# The Purchase of a Liquid Chromatography System to facilitate the high-throughput quantification of lipid-protein interactions and membrane ordering using solid-state NMR

> **NIH NIH R35** · TEXAS TECH UNIVERSITY · 2020 · $95,306

## Abstract

Abstract Summary: We will determine how the lipid bilayer organizes around membrane proteins
to regulate vital biological functions. In pathogenic bacteria lipid microdomains increase virulence
and antibiotic resistance. In humans, microdomains can facilitate multiple signaling processes
which can malfunction within disease pathogenesis. Our research program is built around three
thematic thrusts: (1) To understand how the lipid environment regulates membrane proteins site-
specifically. (2) To determine how membrane proteins, in turn, order their environment. (3) To
determine the degree of long-range order and dynamic timescales of these membrane
assemblies. Our first target is the KirBac1.1 prokaryotic inward-rectifier K+ (Kir) channel and an
array of functional lipids, including synthetic lipids and biological lipid extracts, known to associate
with rafts. KirBac1.1 shares many behaviors with eukaryotic Kir channels. The shared regulatory
and structural features between KirBac1.1 and eukaryotic Kir channels inspire several topics of
interest: (a) How do anionic lipids activate KirBac1.1 and trigger transmembrane allostery? (b)
What is the locus and mechanism of cholesterol/hopanoid induced channel activation? (c) How
do functional lipid binding sites nucleate microdomains? (d) How does the organization of the
annular/nonannular lipid shell act as a secondary regulator of membrane proteins? Kir channels
are inactivated by cholesterol but have a high affinity for microdomains. How do cellular
membranes organize such that Kir channels can be in microdomains, yet retain activity? (e) What
is the long-range order and lifetime of these assemblies? It is still unknown if these assemblies
persist on the timescale of signaling processes.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10156729
- **Project number:** 3R35GM124979-03S1
- **Recipient organization:** TEXAS TECH UNIVERSITY
- **Principal Investigator:** Benjamin James Wylie
- **Activity code:** R35 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2020
- **Award amount:** $95,306
- **Award type:** 3
- **Project period:** 2017-08-10 → 2022-07-31

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10156729

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10156729, The Purchase of a Liquid Chromatography System to facilitate the high-throughput quantification of lipid-protein interactions and membrane ordering using solid-state NMR (3R35GM124979-03S1). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-26 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10156729. Licensed CC0.

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