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Feng Z, Di Zanni E, Alvarenga O, Chakraborty S, Rychlik N, Accardi A. In or out of the groove? Mechanisms of lipid scrambling by TMEM16 proteins. Cell Calcium 2024; 121:102896. [PMID: 38749289 PMCID: PMC11178363 DOI: 10.1016/j.ceca.2024.102896] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/20/2024] [Revised: 04/30/2024] [Accepted: 04/30/2024] [Indexed: 06/13/2024]
Abstract
Phospholipid scramblases mediate the rapid movement of lipids between membrane leaflets, a key step in establishing and maintaining membrane homeostasis of the membranes of all eukaryotic cells and their organelles. Thus, impairment of lipid scrambling can lead to a variety of pathologies. How scramblases catalyzed the transbilayer movement of lipids remains poorly understood. Despite the availability of direct structural information on three unrelated families of scramblases, the TMEM16s, the Xkrs, and ATG-9, a unifying mechanism has failed to emerge thus far. Among these, the most extensively studied and best understood are the Ca2+ activated TMEM16s, which comprise ion channels and/or scramblases. Early work supported the view that these proteins provided a hydrophilic, membrane-exposed groove through which the lipid headgroups could permeate. However, structural, and functional experiments have since challenged this mechanism, leading to the proposal that the TMEM16s distort and thin the membrane near the groove to facilitate lipid scrambling. Here, we review our understanding of the structural and mechanistic underpinnings of lipid scrambling by the TMEM16s and discuss how the different proposals account for the various experimental observations.
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Affiliation(s)
- Zhang Feng
- Department of Anesthesiology, Weill Cornell Medicine, New York, NY, United States
| | - Eleonora Di Zanni
- Department of Anesthesiology, Weill Cornell Medicine, New York, NY, United States
| | - Omar Alvarenga
- Department of Anesthesiology, Weill Cornell Medicine, New York, NY, United States; Department of Physiology and Biophysics, Weill Cornell Medicine, New York, NY, United States
| | - Sayan Chakraborty
- Department of Anesthesiology, Weill Cornell Medicine, New York, NY, United States
| | - Nicole Rychlik
- Department of Anesthesiology, Weill Cornell Medicine, New York, NY, United States; Institute of Physiology I, University of Münster, Robert-Koch-Str. 27a, D-48149 Münster, Germany
| | - Alessio Accardi
- Department of Anesthesiology, Weill Cornell Medicine, New York, NY, United States; Department of Physiology and Biophysics, Weill Cornell Medicine, New York, NY, United States; Department of Biochemistry, Weill Cornell Medicine, New York, NY, United States.
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Menon I, Sych T, Son Y, Morizumi T, Lee J, Ernst OP, Khelashvili G, Sezgin E, Levitz J, Menon AK. A cholesterol switch controls phospholipid scrambling by G protein-coupled receptors. J Biol Chem 2024; 300:105649. [PMID: 38237683 PMCID: PMC10874734 DOI: 10.1016/j.jbc.2024.105649] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/25/2023] [Revised: 01/04/2024] [Accepted: 01/07/2024] [Indexed: 01/30/2024] Open
Abstract
Class A G protein-coupled receptors (GPCRs), a superfamily of cell membrane signaling receptors, moonlight as constitutively active phospholipid scramblases. The plasma membrane of metazoan cells is replete with GPCRs yet has a strong resting trans-bilayer phospholipid asymmetry, with the signaling lipid phosphatidylserine confined to the cytoplasmic leaflet. To account for the persistence of this lipid asymmetry in the presence of GPCR scramblases, we hypothesized that GPCR-mediated lipid scrambling is regulated by cholesterol, a major constituent of the plasma membrane. We now present a technique whereby synthetic vesicles reconstituted with GPCRs can be supplemented with cholesterol to a level similar to that of the plasma membrane and show that the scramblase activity of two prototypical GPCRs, opsin and the β1-adrenergic receptor, is impaired upon cholesterol loading. Our data suggest that cholesterol acts as a switch, inhibiting scrambling above a receptor-specific threshold concentration to disable GPCR scramblases at the plasma membrane.
