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In JoVE (3)
- Single Molecule Methods for Monitoring Changes in Bilayer Elastic Properties
- Preparation of Artificial Bilayers for Electrophysiology Experiments
- Gramicidin-based Fluorescence Assay; for Determining Small Molecules Potential for Modifying Lipid Bilayer Properties
Other Publications (2)
Articles by Ruchi Kapoor in JoVE
JoVE General
Single Molecule Methods for Monitoring Changes in Bilayer Elastic Properties
1Department of Physiology and Biophysics, Weill Cornell Medical College, 2Department of Physiology and Biophysics, Weill Cornell Medical College of Cornell University
Membrane protein function is regulated by the cell membrane lipid composition. This video-article details how to form a patch using bilayer patch electrodes, as well as how to use gramicidin channels as reporters of altered membrane properties.
JoVE General
Preparation of Artificial Bilayers for Electrophysiology Experiments
Department of Physiology and Biophysics, Weill Cornell Medical College of Cornell University
Planar lipid bilayers, also called artificial lipid bilayers, allow you to study ion-conducting channels in a well-defined environment. Here, we demonstrate the individual steps needed to prepare the bilayer chamber, the electrodes and how to test that the bilayer is suitable for single-channel measurements.
JoVE General
Gramicidin-based Fluorescence Assay; for Determining Small Molecules Potential for Modifying Lipid Bilayer Properties
Department of Physiology and Biophysics, Weill Cornell Medical College
We introduce a fast fluorescence-based assay that monitors the rate of fluorescence quenching as a measure of gramicidin channel activity. The gramicidin channels are used as molecular force transducers to monitor changes in lipid bilayer properties as sensed by bilayer spanning proteins.
Other articles by Ruchi Kapoor on PubMed
Variant Brain-derived Neurotrophic Factor (Val66Met) Alters Adult Olfactory Bulb Neurogenesis and Spontaneous Olfactory Discrimination
Neurogenesis, the division, migration, and differentiation of new neurons, occurs throughout life. Brain derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) has been identified as a potential signaling molecule regulating neurogenesis in the subventricular zone (SVZ), but its functional consequences in vivo have not been well defined. We report marked and unexpected deficits in survival but not proliferation of newly born cells of adult knock-in mice containing a variant form of BDNF [a valine (Val) to methionine (Met) substitution at position 66 in the prodomain of BDNF (Val66Met)], a genetic mutation shown to lead to a selective impairment in activity-dependent BDNF secretion. Utilizing knock-out mouse lines, we identified BDNF and tyrosine receptor kinase B (TrkB) as the critical molecules for the observed impairments in neurogenesis, with p75 knock-out mice showing no effect on cell proliferation or survival. We then localized the activated form of TrkB to a discrete population of cells, type A migrating neuroblasts, and demonstrate a decrease in TrkB phosphorylation in the SVZ of Val66Met mutant mice. With these findings, we identify TrkB signaling, potentially through activity dependent release of BDNF, as a critical step in the survival of migrating neuroblasts. Utilizing a behavioral task shown to be sensitive to disruptions in olfactory bulb neurogenesis, we identified specific impairments in spontaneous olfactory discrimination, but not general olfactory sensitivity or habituation to olfactory stimuli in BDNF mutant mice. Through these observations, we have identified novel links between genetic variant BDNF and adult neurogenesis in vivo, which may contribute to significant impairments in olfactory function.
Lipid Bilayer Regulation of Membrane Protein Function: Gramicidin Channels As Molecular Force Probes
Membrane protein function is regulated by the host lipid bilayer composition. This regulation may depend on specific chemical interactions between proteins and individual molecules in the bilayer, as well as on non-specific interactions between proteins and the bilayer behaving as a physical entity with collective physical properties (e.g. thickness, intrinsic monolayer curvature or elastic moduli). Studies in physico-chemical model systems have demonstrated that changes in bilayer physical properties can regulate membrane protein function by altering the energetic cost of the bilayer deformation associated with a protein conformational change. This type of regulation is well characterized, and its mechanistic elucidation is an interdisciplinary field bordering on physics, chemistry and biology. Changes in lipid composition that alter bilayer physical properties (including cholesterol, polyunsaturated fatty acids, other lipid metabolites and amphiphiles) regulate a wide range of membrane proteins in a seemingly non-specific manner. The commonality of the changes in protein function suggests an underlying physical mechanism, and recent studies show that at least some of the changes are caused by altered bilayer physical properties. This advance is because of the introduction of new tools for studying lipid bilayer regulation of protein function. The present review provides an introduction to the regulation of membrane protein function by the bilayer physical properties. We further describe the use of gramicidin channels as molecular force probes for studying this mechanism, with a unique ability to discriminate between consequences of changes in monolayer curvature and bilayer elastic moduli.
