Lipidic Cubic Phase-Induced Membrane Protein Crystallization: Interplay Between Lipid Molecular Structure, Mesophase Structure and Properties, and Crystallogenesis

• DOI: 10.1021/acs.cgd.7b00519
• Publication Date: 2017-08-16T15:35:43Z
• Authors: Alexandru Zabara; Thomas G. Meikle; Raphael Trenker; Shenggen Yao; Janet Newman; Thomas S. Peat; Frances Separovic; Charlotte E. Conn; Melissa J. Call; Matthew E. Call; Ehud M. Landau; Calum J. Drummond
• Keywords: Protein crystallization; Structural Biology

Obtaining well-diffracting crystals of membrane proteins, which is crucial to the molecular-level understanding their intrinsic three-dimensional structure, dynamics, and function, represents a fundamental bottleneck in field structural biology. One major advances protein determination was realization that nanostructured lipidic cubic phase (LCP) environment constitutes mimetic matrix promotes solubilization, stabilization, crystallization specific proteins. Despite two decades passing since introduction LCP-based crystallization, research community's processes drive nucleation macromolecular assembly LCP generally remains limited. In current study, we present detailed, systematic investigation into relationship between chemical structure lipid, physical properties ensuing mesophase, translational diffusion encapsulated protein, resulting crystallization. Importantly, show for first time transport directly modulate size morphology fully grown without affecting crystallographic space group. These findings provide deeper crystal growth process, setting stage engineering at molecular level via intentional design host phase, and, ultimately, accelerating progress