Engineered nanostructured β-sheet peptides protect membrane proteins

We designed beta-strand peptides that stabilize integral membrane proteins (IMPs). beta-strand peptides self-assemble in solution as filaments and become restructured upon association with IMPs; resulting IMP-beta-strand peptide complexes resisted aggregation when diluted in detergent-free buffer and were visible as stable, single particles with low detergent background in electron micrographs. beta-strand peptides enabled clear visualization of flexible conformations in the highly dynamic ATP-binding cassette (ABC) transporter MsbA.