Real-time analysis of protein and protein mixture interaction with lipid bilayers

Artificial lipid bilayers in the form of planar supported or vesicular bilayers are commonly used as models for studying interaction of biological membranes with different substances such as proteins and small molecule pharmaceutical compounds. Lipid membranes are typically regarded as inert and passive scaffolds for membrane proteins, but both non-specific and specific interactions between biomolecules and lipid membranes are indeed ubiquitous; dynamic exchange of proteins from the environment at the membrane interface can strongly influence the function of biological membranes. Such exchanges would either be of a superficial (peripheral) or integrative (penetrating) nature. In the context of viral membranes (termed envelopes), this could contribute to the emergence of zoonotic infections as well as change the virulence and/or pathogenicity of viral diseases. In this study, we analyze adsorption/desorption patterns upon challenging tethered liposomes and enveloped virus particles with proteins – or protein mixtures - such as bovine serum albumin, glycosylphosphatidylinositol anchored proteins and serum, chosen for their different lipid-interaction capabilities. We employed quartz crystal microbalance and dual polarization interferometry measurements to measure protein/membrane interaction in real time. We identified differences in mass uptake between the challenges, as well as differences between variants of lipid bilayers. Tethered viral particles showed a similar adsorption/desorption behavior to liposomes, underlining their value as model system. We believe that this methodology may be developed into a new approach in virology and membrane research by enabling the combination of biophysical and biochemical information.