduction and lipid binding in MscL: a continuum-molecular approach.

ABSTRACT: The bacterial mechanosensitive channel MscL, a small protein mainly activated by membrane tension, is a central model system to study the transduction of mechanical stimuli into chemical signals. Mutagenic studies suggest that MscL gating strongly depends on both intra-protein and interfacial lipid-protein interactions. However, there is a gap between this detailed chemical information and current mechanical models of MscL gating. Here, we investigate the MscL bilayer-protein interface through molecular dynamics simulations, and take a combined continuum-molecular approach to connect chemistry and mechanics. We quantify the effect of membrane tension on the forces acting on the surface of the channel, and identify interactions that may be critical in the force transduction between the memb

SUBMITTER: Vanegas JM 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4250078 | biostudies-literature | 2014

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature