Peptide ligation chemistry has revolutionized protein science by providing access to homogeneously modified peptides and proteins. However, lipidated polypeptides and integral membrane proteinsan ...important class of biomoleculesremain enormously challenging to access synthetically owing to poor aqueous solubility of one or more of the fragments under typical ligation conditions. Herein we describe the advent of a reductive diselenide-selenoester ligation (rDSL) method that enables efficient ligation of peptide fragments down to low nanomolar concentrations, without resorting to solubility tags or hybridizing templates. The power of rDSL is highlighted in the efficient synthesis of the FDA-approved therapeutic lipopeptide tesamorelin and palmitylated variants of the transmembrane lipoprotein phospholemman (FXYD1). Lipidation of FXYD1 was shown to critically modulate inhibitory activity against the Na+/K+ pump.
The Chloride Intracellular Ion Channel (CLIC) family consists of six evolutionarily conserved proteins in humans. Members of this family are unusual, existing as both monomeric soluble proteins and ...as integral membrane proteins where they function as chloride selective ion channels, however no function has previously been assigned to their soluble form. Structural studies have shown that in the soluble form, CLIC proteins adopt a glutathione S-transferase (GST) fold, however, they have an active site with a conserved glutaredoxin monothiol motif, similar to the omega class GSTs. We demonstrate that CLIC proteins have glutaredoxin-like glutathione-dependent oxidoreductase enzymatic activity. CLICs 1, 2 and 4 demonstrate typical glutaredoxin-like activity using 2-hydroxyethyl disulfide as a substrate. Mutagenesis experiments identify cysteine 24 as the catalytic cysteine residue in CLIC1, which is consistent with its structure. CLIC1 was shown to reduce sodium selenite and dehydroascorbate in a glutathione-dependent manner. Previous electrophysiological studies have shown that the drugs IAA-94 and A9C specifically block CLIC channel activity. These same compounds inhibit CLIC1 oxidoreductase activity. This work for the first time assigns a functional activity to the soluble form of the CLIC proteins. Our results demonstrate that the soluble form of the CLIC proteins has an enzymatic activity that is distinct from the channel activity of their integral membrane form. This CLIC enzymatic activity may be important for protecting the intracellular environment against oxidation. It is also likely that this enzymatic activity regulates the CLIC ion channel function.
Celotno besedilo
Dostopno za:
DOBA, IZUM, KILJ, NUK, PILJ, PNG, SAZU, SIK, UILJ, UKNU, UL, UM, UPUK
Clusters of positively-charged basic amino acid residues, particularly lysine, are known to promote the interaction of many peripheral membrane proteins with the cytoplasmic surface of the plasma ...membrane via electrostatic interactions. In this work, cholesterol's effects on the interaction between lysine residues and membranes have been studied. Using poly-l-lysine (PLL) and vesicles as models to mimic the interaction between lysine-rich protein domains and the plasma membrane, light scattering measurements indicated cholesterol enhanced the electrostatic interaction through indirectly affecting the negatively charged phospholipid dioleoylphosphatidylserine, DOPS. Addition of PLL to lipid vesicles containing DOPS showed an initial increase in static light scattering (SLS), attributed to binding of PLL to the vesicle surface, followed by a slower continuously declining SLS signal, which, from comparison with fluorescent dye leakage studies could be attributed to vesicle lysis. Although electrostatic interactions between PLL and the membrane were not necessary for penetration to occur, cholesterol promoted membrane disruption of negatively charged vesicles, possibly by increasing the electrostatic interactions between PLL and the membrane. In contrast, cholesterol lowered the susceptibility of uncharged vesicles (formed using dioleoylphosphatidylcholine, DOPC) to PLL penetration. This can be explained by the absence of electrostatic interactions and cholesterol's known ability to increase membrane thickness and mechanical strength. Thus, the ability of cationic peptides to penetrate membranes including cholesterol is likely to depend on the membrane's PS:PC ratio.
