Preparing giant unilamellar vesicles (GUVs) of complex lipid mixtures on demand: Mixing small unilamellar vesicles of compositionally heterogeneous mixtures

Giant unilamellar vesicles (GUVs) are simple model membrane systems of cell-size, which are instrumental to study the function of more complex biological membranes involving heterogeneities in lipid composition, shape, mechanical properties, and chemical properties. We have devised a method that makes it possible to prepare a uniform sample of ternary GUVs of a prescribed composition and heterogeneity by mixing different populations of small unilamellar vesicles (SUVs). The validity of the protocol has been demonstrated by applying it to ternary lipid mixture of DOPC, DPPC, and cholesterol by mixing small unilamellar vesicles (SUVs) of two different populations and with different lipid compositions. The compositional homogeneity among GUVs resulting from SUV mixing is quantified by measuring the area fraction of the liquid ordered–liquid disordered phases in giant vesicles and is found to be comparable to that in GUVs of the prescribed composition produced from hydration of dried lipids mixed in organic solvent. Our method opens up the possibility to quickly increase and manipulate the complexity of GUV membranes in a controlled manner at physiological buffer and temperature conditions. The new protocol will permit quantitative biophysical studies of a whole new class of well-defined model membrane systems of a complexity that resembles biological membranes with rafts.     

A new method for the reconstitution of membrane proteins into giant unilamellar vesicles

In this work, we have investigated a new and general method for the reconstitution of membrane proteins into giant unilamellar vesicles (GUVs). We have analyzed systematically the reconstitution of two radically different membrane proteins, the sarcoplasmic reticulum Ca(2+)-ATPase and the H(+) pump bacteriorhodopsin. In a first step, our method involved a detergent-mediated reconstitution of solubilized membrane proteins into proteoliposomes of 0.1-0.2 microm in size. In a second step, these preformed proteoliposomes were partially dried under controlled humidity followed, in a third step, by electroswelling of the partially dried film to give GUVs. The physical characteristics of GUVs were analyzed in terms of morphology, size, and lamellarity using phase-contrast and differential interference contrast microscopy. The reconstitution process was further characterized by analyzing protein incorporation and biological activity. Both membrane proteins could be homogeneously incorporated into GUVs at lipid/protein ratios ranging from 5 to 40 (w/w). After reconstitution, both proteins retained their biological activity as demonstrated by H(+) or Ca(2+) pumping driven by bacteriorhodopsin or Ca(2+)-ATPase, respectively. This constitutes an efficient new method of reconstitution, leading to the production of large unilamellar membrane protein-containing vesicles of more than 20 microm in diameter, which should prove useful for functional and structural studies through the use of optical microscopy, optical tweezers, microelectrodes, or atomic force microscopy.     

Distribution, lateral mobility and function of membrane proteins incorporated into giant unilamellar vesicles

GUVs have been widely used for studies on lipid mobility, membrane dynamics and lipid domain (raft) formation, using single molecule techniques like fluorescence correlation spectroscopy. Reports on membrane protein dynamics in these types of model membranes are by far less advanced due to the difficulty of incorporating proteins into GUVs in a functional state. We have used sucrose to prevent four distinct membrane protein(s) (complexes) from inactivating during the dehydration step of the GUV-formation process. The amount of sucrose was optimized such that the proteins retained 100% biological activity, and many proteo-GUVs were obtained. Although GUVs could be formed by hydration of lipid mixtures composed of neutral and anionic lipids, an alternate current electric field was required for GUV formation from neutral lipids. Distribution, lateral mobility, and function of an ATP-binding cassette transport system, an ion-linked transporter, and a mechanosensitive channel in GUVs were determined by confocal imaging, fluorescence correlation spectroscopy, patch-clamp measurements, and biochemical techniques. In addition, we show that sucrose slows down the lateral mobility of fluorescent lipid analogs, possibly due to hydrogen-bonding with the lipid headgroups, leading to larger complexes with reduced mobility.     

Spatial-temporal studies of membrane dynamics: scanning fluorescence correlation spectroscopy (SFCS)

Giant unilamellar vesicles (GUVs) have been widely used as a model membrane system to study membrane organization, dynamics, and protein-membrane interactions. Most recent studies have relied on imaging methods, which require good contrast for image resolution. Multiple sequential image processing only detects slow components of membrane dynamics. We have developed a new fluorescence correlation spectroscopy (FCS) technique, termed scanning FCS (i.e., SFCS), which performs multiple FCS measurements simultaneously by rapidly directing the excitation laser beam in a uniform (circular) scan across the bilayer of the GUVs in a repetitive fashion. The scan rate is fast compared to the diffusion of the membrane proteins and even small molecules in the GUVs. Scanning FCS outputs a "carpet" of timed fluorescence intensity fluctuations at specific points along the scan. In this study, GUVs were assembled from rat kidney brush border membranes, which included the integral membrane proteins. Scanning FCS measurements on GUVs allowed for a straightforward detection of spatial-temporal interactions between the protein and the membrane based on the diffusion rate of the protein. To test for protein incorporation into the bilayers of the GUVs, antibodies against one specific membrane protein (NaPi II cotransporter) were labeled with ALEXA-488. Fluorescence images of the GUVs in the presence of the labeled antibody showed marginal fluorescence enhancement on the GUV membrane bilayers (poor image contrast and resolution). With the application of scanning FCS, the binding of the antibody to the GUVs was detected directly from the analysis of diffusion rates of the fluorescent antibody. The diffusion coefficient of the antibody bound to NaPi II in the GUVs was approximately 200-fold smaller than that in solution. Scanning FCS provided a simple, quantitative, yet highly sensitive method to study protein-membrane interactions.     

Targeting membrane proteins to liquid-ordered phases: molecular self-organization explored by fluorescence correlation spectroscopy

The complex and dynamic architecture of biological membranes comprises of various heterogeneities, some of which may include lipid-based and/or protein-based microdomains called "rafts". Due to interactions among membrane components, several types of domains can form with different characteristics and mechanisms of formation. Model membranes, such as giant unilamellar vesicles (GUVs), provide a key system to study lipid-lipid and lipid-protein interactions, which are potentially relevant to raft formation, by (single-molecule) optical microscopy. Here, we review studies of combined confocal imaging and fluorescence correlation spectroscopy (FCS) on lipid dynamics and organization in domains assembled in GUVs, prepared from various lipid mixtures, which are relevant to the problem of raft formation. Finally, we summarize the results on lipid-protein interactions, which govern the targeting of several putative raft- and non-raft-associated membrane proteins to domain-exhibiting GUVs.     

Giant unilamellar vesicles electroformed from native membranes and organic lipid mixtures under physiological conditions

In recent years, giant unilamellar vesicles (GUVs) have become objects of intense scrutiny by chemists, biologists, and physicists who are interested in the many aspects of biological membranes. In particular, this "cell size" model system allows direct visualization of particular membrane-related phenomena at the level of single vesicles using fluorescence microscopy-related techniques. However, this model system lacks two relevant features with respect to biological membranes: 1), the conventional preparation of GUVs currently requires very low salt concentration, thus precluding experimentation under physiological conditions, and 2), the model system lacks membrane compositional asymmetry. Here we show for first time that GUVs can be prepared using a new protocol based on the electroformation method either from native membranes or organic lipid mixtures at physiological ionic strength. Additionally, for the GUVs composed of native membranes, we show that membrane proteins and glycosphingolipids preserve their natural orientation after electroformation. We anticipate our result to be important to revisit a vast variety of findings performed with GUVs under low- or no-salt conditions. These studies, which include results on artificial cell assembly, membrane mechanical properties, lipid domain formation, partition of membrane proteins into lipid domains, DNA-lipid interactions, and activity of interfacial enzymes, are likely to be affected by the amount of salt present in the solution.     

Taming membranes: functional immobilization of biological membranes in hydrogels

Single molecule studies on membrane proteins embedded in their native environment are hampered by the intrinsic difficulty of immobilizing elastic and sensitive biological membranes without interfering with protein activity. Here, we present hydrogels composed of nano-scaled fibers as a generally applicable tool to immobilize biological membrane vesicles of various size and lipid composition. Importantly, membrane proteins immobilized in the hydrogel as well as soluble proteins are fully active. The triggered opening of the mechanosensitive channel of large conductance (MscL) reconstituted in giant unilamellar vesicles (GUVs) was followed in time on single GUVs. Thus, kinetic studies of vectorial transport processes across biological membranes can be assessed on single, hydrogel immobilized, GUVs. Furthermore, protein translocation activity by the membrane embedded protein conducting channel of bacteria, SecYEG, in association with the soluble motor protein SecA was quantitatively assessed in bulk and at the single vesicle level in the hydrogel. This technique provides a new way to investigate membrane proteins in their native environment at the single molecule level by means of fluorescence microscopy.     

SNAREs prefer liquid-disordered over "raft" (liquid-ordered) domains when reconstituted into giant unilamellar vesicles

Membrane domains ("rafts") have received great attention as potential platforms for proteins in signaling and trafficking. Because rafts are believed to form by cooperative lipid interactions but are not directly accessible in vivo, artificial phase-separating lipid bilayers are useful model systems. Giant unilamellar vesicles (GUVs) offer large free-standing bilayers, but suitable methods for incorporating proteins are still scarce. Here we report the reconstitution of two water-insoluble SNARE proteins into GUVs without fusogenic additives. Following reconstitution, protein functionality was assayed by confocal imaging and fluorescence auto- and cross-correlation spectroscopy. Incorporation into GUVs containing phase-separating lipids revealed that, in the absence of other cellular factors, both proteins exhibit an intrinsic preference for the liquid-disordered phase. Although the picture from detergent resistance assays on whole cells is ambiguous, reconstitutions of components of the exocytic machinery into GUVs by this new approach should yield insight into the dynamics of protein complex associations with hypothesized liquid-ordered phase microdomains, the correspondence between detergent-resistant membranes and liquid-ordered phase, and the mechanism of SNARE-mediated membrane fusion.     

Mechanical force characterization in manipulating live cells with optical tweezers

Laser trapping with optical tweezers is a noninvasive manipulation technique and has received increasing attentions in biological applications. Understanding forces exerted on live cells is essential to cell biomechanical characterizations. Traditional numerical or experimental force measurement assumes live cells as ideal objects, ignoring their complicated inner structures and rough membranes. In this paper, we propose a new experimental method to calibrate the trapping and drag forces acted on live cells. Binding a micro polystyrene sphere to a live cell and moving the mixture with optical tweezers, we can obtain the drag force on the cell by subtracting the drag force on the sphere from the total drag force on the mixture, under the condition of extremely low Reynolds number. The trapping force on the cell is then obtained from the drag force when the cell is in force equilibrium state. Experiments on numerous live cells demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed force calibration approach.     

Evidence for localized cell heating induced by infrared optical tweezers.

The confinement of liposomes and Chinese hamster ovary (CHO) cells by infrared (IR) optical tweezers is shown to result in sample heating and temperature increases by several degrees centigrade, as measured by a noninvasive, spatially resolved fluorescence detection technique. For micron-sized spherical liposome vesicles having bilayer membranes composed of the phospholipid 1,2-diacyl-pentadecanoyl-glycero-phosphocholine (15-OPC), a temperature rise of approximately 1.45 +/- 0.15 degrees C/100 mW is observed when the vesicles are held stationary with a 1.064 microns optical tweezers having a power density of approximately 10(7) W/cm2 and a focused spot size of approximately 0.8 micron. The increase in sample temperature is found to scale linearly with applied optical power in the 40 to 250 mW range. Under the same trapping conditions, CHO cells exhibit an average temperature rise of nearly 1.15 +/- 0.25 degrees C/100 mW. The extent of cell heating induced by infrared tweezers confinement can be described by a heat conduction model that accounts for the absorption of infrared (IR) laser radiation in the aqueous cell core and membrane regions, respectively. The observed results are relevant to the assessment of the noninvasive nature of infrared trapping beams in micromanipulation applications and cell physiological studies.     

Nano-Precision Tweezers for Mechanosensitive Proteins and Beyond

Mechanical forces play pivotal roles in regulating cell shape, function, and fate. Key players that govern the mechanobiological interplay are the mechanosensitive proteins found on cell membranes and in cytoskeleton. Their unique nanomechanics can be interrogated using single-molecule tweezers, which can apply controlled forces to the proteins and simultaneously measure the ensuing structural changes. Breakthroughs in high-resolution tweezers have enabled the routine monitoring of nanometer-scale, millisecond dynamics as a function of force. Undoubtedly, the advancement of structural biology will be further fueled by integrating static atomic-resolution structures and their dynamic changes and interactions observed with the force application techniques. In this minireview, we will introduce the general principles of single-molecule tweezers and their recent applications to the studies of force-bearing proteins, including the synaptic proteins that need to be categorized as mechanosensitive in a broad sense. We anticipate that the impact of nano-precision approaches in mechanobiology research will continue to grow in the future.     

The dynamics of giant unilamellar vesicle oxidation probed by morphological transitions

We have studied the dynamics of Lissamine Rhodamine B dye sensitization-induced oxidation of 1,2-dioleoyl-sn-glycero-3-phosphocholine (DOPC) giant unilamellar vesicles (GUVs), where the progression of the underlying chemical processes was followed via vesicle membrane area changes. The surface-area-to-volume ratio of our spherical GUVs increased after as little as ten seconds of irradiation. The membrane area expansion was coupled with high amplitude fluctuations not typical of GUVs in isoosmotic conditions. To accurately measure the area of deformed and fluctuating membranes, we utilized a dual-beam optical trap (DBOT) to stretch GUV membranes into a geometrically regular shape. Further oxidation led to vesicle contraction, and the GUVs became tense, with micron-scale pores forming in the bilayer. We analyzed the GUV morphological behaviors as two consecutive rate-limiting steps. We also considered the effects of altering DOPC and 1,2-dipalmitoyl-sn-glycero-3-phosphoethanolamine-N-(lissamine rhodamine B sulfonyl) (RhDPPE) concentrations. The resulting kinetic model allows us to measure how lipid molecular area changes during oxidation, as well as to determine the rate constants controlling how quickly oxidation products are formed. Controlled membrane oxidation leading to permeabilization is also a potential tool for drug delivery based on engineered photosensitizer-containing lipid vesicles.     

Protein-protein and protein-lipid interactions in domain-assembly: Lessons from giant unilamellar vesicles

Giant Unilamellar Vesicles (GUVs) provide a key model membrane system to study lipid-lipid and lipid-protein interactions, which are relevant to vital cellular processes, by (single-molecule) optical microscopy. Here, we review the work on reconstitution techniques for membrane proteins and other preparation methods for developing GUVs towards most suitable close-to-native membrane systems. Next, we present a few applications of protein-containing GUVs to study domain assembly and protein partitioning into raft-like domains.     

A membrane filtering method for the purification of giant unilamellar vesicles

The use of giant unilamellar vesicles (GUVs) for investigating the properties of biomembranes is advantageous compared to the use of small-sized vesicles such as large unilamellar vesicles (LUVs). Experimental methods using GUVs, such as the single GUV method, would benefit if there was a methodology for obtaining a large population of similar-sized GUVs composed of oil-free membranes. We here describe a new membrane filtering method for purifying GUVs prepared by the natural swelling method and demonstrate that, following purification of GUVs composed of dioleoylphosphatidylglycerol (DOPG)/dioleoylphosphatidylcholine (DOPC) membranes suspended in a buffer, similar-sized GUVs with diameters of 10–30 μm are obtained. Moreover, this method enabled GUVs to be separated from water-soluble fluorescent probes and LUVs. These results suggest that the membrane filtering method can be applied to GUVs prepared by other methods to purify larger-sized GUVs from smaller GUVs, LUVs, and various water-soluble substances such as proteins and fluorescent probes. This method can also be used for concentration of dilute GUV suspensions.     

Functional reconstitution of a voltage-gated potassium channel in giant unilamellar vesicles

Voltage-gated ion channels are key players in cellular excitability. Recent studies suggest that their behavior can depend strongly on the membrane lipid composition and physical state. In vivo studies of membrane/channel and channel/channel interactions are challenging as membrane properties are actively regulated in living cells, and are difficult to control in experimental settings. We developed a method to reconstitute functional voltage-gated ion channels into cell-sized Giant Unilamellar Vesicles (GUVs) in which membrane composition, tension and geometry can be controlled. First, a voltage-gated potassium channel, KvAP, was purified, fluorescently labeled and reconstituted into small proteoliposomes. Small proteoliposomes were then converted into GUVs via electroformation. GUVs could be formed using different lipid compositions and buffers containing low (5 mM) or near-physiological (100 mM) salt concentrations. Protein incorporation into GUVs was characterized with quantitative confocal microscopy, and the protein density of GUVs was comparable to the small proteoliposomes from which they were formed. Furthermore, patch-clamp measurements confirmed that the reconstituted channels retained potassium selectivity and voltage-gated activation. GUVs containing functional voltage-gated ion channels will allow the study of channel activity, distribution and diffusion while controlling membrane state, and should prove a powerful tool for understanding how the membrane modulates cellular excitability.     

