This proposal tests the notion that dynamic presentation of topochemical cues can trigger curvature-dependent spatial organization and remodeling in supported lipid bilayers. In biological membranes, bilayer curvature is not a passive consequence of cellular activity. Rather it represents an active conformational switch to spatially regulate many cell surface interactions and intracellular trafficking. Despite their importance, model membrane configurations that afford controlled introduction of static and dynamic curvatures are sparse. The effort is focused on devising and employing model membrane configurations that allow fundamental investigations of couplings between curvature, composition, and dynamics in purely lipid based, simple membrane environments primarily using a combination of routine quantitative applications of epi and confocal fluorescence, optical ellipsometric, and atomic force microscopies. Some experiments also utilize Fourier transform infrared vibrational spectroscopy and differential scanning calorimetry.
Intellectual Merit. The effort proposed advances the concept of curvature-niche defined by the local molecular organization (e.g., chemical composition) and membrane physical properties (e.g., packing defects, phase transition properties, and membrane tension). This niche, it is suggested, localizes key physical chemical interactions whose interplay produces curvature specificity and "curvature-sensing" capabilities. The work develops and employs two parallel classes of model membrane configuration that integrate supported lipid bilayers with (1)switchable topography elastomeric substrates and (2) planar colloidal crystal substrates. The generic nature of these platforms affords the range of biophysical studies of curvature dependent membrane organization, remodeling, and their functional consequences. The aims are focused on three specific areas: (1) the basis for curvature dependent spatial organization and phase separation of membrane molecules with defined molecular shapes including those found in plant thylakoid or bacterial membranes; (2) dynamic re-equilibration and curvature niche formation via time dependent introduction of membrane curvatures; and (3) membrane remodeling via sphingomyelinase action which generates molecules with spontaneous curvature and role of curvatures in promoting activation of a water soluble phospholipase enzyme.
Broader Impact. This proposal contributes to the rapidly growing collaboration between physical and biological sciences. It takes advantage of molecular definition and supramolecular biomolecular structures templated at corrugated surfaces to begin to address long standing questions regarding the coupling of curvature, dynamics, and composition in lipid bilayers. The work proposed integrates materials science, surface chemistry, and biophysics in a manner that allows a seamless integration of research with education. It seeks to exploit this opportunity for broader impact in multiple ways. First, it is suggested that the effort will serve as a base for developing individual and center type collaborations that benefit from parallel efforts in theory and computations, biological sciences, and applications of high resolution optical tools. Second, the research activities planned will help advance the use of physical science based approaches and quantitative methods to addressing biologically important problems. Third, the work proposed will be leveraged to develop a course in engineering biology with a focus on molecular level design. Fourth, the corollary components of the project, in particular thylakoid-mimetic membranes, offer students opportunities to explore their research toward intellectual property development and/or develop an academic focus between energy and biology. Fifth, it will help ongoing efforts in building the group environment as a melting pot of disparate scientific disciplines. Sixth, it will enhance outreach activities by the involvement of undergraduate students and underrepresented groups.
Bending on Command: Programmed Bending Reveals Dynamic Mechanochemical Coupling in Supported Lipid Bilayers Atul N. Parikh, University of California, Davis, CA 95616 USA In living cells, mechanochemical coupling represents a dynamic means by which membrane components are spatially organized. An extra-ordinary example of such coupling involves curvature-dependent polar localization of chemically-distinct lipid domains at bacterial poles, which also undergo dramatic re-equilibration upon subtle changes in their interfacial environment such as during sporulation. In our IPT-supported work, we have recently demonstrated that such interfacially-triggered mechanochemical coupling can be recapitulated in vitro by simultaneous, real-time introduction of mechanically-generated periodic curvatures and attendant strain-induced lateral forces in lipid bilayers supported on elastomeric substrates. In particular, we show that real-time wrinkling of the elastomeric substrate prompts a dynamic domain reorganization within the adhering bilayer, producing large, oriented liquid-ordered domains in regions of low curvature. Our results suggest a mechanism in which interfacial forces generated during surface wrinkling and the topographical deformation of the bilayer combine to facilitate dynamic re-equilibration prompting the observed domain reorganization. We anticipate this curvature-generating model system will prove to be a simple and versatile tool for a broad range of studies of curvature-dependent dynamic reorganizations in membranes that are constrained by the interfacial elastic and dynamic frameworks such as the cell wall, glycocalyx, and cytoskeleton. The work was carried out by Sean Gilmore, a graduate student in the interdisciplinary department of Applied Science at UC Davis in tight partnership with an undergraduate, Harika Nanduri (now a graduate student at UC Berkeley), from Biomedical Engineering. Broader Impacts and Benefits to Society. Membranes of living cells represents the first line of defense/response against environmental assaults/stimuli. In response to external mechanical/chemical stimuli, they often reorganize their molecular components to turn on or off selected function. One mechanism by which membranes achieve this astonishing feat involves dynamic generation of curvatures. In the work supported by CBET, we report a novel synthetic means to dynamically impose curvature on membrane lipids. The work brings us closer to understanding how interfacial forces generating mechanical responses of tension and curvatures couple with chemistry at cellular surfaces. It also provides a simple, non-biological experimental model to dissect these essential cellular processes at the molecular level.