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Affiliation(s)
- Indu Menon
- Department of Biochemistry, Weill Cornell Medical College, New York, New York, USA
| | - Taras Sych
- Science for Life Laboratory, Department of Women's and Children's Health, Karolinska Institutet, Solna, Sweden
| | - Yeeun Son
- Graduate program in Biochemistry, Cell and Molecular Biology, Weill Cornell Graduate School, New York, New York, USA; Structural Biology Program, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, New York, New York, USA
| | - Takefumi Morizumi
- Department of Biochemistry, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, Canada
| | - Joon Lee
- Department of Biochemistry, Weill Cornell Medical College, New York, New York, USA
| | - Oliver P Ernst
- Department of Biochemistry, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, Canada; Department of Molecular Genetics, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, Canada
| | - George Khelashvili
- Department of Physiology and Biophysics, Weill Cornell Medical College, New York, New York, USA; Institute of Computational Biomedicine, Weill Cornell Medical College, New York, New York, USA
| | - Erdinc Sezgin
- Graduate program in Biochemistry, Cell and Molecular Biology, Weill Cornell Graduate School, New York, New York, USA
| | - Joshua Levitz
- Department of Biochemistry, Weill Cornell Medical College, New York, New York, USA
| | - Anant K Menon
- Department of Biochemistry, Weill Cornell Medical College, New York, New York, USA.
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Menon I, Sych T, Son Y, Morizumi T, Lee J, Ernst OP, Khelashvili G, Sezgin E, Levitz J, Menon AK. A cholesterol switch controls phospholipid scrambling by G protein-coupled receptors. BIORXIV : THE PREPRINT SERVER FOR BIOLOGY 2024:2023.11.24.568580. [PMID: 38045315 PMCID: PMC10690279 DOI: 10.1101/2023.11.24.568580] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/05/2023]
Abstract
Class A G protein-coupled receptors (GPCRs), a superfamily of cell membrane signaling receptors, moonlight as constitutively active phospholipid scramblases. The plasma membrane of metazoan cells is replete with GPCRs, yet has a strong resting trans-bilayer phospholipid asymmetry, with the signaling lipid phosphatidylserine confined to the cytoplasmic leaflet. To account for the persistence of this lipid asymmetry in the presence of GPCR scramblases, we hypothesized that GPCR-mediated lipid scrambling is regulated by cholesterol, a major constituent of the plasma membrane. We now present a technique whereby synthetic vesicles reconstituted with GPCRs can be supplemented with cholesterol to a level similar to that of the plasma membrane and show that the scramblase activity of two prototypical GPCRs, opsin and the β1-adrenergic receptor, is impaired upon cholesterol loading. Our data suggest that cholesterol acts as a switch, inhibiting scrambling above a receptor-specific threshold concentration to disable GPCR scramblases at the plasma membrane.
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Affiliation(s)
- Indu Menon
- Department of Biochemistry, Weill Cornell Medical College, New York, NY 10065, USA
| | - Taras Sych
- Science for Life Laboratory, Department of Women’s and Children’s Health, Karolinska Institutet, 17165 Solna, Sweden
| | - Yeeun Son
- Graduate program in Biochemistry, Cell and Molecular Biology, Weill Cornell Graduate School, New York, NY 10065, USA
- Structural Biology Program, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, New York, NY 10065, USA
| | - Takefumi Morizumi
- Department of Biochemistry, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON, Canada M5S 1A8
| | - Joon Lee
- Department of Biochemistry, Weill Cornell Medical College, New York, NY 10065, USA
| | - Oliver P. Ernst
- Department of Biochemistry, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON, Canada M5S 1A8
- Department of Molecular Genetics, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON, Canada M5S 1A8
| | - George Khelashvili
- Department of Physiology and Biophysics, Weill Cornell Medical College, New York, NY 10065, USA
- Institute of Computational Biomedicine, Weill Cornell Medical College, New York, NY 10065, USA
| | - Erdinc Sezgin
- Graduate program in Biochemistry, Cell and Molecular Biology, Weill Cornell Graduate School, New York, NY 10065, USA
| | - Joshua Levitz
- Department of Biochemistry, Weill Cornell Medical College, New York, NY 10065, USA
| | - Anant K. Menon
- Department of Biochemistry, Weill Cornell Medical College, New York, NY 10065, USA
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Herrera SA, Günther Pomorski T. Reconstitution of ATP-dependent lipid transporters: gaining insight into molecular characteristics, regulation, and mechanisms. Biosci Rep 2023; 43:BSR20221268. [PMID: 37417269 PMCID: PMC10412526 DOI: 10.1042/bsr20221268] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/26/2023] [Revised: 06/30/2023] [Accepted: 07/06/2023] [Indexed: 07/08/2023] Open
