Pressure effects on a protein–lipid model membrane

Abstract

We attempt to mimic cellular biomembrane structures using a mixture of two important biochemical components – a membrane protein and a lipid, in the presence of water. Protein loaded lipid structures were subjected to a wide range of pressures to examine their morphological reorganizations using synchrotron X-ray radiation under stepwise pressure variation and rapid pressure jumps. Here we report the first evidence of a highly swollen gyroid cubic phase under high pressure (gyroid type structures have been seen in ER and Golgi membranes) and the close resemblance of lipid nanostructural behavior with literature studies on compression–decompression of piezophilic biomembranes. These studies are promising for understanding complex biomembrane restructuring and hence functioning, such as how cells cope with extreme conditions of high pressures, and protect their delicate internal organelles.