Vesicular and Planar Membranes of Archaea Lipids: Unusual Physical Properties and Biomedical Applications

Liposomes and planar membranes made of archaea or archaea-like lipids exhibit many unusual physical properties compared to model membranes composed of conventional diester lipids. Here, we review several recent findings in this research area, which include (1) thermosensitive archaeosomes with the capability to drastically change the membrane surface charge, (2) MthK channel’s capability to insert into tightly packed tetraether black lipid membranes and exhibit channel activity with surprisingly high calcium sensitivity, and (3) the intercalation of apolar squalane into the midplane space of diether bilayers to impede proton permeation. We also review the usage of tetraether archaeosomes as nanocarriers of therapeutics and vaccine adjuvants, as well as the biomedical applications of planar archaea lipid membranes. The discussion on archaeosomal therapeutics is focused on partially purified tetraether lipid fractions such as the polar lipid fraction E (PLFE) and glyceryl caldityl tetraether (GCTE), which are the main components of PLFE with the sugar and phosphate removed.