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Biological membranes have distinct geometries that confer specific functions. However, the molecular mechanisms underlying the phenomenological geometry/function correlations remain elusive. We studied the effect of membrane geometry on the localization of membrane-bound proteins. Quantitative comparative experiments between the two most abundant cellular membrane geometries, spherical and cylindrical, revealed that geometry regulates the spatial segregation of proteins. The measured geometry-driven segregation reached 50-fold for membranes of the same mean curvature, demonstrating a crucial and hitherto unaccounted contribution by Gaussian curvature. Molecular-field theory calculations elucidated the underlying physical and molecular mechanisms. Our results reveal that distinct membrane geometries have specific physicochemical properties and thus establish a ubiquitous mechanistic foundation for unravelling the conserved correlations between biological function and membrane polymorphism., Cellular organelles display highly conserved morphologies, e.g., cylindrical (tubes) or spherical (vesicles), and here we show that their Gaussian curvature differences can regulate protein recruitment.

Protein immobilization techniques on polymeric supports have enabled many applications in biotechnology and materials science. Attaching the proteins with controlled orientations has inherent advantages, but approaches for doing this have been largely limited to cysteine or noncanonical amino acid targeting. Herein, we report a method to attach the N-terminal positions of native proteins to polymer resins site-specifically through the use of 2-pyridinecarboxyaldehyde (2PCA) derivatives. For high protein loadings and practical synthesis, we initiated this work by preparing highly reactive 2PCA derivatives using Pd-catalyzed cross-coupling amination. The resulting compounds were attached to amine-containing polyethylene glycol acrylamide resin (PEGA-NH2), which subsequently reacted with the N-termini of proteins to produce linkages that were stable over the long term but could be reversed through the addition of hydroxylamine. We envision that this site-selective, 2PCA-based protein immobilization can provide a simple and generalizable immobilization protocol.

Membrane shape or geometrical curvature emerged recently as a potent regulator of membrane recruitment during protein trafficking and sorting. Cellular membranes display distinct curvature geometries e.g. spherical (trafficking- and synaptic vesicles) or cylindrical (tubes in the ER and Golgi), however quantitative studies of protein recruitment by membrane curvature typically focus on a single geometry. Thus the biological implications of different curvature geometries remain largely unexplored.We recently used our single liposome assay to show that the N-Ras lipid anchor (tN-Ras) is recruited by spherical membrane curvature. Here we report the development of a novel membrane tube assay, allowing us to quantitatively compare the recruitment of tN-Ras by spherical and cylindrical membrane curvature. Furthermore we expand the study to include representatives of the four most common families of membrane-binding domains (MBDs); the lipid anchor of N-Ras (tN-Ras), the C2AB-domain of Synaptotagmin1 (Syt), AnnexinB12 (Anx) and Amphiphysin NBAR (Amph). Our data revealed an increased recruitment of all four MBDs by spherical as compared to cylindrical curvature. Molecular field theory calculations attributed this trend to the greater perturbation of lipid packing parameters by spherically curved membranes. Importantly, the four MBDs displayed markedly distinct abilities to discriminate the two curvature geometries e.g. tN-Ras had a moderate 2-fold discrimination while Amph a remarkable absolute preference for spherical membranes. This demonstrated that discrimination of curvature geometry can be modulated and likely adapted to specific biological functions. Our results reveal membrane curvature geometry as a novel regulator of protein recruitment during trafficking and sorting for a plethora of membrane-binding proteins, and thus suggest a novel functional role to the diversity of conserved organelle morphologies.

Controlled self-assembly (SA) of proteins offers the possibility to tune their properties or to create new materials. Herein, we present the synthesis of a modified human insulin (HI) with two distinct metal-ion binding sites, one native, the other abiotic, enabling hierarchical SA through coordination with two different metal ions. Selective attachment of an abiotic 2,2'-bipyridine (bipy) ligand to HI, yielding HI-bipy, enabled Zn(II)-binding hexamers to SA into trimers of hexamers, [[HI-bipy]6]3, driven by octahedral coordination to a Fe(II) ion. The structures were studied in solution by small-angle X-ray scattering and on surfaces with AFM. The abiotic metal ligand had a higher affinity for Fe(II) than Zn(II) ions, enabling control of the hexamer formation with Zn(II) and the formation of trimers of hexamers with Fe(II) ions. This precise control of protein SA to give oligomers of oligomers provides nanoscale structures with potential applications in nanomedicine.

