How does oxidative damage change peptide membrane insertion?

The insertion of peptides and proteins into cell membranes is crucial for the functioning of cells. Cells are continually subject to oxidation events. In this continuation experiment we will use neutron reflection to investigate how oxidative damage changes the interaction of the well-studied model peptide melittin with cell membrane models. In our previous work we observed changes in the membrane structure when oxidised lipids were present in the membrane, in this experiment we wish to extract more detailed structural information by using a deuterated form of the oxidized lipid, not previously available, that will allow us to clearly differentiate between the lipid and peptide components. The results will help us understand better the factors that influence the interaction of different peptides with cell membranes, and how that interaction is changed by oxidative damage.

肽和蛋白质插入细胞膜的过程对细胞功能至关重要。细胞持续遭受氧化反应的影响。在本续贯实验中，我们将采用中子反射（neutron reflection）技术，探究氧化损伤如何改变已被广泛研究的模型肽蜂毒肽（melittin）与细胞膜模型之间的相互作用。在前期研究中，我们观察到当膜中存在氧化脂质时，膜结构会发生改变；本实验将使用一种此前未获应用的氘代氧化脂质，以获取更详尽的结构信息——这种脂质可帮助我们清晰区分脂质与肽组分。研究结果将助力我们更深入地理解影响不同肽与细胞膜相互作用的因素，以及氧化损伤如何改变这种相互作用。