Hybrid Elastic/Discrete-Particle Approach to Biomembrane Dynamics with Application to the Mobility of Curved Integral Membrane Proteins

TL;DR

This paper presents a hybrid simulation method coupling continuum membrane dynamics with discrete macromolecules, revealing how membrane-embedded proteins influence diffusion by inducing curvature, with implications for understanding membrane protein mobility.

Contribution

It introduces a novel hybrid elastic/discrete-particle simulation approach to study membrane-protein interactions and their effects on protein diffusion.

Findings

Proteins that induce membrane curvature significantly reduce their diffusion rates.

Hydrodynamic considerations explain the decreased mobility of curved membrane proteins.

The method provides insights into membrane-protein dynamics not accessible by previous models.

Abstract

We introduce a simulation strategy to consistently couple continuum biomembrane dynamics to the motion of discrete biological macromolecules residing within or on the membrane. The methodology is used to study the diffusion of integral membrane proteins that impart a curvature on the bilayer surrounding them. Such proteins exhibit a substantial reduction in diffusion coefficient relative to "flat" proteins; this effect is explained by elementary hydrodynamic considerations.