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Atlanta, GA | Posted: February 9, 2016
School of Physics
837 State Street
Atlanta, Georgia 30332-0430
Summary Sentence:
Prof. Peter Yunker's newly published paper in PNAS.
Full Summary:
Congratulations to Prof. Peter Yunker on his newly published paper in PNAS titled, “One-pot system for synthesis, assembly, and display of functional single-span membrane proteins on oil-water interfaces".
Figure 1Congratulations to Prof. Peter Yunker on his newly published paper in PNAS titled, “One-pot system for synthesis, assembly, and display of functional single-span membrane proteins on oil-water interfaces".
Single-span membrane proteins (ssMPs) are anchored by single hydrophobic helices to cell surfaces, where they mediate cell–cell communications. Unfortunately, hydrophobic helices also cause aggregation in solution, rendering ssMPs nonfunctional. We discovered that in vitro-synthesized ssMPs localize on an oil drop’s surface, preventing aggregation of ssMPs in solution and promoting assembly of functional structures on the drop’s surface. We use this approach to synthesize and display apoptosis-inducing ssMPs and show that these “death drops” are functional and can kill cultured cancer cells. Our results illustrate a one-pot method for rapid synthesis and assembly of functional ssMPs, which is facilitated by the hydrophobic interaction rather than limited by it. Such functionalized oil drops represent a platform to communicate with cells.
Read more: http://www.pnas.org/content/113/3/608.full