Display omitted
•Poly-l-lysine (PLL) increases the light scattering of negatively charged membranes.•Above a threshold PLL level, scattering reaches a maximum then slowly decreases.•The slow scattering decrease is correlated to PLL penetration of the membrane.•Cholesterol promotes PLL penetration of charged membranes.•In contrast, cholesterol inhibits PLL penetration of uncharged membranes.
Bacterial colonization and biofilm development on medical devices can lead to infection. Antimicrobial peptide-coated surfaces may prevent such infections. Melimine and Mel4 are chimeric cationic ...peptides showing broad-spectrum antimicrobial activity once attached to biomaterials and are highly biocompatible in animal models and have been tested in Phase I and II/III human clinical trials. These peptides were covalently attached to glass using an azidobenzoic acid linker. Peptide attachment was confirmed using X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy and amino acid analysis. Mel4 when bound to glass was able to adopt a more ordered structure in the presence of bacterial membrane mimetic lipids. The ability of surface bound peptides to neutralize endotoxin was measured along with their interactions with the bacterial cytoplasmic membrane which were analyzed using DiSC(3)-5 and Sytox green, Syto-9, and PI dyes with fluorescence microscopy. Leakage of ATP and nucleic acids from cells were determined by analyzing the surrounding fluid. Attachment of the peptides resulted in increases in the percentage of nitrogen by 3.0% and 2.4%, and amino acid concentrations to 0.237 nmole and 0.298 nmole per coverslip on melimine and Mel4 coated surfaces, respectively. The immobilized peptides bound lipopolysaccharide and disrupted the cytoplasmic membrane potential of
within 15 min. Membrane depolarization was associated with a reduction in bacterial viability by 82% and 63% for coatings melimine and Mel4, respectively (
< 0.001). Disruption of membrane potential was followed by leakage of ATP from melimine (1.5 ± 0.4 nM) or Mel4 (1.3 ± 0.2 nM) coated surfaces compared to uncoated glass after 2 h (
< 0.001). Sytox green influx started after 3 h incubation with either peptide. Melimine coatings yielded 59% and Mel4 gave 36% PI stained cells after 4 h. Release of the larger molecules (DNA/RNA) commenced after 4 h for melimine (1.8 ± 0.9 times more than control;
= 0.008) and after 6 h with Mel4 (2.1 ± 0.2 times more than control;
< 0.001). The mechanism of action of surface bound melimine and Mel4 was similar to that of the peptides in solution, however, their immobilization resulted in much slower (approximately 30 times) kinetics.
Background: A membrane protein interaction with lipids shows distinct specificity in terms of the sterol structure. The structure of the sterol’s polar headgroup, steroidal rings, and aliphatic side ...chains have all been shown to influence protein membrane interactions, including the initial binding and subsequent oligomerization to form functional channels. Previous studies have provided some insights into the regulatory role that cholesterol plays in the spontaneous membrane insertion of the chloride intracellular ion channel protein, CLIC1. However, the manner in which cholesterol interacts with CLIC1 is yet largely unknown. Method: In this study, the CLIC1 interaction with different lipid:sterol monolayers was studied using the Langmuir trough and neutron reflectometry in order to investigate the structural features of cholesterol essential for the spontaneous membrane insertion of the CLIC1 protein. Molecular docking simulations were also performed to study the binding affinities between CLIC1 and the different sterol molecules. Results: This study, for the first time, highlights the vital role of the free sterol 3β-OH group as an essential structural requirement for the interaction of CLIC1 with cholesterol. Furthermore, the presence of additional hydroxyl groups, methylation of the sterol skeleton, and the structure of the sterol alkyl side chain have also been shown to modulate the magnitude of CLIC1 interaction with sterols and hence their spontaneous membrane insertion. This study also reports the ability of CLIC1 to interact with other naturally existing sterol molecules. General Significance: Like the sterol molecules, CLIC proteins are evolutionarily conserved with almost all vertebrates expressing six CLIC proteins (CLIC1-6), and CLIC-like proteins are also present in invertebrates and have also been reported in plants. This discovery of CLIC1 protein interaction with other natural sterols and the sterol structural requirements for CLIC membrane insertion provide key information to explore the feasibility of exploiting these properties for therapeutic and prophylactic purposes.
