Influence of hydrophobic mismatching on membrane protein diffusion
Gernot Guigas 1 and Matthias Weiss 2*
1 DKFZ
2 German Cancer Research Center (DKFZ)
* To whom correspondence should be addressed. E-mail: m.weiss{at}dkfz.de.
Submitted on April 25, 2008
Revised on May 7, 2008
Accepted on 20 May 2008
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Abstract |
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The observation of membrane domains in vivo and in vitro has triggered a renewed interest in the size-dependent diffusion of membrane inclusions (e.g. clusters of transmembrane proteins and lipid rafts). Here, we have used coarse-grained membrane simulations to quantify the influence of a hydrophobic mismatch between the inclusion's transmembrane portion and the surrounding lipid bilayer on the diffusive mobility of the inclusion. Our data indicate only slight changes in the mobility
(less than 30%) when altering the hydrophobic mismatch and the scaling of the diffusion coefficient D is most consistent with previous hydrodynamic predictions, i.e. with the Saffman-Delbruck relation and the edgewise motion of a thin disk in the limit of small and large radii, respectively.
Key Words:
Saffman-Delbruck, dissipative particle dynamics, hydrophobic mismatch, membrane protein diffusion, simulation
