Understanding organization of membrane proteins and lipids through lipid vesicle native mass spectrometry

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Abstract In the crowded milieu of the membrane, membrane proteins, with other soluble and membrane-associated proteins, and lipids form a large number of dynamic and transient protein complexes that in turn govern cellular physiology. There is mounting evidence that both independent membrane protein-lipid interactions, as well as bulk biophysical properties of the host membrane often regulate these assemblies. Hence, to understand how associations between specific membrane proteins help a cell responds to an external stimulus, we need to study the oligomeric assemblies of the respective proteins directly from the lipid bilayer environment. This brings us to the primary challenge of studying membrane protein-lipid interactions. The existing tools to study such interactions lack this critical ability to perform molecular analysis directly from the bilayer environment. Addressing this challenge, the overarching goal of this project is to develop a novel experimental platform that enables analysis of MP complexes directly from in vitro lipid bilayers, which can be customized to a target cellular membrane. To this end, we will combine lipid vesicle technologies with native mass spectrometry (nMS). In Aim 1, taking a set of ten different standard oligomeric membrane proteins we will develop an experimental method that enables us to determine their oligomeric states directly from a range of lipid vesicles mimicking different physiological membranes. We will validate and benchmark our results against the known oligomeric masses of each of these proteins. This will establish the applicability of our platform to detect a wide range of membrane proteins from a variety of lipid bilayer environments. In Aim 2, we will develop an experimental strategy that enables us to directly determine the specifically bound lipid binds and where do they bind. To this end, we will combine nMS with HPLC MS/MS analysis based lipidomics to determine the identity of the lipds. In parallel, in collaboration with Thermo Fisher Scientific, we will combine ECD fragmentation with lipid vesicle nMS platform to determine the site of lipid binding. Together, upon successful completion, these two Aims will provide an arsenal of new technologies to study the oligomeric organization of membrane proteins and lipids directly from a physiologically relevant lipid bilayer. In Aim 3, we will apply this to a complex biological system to address an outstanding question in neurobiology; how neurotransmitter filled synaptic vesicles attain their ultrafast speed of fusion. To this end, we will specifically target the role of synaptophysin, a synaptic vesicle membrane protein which has been linked to various neurological disorders. The experiment proposed can bring out critical mechanist and structural insight to understand neuronal signal transduction and related disease-specific impairments. In the long run, impairment of associations between membrane proteins has been linked to several pathophysiological conditions ranging from neurodegeneration to cancer. We are confident that the proposed platform will have a transformative role in studying a wide range of biological processes and associated disease states.