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Stone TA, Schiller N, Workewych N, von Heijne G, Deber CM. Hydrophobic Clusters Raise the Threshold Hydrophilicity for Insertion of Transmembrane Sequences in Vivo. Biochemistry 2016; 55:5772-5779. [PMID: 27620701 DOI: 10.1021/acs.biochem.6b00650] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/28/2022]
Abstract
Insertion of a nascent membrane protein segment by the translocon channel into the bilayer is naturally promoted by high segmental hydrophobicity, but its selection as a transmembrane (TM) segment is complicated by the diverse environments (aqueous vs lipidic) the protein encounters and by the fact that most TM segments contain a substantial amount (∼30%) of polar residues, as required for protein structural stabilization and/or function. To examine the contributions of these factors systematically, we designed and synthesized a peptide library consisting of pairs of compositionally identical, but sequentially different, peptides with 19-residue core sequences varying (i) in Leu positioning (with five or seven Leu residues clustered into a contiguous "block" in the middle of the segment or "scrambled" throughout the sequence) and (ii) in Ser content (0-6 residues). The library was analyzed by a combination of biophysical and biological techniques, including HPLC retention times, circular dichroism measurements of helicity in micelle and phospholipid bilayer media, and relative blue shifts in Trp fluorescence maxima, as well as by the extent of membrane insertion in a translocon-mediated assay using microsomal membranes from dog pancreas endoplasmic reticulum. We found that local blocks of high hydrophobicity heighten the translocon's propensity to insert moderately hydrophilic sequences, until a "threshold hydrophilicity" is surpassed whereby segments no longer insert even in the presence of Leu blocks. This study codifies the prerequisites of apolar/polar content and residue positioning that define nascent TM segments, illustrates the accuracy in their prediction, and highlights how a single disease-causing mutation can tip the balance toward anomalous translocation/insertion.
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Affiliation(s)
- Tracy A Stone
- Division of Molecular Structure & Function, Research Institute, Hospital for Sick Children , Toronto M5G 0A4, Ontario, Canada.,Department of Biochemistry, University of Toronto , Toronto M5S 1A8, Ontario, Canada
| | - Nina Schiller
- Department of Biochemistry and Biophysics, Stockholm University , SE-106 91 Stockholm, Sweden.,Science for Life Laboratory, Stockholm University , Box 1031, SE-171 21 Solna, Sweden
| | - Natalie Workewych
- Division of Molecular Structure & Function, Research Institute, Hospital for Sick Children , Toronto M5G 0A4, Ontario, Canada
| | - Gunnar von Heijne
- Department of Biochemistry and Biophysics, Stockholm University , SE-106 91 Stockholm, Sweden.,Science for Life Laboratory, Stockholm University , Box 1031, SE-171 21 Solna, Sweden
| | - Charles M Deber
- Division of Molecular Structure & Function, Research Institute, Hospital for Sick Children , Toronto M5G 0A4, Ontario, Canada.,Department of Biochemistry, University of Toronto , Toronto M5S 1A8, Ontario, Canada
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Pogozheva ID, Mosberg HI, Lomize AL. Life at the border: adaptation of proteins to anisotropic membrane environment. Protein Sci 2014; 23:1165-96. [PMID: 24947665 DOI: 10.1002/pro.2508] [Citation(s) in RCA: 19] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/02/2014] [Revised: 06/17/2014] [Accepted: 06/18/2014] [Indexed: 12/25/2022]
Abstract
This review discusses main features of transmembrane (TM) proteins which distinguish them from water-soluble proteins and allow their adaptation to the anisotropic membrane environment. We overview the structural limitations on membrane protein architecture, spatial arrangement of proteins in membranes and their intrinsic hydrophobic thickness, co-translational and post-translational folding and insertion into lipid bilayers, topogenesis, high propensity to form oligomers, and large-scale conformational transitions during membrane insertion and transport function. Special attention is paid to the polarity of TM protein surfaces described by profiles of dipolarity/polarizability and hydrogen-bonding capacity parameters that match polarity of the lipid environment. Analysis of distributions of Trp resides on surfaces of TM proteins from different biological membranes indicates that interfacial membrane regions with preferential accumulation of Trp indole rings correspond to the outer part of the lipid acyl chain region-between double bonds and carbonyl groups of lipids. These "midpolar" regions are not always symmetric in proteins from natural membranes. We also examined the hydrophobic effect that drives insertion of proteins into lipid bilayer and different free energy contributions to TM protein stability, including attractive van der Waals forces and hydrogen bonds, side-chain conformational entropy, the hydrophobic mismatch, membrane deformations, and specific protein-lipid binding.
