This title appears in the Scientific Report :
2000
Please use the identifier:
http://hdl.handle.net/2128/2356 in citations.
Stability of a melittin pore in a lipid bilayer a molecular dynamics study
Stability of a melittin pore in a lipid bilayer a molecular dynamics study
We have investigated the configuration and the stability of a single membrane pore bound by four melittin molecules and embedded in a fully hydrated bilayer lipid membrane. We used molecular dynamics simulations up to 5.8 ns. It is found that the initial tetrameric configuration decays with increasi...
Saved in:
Personal Name(s): | Lin, J.-H. |
---|---|
Baumgärtner, A. | |
Contributing Institute: |
Institut für Festkörperforschung; IFF Forum Modellierung; MOD |
Published in: | Biophysical journal, 78 (2000) S. 1714 |
Imprint: |
New York, NY
Rockefeller Univ. Press
2000
|
Physical Description: |
1714 |
Document Type: |
Journal Article |
Research Program: |
Modellierung komplexer Systeme Polymere, Membranen und komplexe Flüssigkeiten |
Series Title: |
Biophysical Journal
78 |
Subject (ZB): | |
Link: |
OpenAccess |
Publikationsportal JuSER |
We have investigated the configuration and the stability of a single membrane pore bound by four melittin molecules and embedded in a fully hydrated bilayer lipid membrane. We used molecular dynamics simulations up to 5.8 ns. It is found that the initial tetrameric configuration decays with increasing time into a stable trimer and one monomer. This continuous transformation is accompanied by a lateral expansion of the aqueous pore exhibiting a final size comparable to experimental findings. The expansion-induced formation of an interface between the pore-lining acyl chains of the lipids and the pore water ("hydrophobic pore") is transformed into an energetically more favorable toroidal pore structure where some lipid heads are translocated from the rim to the central part of the interface ("hydrophilic pore"). The expansion of the pore is supported by the electrostatic repulsion among the alpha-helices. It is hypothesized that pore growth, and hence cell lysis, is induced by a melittin-mediated line tension of the pore. |