Nanodisc

Schematic illustration of a nanodisc with a 7-transmembrane protein embedded.
Schematic illustration of a MSP nanodisc with a 7-transmembrane protein embedded. Diameter is about 10 nm. Picture from Sligar Lab

A nanodisc is a synthetic model membrane system which assists in the study of membrane proteins.[1] Nanodiscs are discoidal proteins in which a lipid bilayer is surrounded by molecules that are amphipathic molecules including proteins, peptides, and synthetic polymers.[2] It is composed of a lipid bilayer of phospholipids with the hydrophobic edge screened by two amphipathic proteins. These proteins are called membrane scaffolding proteins (MSP) and align in double belt formation.[3][4][5] Nanodiscs are structurally very similar to discoidal high-density lipoproteins (HDL) and the MSPs are modified versions of apolipoprotein A1 (apoA1), the main constituent in HDL. Nanodiscs are useful in the study of membrane proteins because they can solubilise and stabilise membrane proteins[6] and represent a more native environment than liposomes, detergent micelles, bicelles and amphipols.

The art of making nanodiscs has progressed past using only the MSPs and lipids to make particles, leading to alternative strategies like peptide nanodiscs that use simpler proteins and synthetic nanodiscs that do not need any proteins for stabilization.

  1. ^ Liszewski K (1 October 2015). "Dissecting the Structure of Membrane Proteins". Genetic Engineering & Biotechnology News. 35 (17): 16–18, 21. doi:10.1089/gen.35.07.09. Nanodiscs are self-assembling nanoscale phospholipid bilayers that are stabilized using engineered membrane scaffold proteins.
  2. ^ Anada, Chiharu; Ikeda, Keisuke; Egawa, Ayako; Fujiwara, Toshimichi; Nakao, Hiroyuki; Nakano, Minoru (April 2021). "Temperature- and composition-dependent conformational transitions of amphipathic peptide–phospholipid nanodiscs". Journal of Colloid and Interface Science. 588: 522–530. doi:10.1016/j.jcis.2020.12.090. ISSN 0021-9797. PMID 33429348.
  3. ^ Bayburt TH, Grinkova YV, Sligar SG (2002). "Self-Assembly of Discoidal Phospholipid Bilayer Nanoparticles with Membrane Scaffold Proteins". Nano Letters. 2 (8): 853–856. Bibcode:2002NanoL...2..853B. doi:10.1021/nl025623k.
  4. ^ Bayburt TH, Sligar SG (May 2010). "Membrane protein assembly into Nanodiscs". FEBS Letters. 584 (9): 1721–7. doi:10.1016/j.febslet.2009.10.024. PMC 4758813. PMID 19836392.
  5. ^ Skar-Gislinge N, Simonsen JB, Mortensen K, Feidenhans'l R, Sligar SG, Lindberg Møller B, et al. (October 2010). "Elliptical structure of phospholipid bilayer nanodiscs encapsulated by scaffold proteins: casting the roles of the lipids and the protein". Journal of the American Chemical Society. 132 (39): 13713–22. doi:10.1021/ja1030613. PMC 4120756. PMID 20828154.
  6. ^ Denisov IG, Sligar SG (January 2011). "Cytochromes P450 in nanodiscs". Biochimica et Biophysica Acta (BBA) - Proteins and Proteomics. 1814 (1): 223–9. doi:10.1016/j.bbapap.2010.05.017. PMC 2974961. PMID 20685623.