Cholesterol's effects on Na+,K+-ATPase reconstituted in phospholipid vesicles have been extensively studied. However, previous studies have reported both cholesterol-mediated stimulation and ...inhibition of Na+,K+-ATPase activity. Here, using partial reaction kinetics determined via stopped-flow experiments, we studied cholesterol's effect on Na+,K+-ATPase in a near-native environment in which purified membrane fragments were depleted of cholesterol with methyl-β-cyclodextrin (mβCD). The mβCD-treated Na+,K+-ATPase had significantly reduced overall activity and exhibited decreased observed rate constants for ATP phosphorylation (ENa3+ → E2P, i.e. phosphorylation by ATP and Na+ occlusion from the cytoplasm) and K+ deocclusion with subsequent intracellular Na+ binding (E2K2+ → E1Na3+). However, cholesterol depletion did not affect the observed rate constant for K+ occlusion by phosphorylated Na+,K+-ATPase on the extracellular face and subsequent dephosphorylation (E2P → E2K2+). Thus, partial reactions involving cation binding and release at the protein's intracellular side were most dependent on cholesterol. Fluorescence measurements with the probe eosin indicated that cholesterol depletion stabilizes the unphosphorylated E2 state relative to E1, and the cholesterol depletion-induced slowing of ATP phosphorylation kinetics was consistent with partial conversion of Na+,K+-ATPase into the E2 state, requiring a slow E2 → E1 transition before the phosphorylation. Molecular dynamics simulations of Na+,K+-ATPase in membranes with 40 mol % cholesterol revealed cholesterol interaction sites that differ markedly among protein conformations. They further indicated state-dependent effects on membrane shape, with the E2 state being likely disfavored in cholesterol-rich bilayers relative to the E1P state because of a greater hydrophobic mismatch. In summary, cholesterol extraction from membranes significantly decreases Na+,K+-ATPase steady-state activity.
Protein structure and function are modulated via interactions with their environment, representing both the surrounding aqueous media and lipid membranes that have an active role in shaping the ...structural topology of membrane proteins. Compared to a decade ago, there is now an abundance of crystal structural data on membrane proteins, which together with their functional studies have enhanced our understanding of the salient features of lipid-protein interactions. It is now important to recognize that membrane proteins are regulated by both (1)
general lipid-protein interactions
, where the general physicochemical properties of the lipid environment affect the conformational flexibility of a membrane protein, and (2)
by specific lipid-protein interactions
, where lipid molecules directly interact via chemical interactions with specific lipid-binding sites located on the protein. However, due to local differences in membrane composition, thickness, and lipid packing, local membrane physical properties and hence the associated lipid-protein interactions also differ due to membrane location, even for the same protein. Such a phenomenon has been shown to be true for one family of integral membrane ion pumps, the P2-type adenosine triphosphatases (ATPases). Despite being highly homologous, individual members of this family have distinct structural and functional activity and are an excellent candidate to highlight how the local membrane physical properties and specific lipid-protein interactions play a vital role in facilitating the structural rearrangements of these proteins necessary for their activity. Hence in this review, we focus on both the general and specific lipid-protein interactions and will mostly discuss the structure-function relationships of the following P2-type ATPases, Na
+
,K
+
-ATPase (NKA), gastric H
+
,K
+
-ATPase (HKA), and sarco(endo)plasmic reticulum Ca
2+
-ATPase (SERCA), in concurrence with their lipid environment.
