Cappuccio JA, Hinz AK, Kuhn EA, Fletcher JE, Arroyo ES, Henderson PT, Blanchette CD, Walsworth VL, Corzett MH, Law RJ, Pesavento JB, Segelke BW, Sulchek TA, Chromy BA, Katzen F, Peterson T, Bench G, Kudlicki W, Hoeprich PD, Coleman MA. Cell-free expression for nanolipoprotein particles: building a high-throughput membrane protein solubility platform.
Methods Mol Biol 2009;
498:273-296. [PMID:
18988032 DOI:
10.1007/978-1-59745-196-3_18]
[Citation(s) in RCA: 30] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 05/27/2023]
Abstract
Membrane-associated proteins and protein complexes account for approximately a third or more of the proteins in the cell (1, 2). These complexes mediate essential cellular processes; including signal transduc-tion, transport, recognition, bioenergetics and cell-cell communication. In general, membrane proteins are challenging to study because of their insolubility and tendency to aggregate when removed from their protein lipid bilayer environment. This chapter is focused on describing a novel method for producing and solubilizing membrane proteins that can be easily adapted to high-throughput expression screening. This process is based on cell-free transcription and translation technology coupled with nanolipoprotein par ticles (NLPs), which are lipid bilayers confined within a ring of amphipathic protein of defined diameter. The NLPs act as a platform for inserting, solubilizing and characterizing functional membrane proteins. NLP component proteins (apolipoproteins), as well as membrane proteins can be produced by either traditional cell-based or as discussed here, cell-free expression methodologies.
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