Flexible scaffolding made of rigid BARs

A Multi-Scale Approach to Membrane Remodeling Processes

We present a multi-scale simulation procedure to describe membrane-related biological processes that span over a wide range of length scales. At macroscopic length-scale, a membrane is described as a flexible thin film modeled by a dynamic triangulated surface with its spatial conformations governed by an elastic energy containing only a few model parameters. An implicit protein model allows us to include complex effects of membrane-protein interactions in the macroscopic description. The gist of this multi-scale approach is a scheme to calibrate the implicit protein model using finer scale simulation techniques e.g., all atom and coarse grain molecular dynamics. We previously used this approach and properly described the formation of membrane tubular invaginations upon binding of B-subunit of Shiga toxin. Here, we provide a perspective of our multi-scale approach, summarizing its main features and sketching possible routes for future development.

Lipid-mediated endocytosis

Receptor-mediated endocytosis is used by a number of viruses and toxins to gain entry into cells. Some have evolved to use specific lipids in the plasma membrane as their receptors. They include bacterial toxins such as Shiga and Cholera toxin and viruses such as mouse polyoma virus and simian virus 40. Through multivalent binding to glycosphingolipids, they induce lipid clustering and changes in membrane properties. Internalization occurs by unusual endocytic mechanisms involving lipid rafts, induction of membrane curvature, trans-bilayer coupling, and activation of signaling pathways. Once delivered to early endosomes, they follow diverse intracellular routes to the lumen of the ER, from which they penetrate into the cytosol. The role of the lipid receptors is central in these well-studied processes.

Domain-driven morphogenesis of cellular membranes

Cellular membrane systems delimit and organize the intracellular space. Most of the morphological rearrangements in cells involve the coordinated remodeling of the lipid bilayer, the core of the membranes. This process is generally thought to be initiated and coordinated by specialized protein machineries. Nevertheless, it has become increasingly evident that the most essential part of the geometric information and energy required for membrane remodeling is supplied via the cooperative and synergistic action of proteins and lipids, as cellular shapes are constructed using the intrinsic dynamics, plasticity and self-organizing capabilities provided by the lipid bilayer. Here, we analyze the essential role of proteo-lipid membrane domains in conducting and coordinating morphological remodeling in cells.

GTPase cycle of dynamin is coupled to membrane squeeze and release, leading to spontaneous fission

The GTPase dynamin is critically involved in membrane fission during endocytosis. How does dynamin use the energy of GTP hydrolysis for membrane remodeling? By monitoring the ionic permeability through lipid nanotubes (NT), we found that dynamin was capable of squeezing NT to extremely small radii, depending on the NT lipid composition. However, long dynamin scaffolds did not produce fission: instead, fission followed GTPase-dependent cycles of assembly and disassembly of short dynamin scaffolds and involved a stochastic process dependent on the curvature stress imposed by dynamin. Fission happened spontaneously upon NT release from the scaffold, without leakage. Our calculations revealed that local narrowing of NT could induce cooperative lipid tilting, leading to self-merger of the inner monolayer of NT (hemifission), consistent with the absence of leakage. We propose that dynamin transmits GTP's energy to periodic assembling of a limited curvature scaffold that brings lipids to an unstable intermediate.

Endophilin B1/Bif-1 stimulates BAX activation independently from its capacity to produce large scale membrane morphological rearrangements

Endophilin B1/BAX-interacting factor 1 (Bif-1) is a protein that cooperates with dynamin-like protein 1 (DLP1/Drp1) to maintain normal mitochondrial outer membrane (MOM) dynamics in healthy cells and also contributes to BAX-driven MOM permeabilization (MOMP), the irreversible commitment point to cell death for the majority of apoptotic stimuli. However, despite its importance, exactly how Bif-1 fulfils its proapoptotic role is unknown. Here, we demonstrate that the stimulatory effect of Bif-1 on BAX-driven MOMP and on BAX conformational activation observed in intact cells during apoptosis can be recapitulated in a simplified system consisting of purified proteins and MOM-like liposomes. In this reconstituted model system the N-BAR domain of Bif-1 reproduced the stimulatory effect of Bif-1 on functional BAX activation. This process was dependent on physical interaction between Bif-1 N-BAR and BAX as well as on the presence of the mitochondrion-specific lipid cardiolipin. Despite that Bif-1 N-BAR produced large scale morphological rearrangements in MOM-like liposomes, this phenomenon could be separated from functional BAX activation. Furthermore, DLP1 also caused global morphological changes in MOM-like liposomes, but DLP1 did not stimulate BAX-permeabilizing function in the absence or presence of Bif-1. Taken together, our findings not only provide direct evidence for a functional interplay between Bif-1, BAX, and cardiolipin during MOMP but also add significantly to the growing body of evidence indicating that components of the mitochondrial morphogenesis machinery possess proapoptotic functions that are independent from their recognized roles in normal mitochondrial dynamics.