Evidence map›Paper›PMID 41372170›Full record

ArticleNature communications2025

MAASTY: a (dis)ordered copolymer for structural determination of human membrane proteins in native nanodiscs.

Ciara F Pugh, Lukas P Feilen, Dušan Živković, Kaia F Præstegaard, Charalampos Sideris, Neil J Borthwick, Casper de Lichtenberg, Jani R Bolla, Anton A A Autzen, Henriette E Autzen

Abstract read
In one paragraph

Article in Nature communications, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 1 paper.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
1citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

1 citing paper in PubMed.

  1. Review
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

10 authors.

Ciara F PughDepartment of Biomedical Sciences, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, N, DK-2200, Denmark.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0002-6280-2223
Lukas P FeilenDepartment of Biomedical Sciences, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, N, DK-2200, Denmark.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0001-8221-6742
Dušan ŽivkovićDepartment of Biology, University of Oxford, Oxford, OX1 3RB, UK.
Kaia F PræstegaardDepartment of Health Technology, Technical University of Denmark, Kgs. Lyngby, DK-2800, Denmark.ORCID http://orcid.org/0009-0008-4449-0140
Charalampos SiderisDepartment of Health Technology, Technical University of Denmark, Kgs. Lyngby, DK-2800, Denmark.ORCID http://orcid.org/0009-0004-4352-0281
Neil J BorthwickDepartment of Health Technology, Technical University of Denmark, Kgs. Lyngby, DK-2800, Denmark.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0003-1862-0411
Casper de LichtenbergDepartment of Biomedical Sciences, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, N, DK-2200, Denmark.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0003-2975-8395
Jani R BollaDepartment of Biology, University of Oxford, Oxford, OX1 3RB, UK.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0003-4346-182X
Anton A A AutzenDepartment of Health Technology, Technical University of Denmark, Kgs. Lyngby, DK-2800, Denmark. aaas@dtu.dk.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0001-6728-5299
Henriette E AutzenDepartment of Biomedical Sciences, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, N, DK-2200, Denmark. henriette.autzen@sund.ku.dk.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0003-3691-5010

Funding

Carlsbergfondet (Carlsberg Foundation) CF20-0533Det Frie Forskningsråd (Danish Council for Independent Research) 0171-00081BDet Frie Forskningsråd (Danish Council for Independent Research) 1131-00023BNovo Nordisk Fonden (Novo Nordisk Foundation) NNF20OC0060692Royal Society URF\R1\211567
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Amphiphilic copolymers capable of extracting membrane proteins directly from cellular membranes into "native nanodiscs" offer a simplified approach for preparing membrane proteins in lipid nanodiscs compared to approaches that rely on detergent. Copolymer amphiphilicity, length, and composition influence their performance, in addition to the protein itself and the purification conditions used. Here, we report a copolymer composed of methacrylic acid and styrene, which we term MAASTY, leveraging the inherent monomer reactivity ratios to create an anionic copolymer with a statistical distribution of monomers. We show that MAASTY can be used for high-resolution structural determination of a human membrane protein by single particle cryo-electron microscopy, preserving endogenous lipids including cholesterol and exhibiting an enrichment of phosphatidylinositol. Moreover, MAASTY copolymers effectively solubilize a broad range of lipid species and a wide range of different, eukaryotic membrane proteins from mammalian cells. We find that MAASTY copolymers are promising as effective solubilizers of membrane proteins and offer a chemical platform for structural and functional characterization of membrane proteins in native nanodiscs.

Indexed as

Membrane ProteinsNanostructuresPolymersCryoelectron MicroscopyHumansLipid BilayersStyreneLipid BilayersMembrane ProteinsPolymersStyrene

Identifiers

PMID41372170
PMCPMC12738716

What Socratic holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY-NC-ND
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the Socratic graph.