Enhanced sampling for lipid-protein interactions during membrane dynamics

The inflexible concept of membrane curvature as an independent property of lipid structures is today obsolete.Lipid bilayers behave as many-body entities with emergent properties that depend on their interactions with the environment.In particular,proteins exert crucial actions on lipid molecules that ultimately condition the collective properties of the membranes.In this review,the potential of enhanced molecular dynamics to address cell-biology problems is discussed.The cases of membrane deformation,membrane fusion,and the fusion pore are analyzed from the perspective of the dimensionality reduction by collective variables.Coupled lipid-protein interactions as fundamental determinants of large membrane remodeling events are also commented.Finally,novel strategies merging cell biology and physics are considered as future lines of research.

Molecular dynamics simulation analyses of viral fusion peptides in membranes prone to phase transition: effects on membrane curvature, phase behavior and lipid-water interface destabilization

To gain insight into the atomistic details of membrane fusion induced by fusogenic peptides, molecular dynamic simulations of synthetic peptides, derived from viral fusion proteins, contained in lipid bilayers were performed. A 20 amino acid peptide from the N-terminus of the influenza HA fusion peptide (WT20) assumed the oblique orientation at the interface between water and the membrane made up of dipalmitoylphosphatidylcholine (DPPC)/palmitic acid (PA), as reported previously for different membranes. Simulations of WT20 embedded in bilayer membranes made up of dioleoylphos-phatidylethanolamine (DOPE) and DPPC/PA showed a positive curvature-inducing effect, whereas WT20 showed a negative curvature-inducing effect on a DPPC bilayer. In phase re-constitution analyses starting from a random mixture of DPPC, PA and water molecules, WT20 weakly stabilized an inverted hexagonal phase. In the latter analyses WT20 preferentially assumed a transmembrane orientation as opposed to the interfacial orientation, regardless of the phase to which the system settled (lamellar vs. inverted hexagonal). In another set of analyses using systems containing a water layer between the apposed DPPC/PA (and DOPE) monolayers, the behavior of WT20 during the formation of an intermembrane connection (or stalk) was examined. Comparison among the mutants supports a view that the oblique orientation of WT20 facilitates the perturbation of the lipid-water interface and the stalk formation. Taken together, these results imply that the influenza HA fusion peptide can have substantial effects on the membrane curvature and can assume a wide range of orientation/position in membranes depending on the local environment of the lipid/water system. Its movability and oblique orientation appear to be associated with its ability to perturb membrane/water interfaces.

Simulation and prediction of membrane fusion dynamics

Membrane fusion is an important process by which biological membranes perform their life activities. Simulations show that the membrane fusion process happens mainly through three pathways, where the Stalk-Pore hypothesis, in which two membranes come into close contact to form a stalk to a hemifusion intermediate, and then the fusion pore opens to achieve completely fusion, is widely accepted, and there exist two free energy barriers that break the current structural steady state for lipid rearrangement. Factors of lipid composition, mechanical environment, protein and ion have regulatory roles in the membrane fusion process by effecting membrane curvature structurally and the free energy barriers from energetic perspective. Meanwhile, many theoretical models, represented by the Helfrich model, have been proposed to predict the membrane fusion process. In this paper, we review the research process of membrane fusion and mainly introduce the dynamics of membrane fusion, regulation factors and typical theoretical models.

Coarse-grained simulations of branched bilayer membranes: effects of cholesterol-dependent phase separation on curvature-driven lipid sorting

Our recent coarse-grained (CG) molecular dynamics (MD) simulations of membranes with a hemifused-ribbon (λ-shaped) geometry showed curvature-driven demixing leading to enrich ment in dioleoyl-phosphatidylethanolamine (DOPE) in a negatively-curved region (at C = –0.8 nm–1) of a DOPE/dipalmitoyl-phosphati-dylcholine (DPPC) membrane. Here we extend the analysis with respect to lipid composition and simulation time. Simulations of 12 – 20 μs effective time show that, compared with DOPE of the DOPE/DPPC system, a DPPC/dilinoleyl-PC [di(18:2)PC] membrane showed a similar degree of enrichment of di(18:2)PC in the curved region with C=–0.8 nm–1. For the latter mixture, even weak negative curvatures (C=–0.5 – 0.6 nm–1) caused significant degrees of di(18:2)PC enrichment. In agreement with recent studies of a planar bilayer, a ternary DPPC/ di(18:2)PC/cholesterol 0.42:0.28:0.3 mixture phase-separated into nanoscale raft-like liquid-ordered (Lo) and non-raft liquid-disordered (Ld) phases on a sub-microsecond time scale. The Lo domains were preferentially localized at planar portions, whereas the Ld domains were positioned mainly in curved regions of the membrane. Unlike binary dioleoylphosphatidylcho-line (DOPC)/cholesterol and DPPC/cholesterol mixtures, which showed only a slight enrich ment of cholesterol in the curved region, the ternary mixtures showed considerable migra tion of cholesterol and DPPC from the curved to the planar region. A pronounced degree of lipid segregation due to the preferential distribution of the Ld and Lo domains in the curved and planar regions, respectively, was observed even when the curvature of the fused monolayers (originally ‘cis’ leaflets) was weakened (C= –0.5 nm-1). Overall, the results are consistent with theoretical predictions based on spontaneous curvature of the constituent lipids and the difference in rigidity between the Ld and Lo domains, whereas lipid-lipid interactions, such as PE-PE or DPPC-cholesterol, as well as propensity for interleaflet colocalization (registration) of the Lo and Ld domains appear to significantly amplify curvature-induced lipid demixing in the λ system. Intriguingly, for the DPPC/ di(18:2)PC/cholesterol ternary mixtures, a Lo/Ld domain boundary often moved to the branched point of the membrane, suggesting enhanced flexibility at the domain boundary. We hypothesize that curvature-driven lipid sorting and energetically favored localization of domain boundaries at sharp bends in the membranes may collaborate to assist intracellular lipid sorting.