Abstract
Lipid transporters play a crucial role in supporting essential cellular processes such as organelle assembly, vesicular trafficking, and lipid homeostasis by driving lipid transport across membranes. Cryo-electron microscopy has recently resolved the structures of several ATP-dependent lipid transporters, but functional characterization remains a major challenge. Although studies of detergent-purified proteins have advanced our understanding of these transporters, in vitro evidence for lipid transport is still limited to a few ATP-dependent lipid transporters. Reconstitution into model membranes, such as liposomes, is a suitable approach to study lipid transporters in vitro and to investigate their key molecular features. In this review, we discuss the current approaches for reconstituting ATP-driven lipid transporters into large liposomes and common techniques used to study lipid transport in proteoliposomes. We also highlight the existing knowledge on the regulatory mechanisms that modulate the activity of lipid transporters, and finally, we address the limitations of the current approaches and future perspectives in this field.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sara Abad Herrera
- Department of Molecular Biochemistry, Faculty of Chemistry and Biochemistry, Ruhr University Bochum, Bochum, Germany
| | - Thomas Günther Pomorski
- Department of Molecular Biochemistry, Faculty of Chemistry and Biochemistry, Ruhr University Bochum, Bochum, Germany
- Department of Plant and Environmental Sciences, University of Copenhagen, Frederiksberg, Denmark
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Wu L, Liu L, Xu B, Huang D, Chen XW. In vitro and in vivo assay of the ER lipid scramblase TMEM41B. STAR Protoc 2022; 3:101333. [PMID: 35496801 PMCID: PMC9043772 DOI: 10.1016/j.xpro.2022.101333] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/29/2022] Open
Affiliation(s)
- Lingzhi Wu
- Institute of Molecular Medicine, College of Future Technology, Peking University, Beijing 100871, China
| | - Lu Liu
- Institute of Molecular Medicine, College of Future Technology, Peking University, Beijing 100871, China
| | - Bolin Xu
- Institute of Molecular Medicine, College of Future Technology, Peking University, Beijing 100871, China
| | - Dong Huang
- Institute of Molecular Medicine, College of Future Technology, Peking University, Beijing 100871, China
| | - Xiao-Wei Chen
- Institute of Molecular Medicine, College of Future Technology, Peking University, Beijing 100871, China
- Corresponding author
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Mathiassen PPM, Pomorski TG. A Fluorescence-based Assay for Measuring Phospholipid Scramblase Activity in Giant Unilamellar Vesicles. Bio Protoc 2022; 12:e4366. [PMID: 35434199 PMCID: PMC8983165 DOI: 10.21769/bioprotoc.4366] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/29/2022] [Revised: 11/09/2021] [Accepted: 03/01/2022] [Indexed: 07/28/2023] Open
Abstract
Transbilayer movement of phospholipids in biological membranes is mediated by a diverse set of lipid transporters. Among them are scramblases that facilitate rapid bi-directional movement of lipids without metabolic energy input. In this protocol, we describe the incorporation of phospholipid scramblases into giant unilamellar vesicles (GUVs) formed from scramblase-containing large unilamellar vesicles by electroformation. We also describe how to analyze their activity using membrane-impermeant sodium dithionite, to bleach symmetrically incorporated fluorescent ATTO488-conjugated phospholipids. The fluorescence-based readout allows single vesicle tracking for a large number of settled/immobilized GUVs, and provides a well-defined experimental setup to directly characterize these lipid transporters at the molecular level. Graphic abstract: Giant unilamellar vesicles (GUVs) are formed by electroformation from large unilamellar vesicles (LUVs) containing phospholipid scramblases (purple) and trace amounts of a fluorescent lipid reporter (green). The scramblase activity is analyzed by a fluorescence-based assay of single GUVs, using the membrane-impermeant quencher dithionite. Sizes not to scale. Modified from Mathiassen et al. (2021).
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Affiliation(s)
- Patricia P. M. Mathiassen
- Department of Molecular Biochemistry, Faculty of Chemistry and Biochemistry, Ruhr University Bochum, 44780, Bochum, Germany
| | - Thomas Günther Pomorski
- Department of Molecular Biochemistry, Faculty of Chemistry and Biochemistry, Ruhr University Bochum, 44780, Bochum, Germany
- Department of Plant and Environmental Sciences, University of Copenhagen, 1871, Frederiksberg C, Denmark
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