Membrane protein structure and function are modulated
via
interactions with their lipid environment. This is particularly true for integral membrane pumps, the P-type ATPases. These ATPases play ...vital roles in cell physiology, where they are associated with the transport of cations and lipids, thereby generating and maintaining crucial (electro-)chemical potential gradients across the membrane. Several pumps (Na
+
, K
+
-ATPase, H
+
, K
+
-ATPase and the plasma membrane Ca
2+
-ATPase) which are located in the asymmetric animal plasma membrane have been found to possess polybasic (lysine-rich) domains on their cytoplasmic surfaces, which are thought to act as phosphatidylserine (PS) binding domains. In contrast, the sarcoplasmic reticulum Ca
2+
-ATPase, located within an intracellular organelle membrane, does not possess such a domain. Here we focus on the lysine-rich N-termini of the plasma-membrane-bound Na
+
, K
+
- and H
+
, K
+
-ATPases. Synthetic peptides corresponding to the N-termini of these proteins were found,
via
quartz crystal microbalance and circular dichroism measurements, to interact
via
an electrostatic interaction with PS-containing membranes, thereby undergoing an increase in helical or other secondary structure content. As well as influencing ion pumping activity, it is proposed that this interaction could provide a mechanism for sensing the lipid asymmetry of the plasma membrane, which changes drastically when a cell undergoes apoptosis,
i.e.
programmed cell death. Thus, polybasic regions of plasma membrane-bound ion pumps could potentially perform the function of a "death sensor", signalling to a cell to reduce pumping activity and save energy.
Circular dichroism of an H
+
, K
+
-ATPase N-terminal peptide at varying trifluoroethanol concentrations is investigated, indicating that its secondary structure is environmentally sensitive.
This study explains the importance of the phosphate moiety and H3O+ in controlling the ionic flux through phospholipid membranes. We show that despite an increase in the H3O+ concentration when the ...pH is decreased, the level of ionic conduction through phospholipid bilayers is reduced. By modifying the lipid structure, we show the dominant determinant of membrane conduction is the hydrogen bonding between the phosphate oxygens on adjacent phospholipids. The modulation of conduction with pH is proposed to arise from the varying H3O+ concentrations altering the molecular area per lipid and modifying the geometry of conductive defects already present in the membrane. Given the geometrical constraints that control the lipid phase structure of membranes, these area changes predict that organisms evolving in environments with different pHs will select for different phospholipid chain lengths, as is found for organisms near highly acidic volcanic vents (short chains) or in highly alkaline salt lakes (long chains). The stabilizing effect of the hydration shells around phosphate groups also accounts for the prevalence of phospholipids across biology. Measurement of ion permeation through lipid bilayers was made tractable using sparsely tethered bilayer lipid membranes with swept frequency electrical impedance spectroscopy and ramped dc amperometry. Additional evidence of the effect of a change in pH on lipid packing density is obtained from neutron reflectometry data of tethered membranes containing perdeuterated lipids.
CLIC1 belongs to the ubiquitous family of chloride intracellular ion channel proteins that are evolutionarily conserved across species. The CLICs are unusual in that they exist mainly as soluble ...proteins but possess the intriguing property of spontaneous conversion from the soluble to an integral membrane-bound form. This conversion is regulated by the membrane lipid composition, especially by cholesterol, together with external factors such as oxidation and pH. However, the precise physiological mechanism regulating CLIC1 membrane insertion is currently unknown. In this study, X-ray and neutron reflectivity experiments were performed to study the interaction of CLIC1 with different phospholipid monolayers prepared using POPC, POPE, or POPS with and without cholesterol in order to better understand the regulatory role of cholesterol in CLIC1 membrane insertion. Our findings demonstrate for the first time two different structural orientations of CLIC1 within phospholipid monolayers, dependent upon the absence or presence of cholesterol. In phospholipid monolayers devoid of cholesterol, CLIC1 was unable to insert into the lipid acyl chain region. However, in the presence of cholesterol, CLIC1 showed significant insertion within the phospholipid acyl chains occupying an area per protein molecule of 6−7 nm2 with a total CLIC1 thickness ranging from ∼50 to 56 Å across the entire monolayer. Our data strongly suggests that cholesterol not only facilitates the initial docking or binding of CLIC1 to the membrane but also promotes deeper penetration of CLIC1 into the hydrophobic tails of the lipid monolayer.