Open AccessSingle Cell-like Systems Reveal Active Unidirectional and Light-Controlled Transport by Nanomachineries
Author(s) -
Tim Diederichs,
Robert Tampé
Publication year - 2021
Publication title -
acs nano
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 5.554
H-Index - 382
eISSN - 1936-086X
pISSN - 1936-0851
DOI - 10.1021/acsnano.0c10139
Subject(s) - membrane , liposome , substrate (aquarium) , function (biology) , biophysics , artificial cell , membrane transport , cell , membrane transport protein , nanotechnology , cell membrane , drug delivery , membrane protein , chemistry , microbiology and biotechnology , biology , materials science , biochemistry , ecology
Cellular life depends on transport and communication across membranes, which is emphasized by the fact that membrane proteins are prime drug targets. The cell-like environment of membrane proteins has gained increasing attention based on its important role in function and regulation. As a versatile scaffold for bottom-up synthetic biology and nanoscience, giant liposomes represent minimalistic models of living cells. Nevertheless, the incorporation of fragile multiprotein membrane complexes still remains a major challenge. Here, we report on an approach for the functional reconstitution of membrane assemblies exemplified by human and bacterial ATP-binding cassette (ABC) transporters. We reveal that these nanomachineries transport substrates unidirectionally against a steep concentration gradient. Active substrate transport can be spatiotemporally resolved in single cell-like compartments by light, enabling real-time tracking of substrate export and import in individual liposomes. This approach will help to construct delicate artificial cell-like systems.