Speaker: Professor Neal Devaraj, University of California, San Diego. 

Title: "Membrane Mimetic Chemistry in Synthetic and Living Cells"

Abstract: Lipids remain one of the most enigmatic classes of biological molecules. Lipids were likely necessary for the origin of life, yet our understanding of how lipid membranes could have arisen spontaneously is a mystery. Human cells produce thousands of unique lipid species, but the purpose for such diversity remains unclear. To address these questions, our lab is pursuing membrane mimetic chemistry, which we consider as chemistry that mimics the functional properties of membranes, with the express intent of recapitulating biological phenomena. I will discuss recent efforts in the development of chemical and biochemical methods for the de novo generation of phospholipid membranes.

This work is part of a broader effort to generate synthetic cells and organelles. To mimic features of the eukaryotic endomembrane system, we have explored the creation of nonlamellar lipid “sponge” droplets, consisting of dense 3D networks of lipid bilayers. Finally, our lab's work on synthetic lipid membranes has led to tools that can remodel membranes in living cells. I will discuss how amphiphilic small molecules can directly interfere with lipid post-translational modifications, resulting in the detachment of disease relevant proteins such as HRas and NRas from the plasma membrane.