Cooperativity of α-Synuclein Binding to Lipid Membranes

Cooperative binding is a key feature of metabolic pathways, signaling, and transport processes. It provides tight regulation over a narrow concentration interval of a ligand, thus enabling switching to be triggered by small concentration variations. The data presented in this work reveal strong positive cooperativity of alpha-synuclein binding to phospholipid membranes. Fluorescence cross-correlation spectroscopy, confocal microscopy, and cryo-TEM results show that in excess of vesicles alpha-synuclein does not distribute randomly but binds only to a fraction of all available vesicles. Furthermore, alpha-synuclein binding to a supported lipid bilayer observed with total internal reflection fluorescence microscopy displays a much steeper dependence of bound protein on total protein concentration than expected for independent binding. The same phenomenon was observed in the case of alpha-synuclein binding to unilamellar vesicles of sizes in the nm and mu m range as well as to flat supported lipid bilayers, ruling out that nonuniform binding of the protein is governed by differences in membrane curvature. Positive cooperativity of alpha-synuclein binding to lipid membranes means that the affinity of the protein to a membrane is higher where there is already protein bound compared to a bare membrane. The phenomenon described in this work may have implications for alpha-synuclein function in synaptic transmission and other membrane remodeling events.

Automated summary

Cooperative binding is a crucial feature in metabolic pathways, signaling, and transport processes, allowing for tight regulation over a narrow concentration range. The study shows strong positive cooperativity of alpha-synuclein binding to phospholipid membranes, indicating that the protein has a higher affinity for a membrane where there is already bound protein, compared to a bare membrane.