Cytosolic proteins can exploit membrane localization to trigger functional assembly.

ABSTRACT: Cell division, endocytosis, and viral budding would not function without the localization and assembly of protein complexes on membranes. What is poorly appreciated, however, is that by localizing to membranes, proteins search in a reduced space that effectively drives up concentration. Here we derive an accurate and practical analytical theory to quantify the significance of this dimensionality reduction in regulating protein assembly on membranes. We define a simple metric, an effective equilibrium constant, that allows for quantitative comparison of protein-protein interactions with and without membrane present. To test the importance of membrane localization for driving protein assembly, we collected the protein-protein and protein-lipid affinities, protein and lipid concentrations, an

SUBMITTER: Yogurtcu ON 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC5854442 | biostudies-literature | 2018 Mar

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature