Issue 47, 2022

Nanomolar LL-37 induces permeability of a biomimetic mitochondrial membrane

Abstract

LL-37, the only human host cathelicidin peptide, is proposed to be able to induce host cell apoptosis through mitochondrial membrane permeabilization (MMP). Detailed pathways of the LL-37-triggered MMP are however still disputed. It is generally believed that cationic peptides permeate a membrane mostly in conditions of micromolar peptide concentrations and negatively charged membranes, which are not usually satisfied in the mitochondrial circumstance. Herein, using a variety of single-molecule techniques, we show that nanomolar LL-37 specifically induces permeability of a phosphoethanolamine (PE)-rich biomimetic mitochondrial membrane in a protein-independent manner. The insertion dynamics of single LL-37 molecules exhibit different metastable states in bilayers composed of different lipids. Moreover, the PE lipids significantly facilitate adsorption and accumulation of LL-37 on the PE-rich bilayer, and produce deeper insertion of peptide oligomers, especially tetramers, into the bilayer. This work offers an alternative pathway of the LL-37-triggered MMP and apoptosis.

Graphical abstract: Nanomolar LL-37 induces permeability of a biomimetic mitochondrial membrane

Associated articles

Supplementary files

Article information

Article type
Paper
Submitted
30 sen 2022
Accepted
15 noy 2022
First published
16 noy 2022

Nanoscale, 2022,14, 17654-17660

Nanomolar LL-37 induces permeability of a biomimetic mitochondrial membrane

X. Jiang, C. Yang, J. Qiu, D. Ma, C. Xu, S. Hu, W. Han, B. Yuan and Y. Lu, Nanoscale, 2022, 14, 17654 DOI: 10.1039/D2NR05409D

To request permission to reproduce material from this article, please go to the Copyright Clearance Center request page.

If you are an author contributing to an RSC publication, you do not need to request permission provided correct acknowledgement is given.

If you are the author of this article, you do not need to request permission to reproduce figures and diagrams provided correct acknowledgement is given. If you want to reproduce the whole article in a third-party publication (excluding your thesis/dissertation for which permission is not required) please go to the Copyright Clearance Center request page.

Read more about how to correctly acknowledge RSC content.

Social activity

Spotlight

Advertisements