The chemical modification of proteins is an enabling technology for many scientific fields, including chemical biology, biophysics, bioengineering and materials science. These methods allow the attachment of strategically selected detection probes, polymers, drug molecules and analysis platforms. However, organic reactions that can proceed under conditions mild enough to maintain biomolecular function are limited. Even more rare are chemical strategies that can target a single site, leading to products with uniform properties and optimal function. We present a versatile method for the selective modification of protein N termini that does not require any genetic engineering of the protein target. This reaction is demonstrated for 12 different proteins, including the soluble domain of the human estrogen receptor. The function of this protein was confirmed through the binding of a fluorescent estrogen mimic, and the modified protein was explored as a prototype for the detection of endocrine-disrupting chemicals in water.

Alkyl and aryl amines are converted smoothly to the corresponding isothiocyanates via the dithiocarbamates in good to excellent yields using di- tert -butyl dicarbonate (Boc 2 O) and 1–3 mol % of DMAP or DABCO as catalyst. As most of the byproducts are volatile, the work-up involves simple evaporation of the reaction mixture.

Precise control of the oligomeric state of proteins is of central importance for biological function and for the properties of biopharmaceutical drugs. Here, the self-assembly of 2,2'-bipyridine conjugated monomeric insulin analogues, induced through coordination to divalent metal ions, was studied. This protein drug system was designed to form non-native homo-oligomers through selective coordination of two divalent metal ions, Fe(II) and Zn(II), respectively. The insulin type chosen for this study is a variant designed for a reduced tendency toward native dimer formation at physiological concentrations. A small-angle X-ray scattering analysis of the bipyridine-modified insulin system confirmed an organization into a novel well-ordered structure based on insulin trimers, as induced by the addition of Fe(II). In contrast, unmodified monomeric insulin formed larger and more randomly structured assemblies upon addition of Fe(II). The addition of Zn(II), on the other hand, led to the formation of small quantities of insulin hexamers for both the bipyridine-modified and the unmodified monomeric insulin. Interestingly, the location of the bipyridine-modification significantly affects the tendency to hexamer formation as compared to the unmodified insulin. Our study shows how combining a structural study and chemical design can be used to obtain molecular understanding and control of the self-assembly of a protein drug. This knowledge may eventually be employed to develop an optimized in vivo drug release profile.

Chemoselective formation of glycoconjugates from unprotected glycans is needed to further develop chemical biology involving glycans. Carbohydrate oxime formation is often slow, and organocatalysis by anilines would be highly promising. Here, we present that carbohydrate oxime formation can be catalyzed with up to 20-fold increases in overall reaction rate at 100 mM aniline. Application of this methodology provided access to complex glycoconjugates.

Alkyl and aryl amines are converted smoothly to the corresponding isothiocyanates via the dithiocarbamates in good to excellent yields using di- tert -butyl dicarbonate (Boc 2 O) and 1–3 mol % of DMAP or DABCO as catalyst. As most of the byproducts are volatile, the work-up involves simple evaporation of the reaction mixture.

A site-selective dual-functionalization of peptides is presented, involving readily available maleimides as well as N-hydroxylamines. The modification proceeds through a three component 1,3-dipolar cycloaddition, forming a stable product. This was exemplified by the one-pot attachment of two molecular imaging moieties to a tumor binding cyclic peptide, and was extended to the conjugation of a DOTA chelator to a 12 kDa protein.

Ras proteins are small GTPases that are post-translationally modified by the attachment of lipid moieties (1). This modification is essential for the correct trafficking and sorting of Ras proteins through the vesicular pathway from the Golgi to the plasma membrane (2).Traditionally the sorting of Ras is primarily discussed in the context of membrane domains in flat membranes, neglecting the influence of membrane shape. Recently we have demonstrated, utilizing our single liposome curvature (SLiC) assay that the minimal anchoring motif of N-Ras (tN-Ras) up-concentrates in areas of high membrane curvature (not published), suggesting that curvature might act as a cue for the spatial localization of Ras proteins.In the SLiC assay, curvature-sensing molecules are added from aqueous solution to vesicles of different curvatures, but the vesicles are not in diffusive contact (3, 4). In vivo Ras proteins are anchored to membranes and laterally sorts between curved and planar membranes, which are in diffusive contact. To study the curvature-sensing ability of tN-Ras in a setup mimicking the in vivo scenario we developed a membrane tube based assay in which the tubes are in diffusive contact with a lipid bilayer.Membrane tubes are formed by heating a confined lipid bilayer (5). The tubes eventually adsorb to the flat membrane, which enable imaging by confocal fluorescence microscopy. After addition of tN-Ras we observed a preferential sorting into curved tubes rather than the flat bilayer. This observation further implies a pivoting role of membrane shape as a regulator of Ras-protein localization.1. Prior & Hancock, Semin Cell Dev Biol 23:145(2012).2. Choy et al., Cell 98:69(1999).3. Kunding et al., Biophysical Journal 95:1176(2008).4. Hatzakis et al., Nat Chem Biol 5:835(2009).5. Weirich & Fygenson, Poster Abstract 2731, Biophys. Soc. 2011.