Abstract
Since many studies on peptide-membrane interactions are carried out only with fluid phase lipid bilayers (L α -phase, absence of cholesterol) we have investigated whether this phase is really a suitable model for biological membranes. For this purpose the action of melittin on zwitterionic and negatively charged phospholipid bilayers, in the absence and presence of 30 mol% cholesterol, was investigated by solid state 31P-NMR. From the NMR point of view, it appears that systems composed of a single phospholipid best mimic the sterol-containing system a few degrees below the gel-to-fluid phase transition, i. e., in the rippled phase (P β' ). It is then proposed that a relatively rigid membrane containing local defects, rather than a L α -bilayer, is required as an appropriate model for natural membranes when probing the action of melittin. Such requirements might be crucial when studying peptide-lipid interactions.
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Received: 5 February 1996 / Accepted: 1 July 1996
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Pott, T., Dufourcq, J. & Dufourc, E. Fluid or gel phase lipid bilayers to study peptide-membrane interactions?. Eur Biophys J 25, 55–59 (1996). https://doi.org/10.1007/s002490050017
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s002490050017