Toxin­ Induced Ordering Transitions of Liquid Crystals at Biomolecular Interfaces

Abstract

newline Confinement of liquid crystals (LCs) within constrained geometries immersed in an aqueous newlinemedium holds potential as responsive interfaces for biomolecular recognition. One captivating newlinefeature of liquid crystalline interfaces lies in the ability of LC molecules to amplify newlinebiomolecular events into readily measurable optical signals. This discourse will explore the newlineapplicability of thermotropic nematic LC in investigating the remodelling of lipids induced by newlinevarious toxins at their interfaces. The significance of this study becomes apparent in light of newlinethe enduring challenges we face during the ongoing pandemic. Each of the four instances newlinepresented will spotlight a distinct fundamental challenge and elucidate how the interfacial newlineproperties of LC can be harnessed to address it. The first study underscores the capacity of LC- newlineaqueous interfaces to extract crucial information regarding lipid-protein crosstalk, specifically newlinein the context of the interactions between the and#946;-barrel pore-forming toxin, Vibrio Cholerae newlineCytolysin (VCC), and cholesterol within membranes. The research demonstrates that the newlinecholesterol-mediated activity of the toxin can be amplified at concentrations relevant to newlinephysiological conditions through LC biomimetic interfaces. The second illustration newlineunderscores the significance of two specific amino acids in the largest pore-forming toxin newlineproduced by Listeria monocytogenes, namely Listeriolysin O (LLO), using the LC-aqueous newlineplatform. The third example portrays the ability of LC-aqueous interfaces to investigate the newlineforces implicated in the misfolding of cellular prion proteins, which serve as the underlying newlinecause of fatal neurodegenerative diseases. The fourth study revealed the responsive nature of newlineLC-aqueous interfaces to spatiotemporal evolution in the lipidome of mycobacterium. The newlinestudy also sheds light on the mycobacterium lipid remodelling in the presence of antimicrobial newlinepeptides and their mode of action. These studies collectively highlight that the development of newlineLC-based biose