Modulation of membrane dynamics and cell motility by membrane tension

The plasma membrane of most cells is drawn tightly over the cytoskeleton of the cell, resulting in a significant tension being developed in the membrane. The tension in the membrane can be calculated from the force required to separate it from the cytoskeleton; and the force itself can be measured rapidly by using laser tweezers. Recent observations indicate that decreasing membrane tension stimulates endocytosis and increasing tension stimulates secretion. Thus, membrane tension provides a simple physical mechanism to control the area of the plasma membrane. Here, we speculate that tension is a global parameter that the cell uses to control physically plasma membrane dynamics, cell shape and cell motility.     

Trapping, deformation, and rotation of giant unilamellar vesicles in octode dielectrophoretic field cages

The behavior of freestanding lipid bilayer membranes under the influence of dielectric force potentials was studied by trapping, holding, and rotating individual giant unilamellar vesicles (GUVs) inside dielectrophoretic microfield cages. Using laser scanning confocal microscopy and three-dimensional image reconstructions of GUVs labeled with fluorescent membrane probes, field strength and frequency-dependent vesicle deformations were observed which are explained by calculations of the dielectric force potentials inside the cage. Dynamical membrane properties under the influence of the field cage were studied by fluorescence correlation spectroscopy, circumventing potential artifacts associated with measurements involving GUV immobilization on support surfaces. Lipid transport could be accelerated markedly by the applied fields, aided by hydrodynamic fluid streaming which was also studied by fluorescence correlation spectroscopy.     

Membrane tether formation from blebbing cells

Membrane tension has been proposed to be important in regulating cell functions such as endocytosis and cell motility. The apparent membrane tension has been calculated from tether forces measured with laser tweezers. Both membrane-cytoskeleton adhesion and membrane tension contribute to the tether force. Separation of the plasma membrane from the cytoskeleton occurs in membrane blebs, which could remove the membrane-cytoskeleton adhesion term. In renal epithelial cells, tether forces are significantly lower on blebs than on membranes that are supported by cytoskeleton. Furthermore, the tether forces are equal on apical and basolateral blebs. In contrast, tether forces from membranes supported by the cytoskeleton are greater in apical than in basolateral regions, which is consistent with the greater apparent cytoskeletal density in the apical region. We suggest that the tether force on blebs primarily contains only the membrane tension term and that the membrane tension may be uniform over the cell surface. Additional support for this hypothesis comes from observations of melanoma cells that spontaneously bleb. In melanoma cells, tether forces on blebs are proportional to the radius of the bleb, and as large blebs form, there are spikes in the tether force in other cell regions. We suggest that an internal osmotic pressure inflates the blebs, and the pressure calculated from the Law of Laplace is similar to independent measurements of intracellular pressures. When the membrane tension term is subtracted from the apparent membrane tension over the cytoskeleton, the membrane-cytoskeleton adhesion term can be estimated. In both cell systems, membrane-cytoskeleton adhesion was the major factor in generating the tether force.     

Interrogating Biology with Force: Single Molecule High-Resolution Measurements with Optical Tweezers

Single molecule force spectroscopy methods, such as optical and magnetic tweezers and atomic force microscopy, have opened up the possibility to study biological processes regulated by force, dynamics of structural conformations of proteins and nucleic acids, and load-dependent kinetics of molecular interactions. Among the various tools available today, optical tweezers have recently seen great progress in terms of spatial resolution, which now allows the measurement of atomic-scale conformational changes, and temporal resolution, which has reached the limit of the microsecond-scale relaxation times of biological molecules bound to a force probe. Here, we review different strategies and experimental configurations recently developed to apply and measure force using optical tweezers. We present the latest progress that has pushed optical tweezers’ spatial and temporal resolution down to today’s values, discussing the experimental variables and constraints that are influencing measurement resolution and how these can be optimized depending on the biological molecule under study.     

Interrogating Biology with Force: Single Molecule High-Resolution Measurements with Optical Tweezers

Single molecule force spectroscopy methods, such as optical and magnetic tweezers and atomic force microscopy, have opened up the possibility to study biological processes regulated by force, dynamics of structural conformations of proteins and nucleic acids, and load-dependent kinetics of molecular interactions. Among the various tools available today, optical tweezers have recently seen great progress in terms of spatial resolution, which now allows the measurement of atomic-scale conformational changes, and temporal resolution, which has reached the limit of the microsecond-scale relaxation times of biological molecules bound to a force probe. Here, we review different strategies and experimental configurations recently developed to apply and measure force using optical tweezers. We present the latest progress that has pushed optical tweezers’ spatial and temporal resolution down to today’s values, discussing the experimental variables and constraints that are influencing measurement resolution and how these can be optimized depending on the biological molecule under study.