Peptide lipidation in lysophospholipid micelles and lysophospholipid-enriched membranes.

Acyl transfer from lipids to membrane-associated peptides is a well-documented process, leading to the generation of a lipidated peptide and a lysolipid. In this article, we demonstrate that acyl transfer from lysophosphatidylcholines (lysoPCs) to the peptide melittin also occurs, both in micelles of pure lysolipid and in lipid/lysolipid mixtures. In the case of bilayers containing lysolipids, acyl transfer from the lysolipid is marginally favoured over transfer from the lipid. In pure bilayers of saturated lipids, the introduction of even small amounts of lysolipid appears to significantly increase the reactivity towards lipidation.