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Label-free probe of HIV-1 TAT peptide binding to mimetic membranes

Significance The TAT protein is important in the progression of AIDS. Studies show that a small highly charged region of the protein, the TAT peptide, enables the protein to penetrate cells. We have developed a laser method, which differs from traditional methods and, being sensitive to surface charge, enables us to probe mechanisms of binding and penetration of artificial membranes. Using this method, which does not require a label for detection, we measured the electric potential, the strength of TAT binding to artificial membranes, and the maximum number of TATs that bind to a given liposome. This special property to transport molecules across membranes, which could not penetrate otherwise, has delivery applications for molecules of biomedical importance. The transacting activator of transduction (TAT) protein plays a key role in the progression of AIDS. Studies have shown that a +8 charged sequence of amino acids in the protein, called the TAT peptide, enables the TAT protein to penetrate cell membranes. To probe mechanisms of binding and translocation of the TAT peptide into the cell, investigators have used phospholipid liposomes as cell membrane mimics. We have used the method of surface potential sensitive second harmonic generation (SHG), which is a label-free and interface-selective method, to study the binding of TAT to anionic 1-palmitoyl-2-oleoyl-sn-glycero-3-phospho-1′-rac-glycerol (POPG) and neutral 1-palmitoyl-2-oleoyl-sn-glycero-3-phosphocholine (POPC) liposomes. It is the SHG sensitivity to the electrostatic field generated by a charged interface that enabled us to obtain the interfacial electrostatic potential. SHG together with the Poisson–Boltzmann equation yielded the dependence of the surface potential on the density of adsorbed TAT. We obtained the dissociation constants Kd for TAT binding to POPC and POPG liposomes and the maximum number of TATs that can bind to a given liposome surface. For POPC Kd was found to be 7.5 ± 2 μM, and for POPG Kd was 29.0 ± 4.0 μM. As TAT was added to the liposome solution the POPC surface potential changed from 0 mV to +37 mV, and for POPG it changed from −57 mV to −37 mV. A numerical calculation of Kd, which included all terms obtained from application of the Poisson–Boltzmann equation to the TAT liposome SHG data, was shown to be in good agreement with an approximated solution.