Receptors and functional linkage in membrane permeability: A quantum mechanical model

Abstract

During functional linkage, ligand receptors are coupled to other receptors and to the cell's metabolic-transport apparatus. The linkage guides the cellular processing of matter, energy and information. Previous conceptions of functional linkage have used the ideas of classical physics appropriate to macroscopic objects. This study presents an initial quantum mechanical model of functional linkage in the case of ligands moving through lipid bilayers and hydrophilic transmembrane channels (‘pores’) of molecular dimensions. On the basis of permeability data, energy surfaces consisting of piecewise-constant potential regions are used to model the lipid bilayers and transmembrane channels.

The centre-of-mass wavefunction for a ligand on such energy surfaces is analysed and the permeability coefficients calculated from the wavefunction's transmission characteristics. It is found that quasi-bound states in the several ligand-binding regions of a bilayer or pore system can functionally link to facilitate the passage of the molecule across the permeability barrier. Appearance of the linkage is a sensitive function of the ligand's energy. If the centre-of-mass energies are distributed as in a thermalized fluid, the flux via the quantum functional linkage can equal or exceed that of a classical flux for proton transport through rigid pores in which the intrasite barriers are relatively high (0.25–1 eV) and narrow (0.1–1 Å). The functional linkage plays a less important role in bilayer (rather than pore) energy surfaces and at higher molecular weights. If the ligand-receptor interaction is accompanied by energy transfer to or from ligands, the flux via the quantum functional linkage can equal or exceed the classically expected flux at all relevant ligand molecular weights. These findings are discussed in relation to earlier work and the limitations of the model emphasized.