BPS2026 – Role of bacterial lipoproteins and peripheral membrane proteins on lipid movement

The exchange of phospholipids between adjacent or anchored membranes plays an integral role in membrane maintenance and subsequent integrity. Investigation of the roles of membrane-anchored lipoproteins and peripheral membrane proteins on this essential transport of lipids is an emerging area of research. Herein, we utilize synthetic vesicles to mimic biological membranes and the transport of fluorophore-tagged lipid derivatives between liposomes to provide both kinetic and mechanistic insight into lipid exchange. This work examines how a representative bacterial lipoprotein and peripheral membrane protein work together to facilitate lipid transport between synthetic membranes, which provides a systematic way to examine how the proteins, individually and in combination, contribute to lipid movement. Our data suggest that the individual proteins alone transport lipids efficiently and hint at how directionality of movement is imposed within the system. Overall, this work provides a useful model system to interrogate the transfer of lipids between synthetic membranes and suggests potential drug targets to specifically inhibit this exchange.