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Affiliation(s)
- Irina D Pogozheva
- Department of Medicinal Chemistry, College of Pharmacy, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Michigan, 48109-1065
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Kim SJ, Skach WR. Mechanisms of CFTR Folding at the Endoplasmic Reticulum. Front Pharmacol 2012; 3:201. [PMID: 23248597 PMCID: PMC3521238 DOI: 10.3389/fphar.2012.00201] [Citation(s) in RCA: 74] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/12/2012] [Accepted: 11/23/2012] [Indexed: 12/20/2022] Open
Abstract
In the past decade much has been learned about how Cystic Fibrosis Transmembrane Conductance Regulator (CFTR) folds and misfolds as the etiologic cause of cystic fibrosis (CF). CFTR folding is complex and hierarchical, takes place in multiple cellular compartments and physical environments, and involves several large networks of folding machineries. Insertion of transmembrane (TM) segments into the endoplasmic reticulum (ER) membrane and tertiary folding of cytosolic domains begin cotranslationally as the nascent polypeptide emerges from the ribosome, whereas posttranslational folding establishes critical domain-domain contacts needed to form a physiologically stable structure. Within the membrane, N- and C-terminal TM helices are sorted into bundles that project from the cytosol to form docking sites for nucleotide binding domains, NBD1 and NBD2, which in turn form a sandwich dimer for ATP binding. While tertiary folding is required for domain assembly, proper domain assembly also reciprocally affects folding of individual domains analogous to a jig-saw puzzle wherein the structure of each interlocking piece influences its neighbors. Superimposed on this process is an elaborate proteostatic network of cellular chaperones and folding machineries that facilitate the timing and coordination of specific folding steps in and across the ER membrane. While the details of this process require further refinement, we finally have a useful framework to understand key folding defect(s) caused by ΔF508 that provides a molecular target(s) for the next generation of CFTR small molecule correctors aimed at the specific defect present in the majority of CF patients.
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Affiliation(s)
- Soo Jung Kim
- Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Oregon Health and Science University Portland, OR, USA
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Abstract
Of great interest to the academic and pharmaceutical research communities, helical transmembrane proteins are characterized by their ability to dissolve and fold in lipid bilayers—properties conferred by polypeptide spans termed transmembrane domains (TMDs). The apolar nature of TMDs necessitates the use of membrane-mimetic solvents for many structure and folding studies. This review examines the relationship between TMD structure and solvent environment, focusing on principles elucidated largely in membrane-mimetic environments with single-TMD protein and peptide models. Following a brief description of TMD sequence and conformational characteristics gleaned from the structural database, we present an overview of the conceptual models used to study folding in vitro. The impact of sequence and solvent context on the incorporation of TMDs into membranes, and its role in measurements of TMD self-assembly strengths, is then described. We conclude with a discussion of the nonspecific effects of membrane components on TMD stability.
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Affiliation(s)
- Arianna Rath
- Division of Molecular Structure & Function, Research Institute, Hospital for Sick Children, Toronto, Ontario, M5G 1X8 Canada
| | - Charles M. Deber
- Division of Molecular Structure & Function, Research Institute, Hospital for Sick Children, Toronto, Ontario, M5G 1X8 Canada
- Department of Biochemistry, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, M5S 1A8 Canada
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Nørholm MHH, Shulga YV, Aoki S, Epand RM, von Heijne G. Flanking residues help determine whether a hydrophobic segment adopts a monotopic or bitopic topology in the endoplasmic reticulum membrane. J Biol Chem 2011; 286:25284-90. [PMID: 21606504 DOI: 10.1074/jbc.m111.244616] [Citation(s) in RCA: 16] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/06/2022] Open
Abstract
Proteins interacting with membranes via a single hydrophobic segment can be classified as either monotopic or bitopic. Here, we probe the topology of a membrane-attached enzyme, the ε isoform of human diacylglycerol kinase (DGKε), when inserted into rough microsomes and compare it with the monotopic membrane protein mouse caveolin-1. In contrast to previous findings, the N-terminal hydrophobic stretch in DGKε attains a bitopic rather than a monotopic topology in our experimental system. In addition, we find that charged flanking residues as well as proline residues embedded in the hydrophobic segment are important determinants of monotopic versus bitopic topology.
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Affiliation(s)
- Morten H H Nørholm
- Center for Biomembrane Research, Department of Biochemistry and Biophysics, Stockholm University, SE-106 91 Stockholm, Sweden
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