Correlation of polypeptide composition with functional events in acetylcholine receptor-enriched membranes from Torpedo californica

The lipid environment of the nicotinic acetylcholine receptor in native and reconstituted membranes

Detailed knowledge of the membrane framework surrounding the nicotinic acetylcholine receptor (AChR) is key to an understanding of its structure, dynamics, and function. Recent theoretical models discuss the structural relationship between the AChR and the lipid bilayer. Independent experimental data on the composition, metabolism, and dynamics of the AChR lipid environment are analyzed in the first part of the review. The composition of the lipids in which the transmembrane AChR chains are inserted bears considerable resemblance among species, perhaps providing this evolutionarily conserved protein with an adequate milieu for its optimal functioning. The effects of lipids on the latter are discussed in the second part of the review. The third part focuses on the information gained on the dynamics of AChR and lipids in the membrane, a section that also covers the physical properties and interactions between the protein, its immediate annulus, and the bulk lipid bilayer.

Creatine kinase isoenzymes in Torpedo californica: absence of the major brain isoenzyme from nicotinic acetylcholine receptor membranes

Creatine kinase, actin, and nu 1 are three proteins of Mr 43 000 associated with membranes from electric organ highly enriched in nicotinic acetylcholine receptor. High levels of creatine kinase are required to maintain adequate ATP levels, while actin may play a role in maintaining the synaptic cytoskeleton. Previous investigations have prompted the conclusion that postsynaptic specializations at the receptor-enriched membrane domains in electroplax contain the brain form of creatine kinase rather than the form of creatine kinase predominantly found in muscle. We have examined this conclusion by purifying Torpedo brain creatine kinase to virtual homogeneity in order to examine its immunochemical, molecular, and electrophoretic properties. On the basis of immunological cross-reactivity and isozyme analysis, the receptor-associated creatine kinase is identified to be of the muscle type. When the molecular characteristics of Torpedo brain and muscle creatine kinase are compared, the brain enzyme is positioned at a more basic pH during chromatofocusing and on two-dimensional gel electrophoresis (pI = 7.5-7.9). Furthermore, electrophoretic mobilities of the brain and muscle forms of creatine kinase differ in sodium dodecyl sulfate electrophoresis: the brain isozyme of creatine kinase has lower apparent molecular weight (Mr 41 000) when compared with the muscle enzyme (Mr 43 000). On the basis of the results of our current investigations, the hypothesis that the brain isozyme of creatine kinase is a component of the postsynaptic specializations of the Torpedo californica electroplax must be abandoned. Recent sequence data have established close homology between Torpedo and mammalian muscle creatine kinases. On the basis of electrophoretic criteria, our results indicate that a lower degree of homology exists between the brain isozymes.

A synaptic basis for T-lymphocyte activation

T lymphocytes respond to foreign antigen by forming specialized junctions with antigen-presenting cells (APC) or target cells. A hypothesis is presented, illustrating the similarity between the T-cell recognition-activation process and the cell communication processes found in other organ systems, especially the nervous system. Based on data showing that a major neuronal protein, Thy-1, is also a mitogenic site on T cells, and based on predictions for the structures of the T-cell receptor (TcR) and Ia proteins, an activation model is presented as follows. 1) The T-cell receptor initiates cell-cell contact with the APC by interacting with Ia and antigen, forming an antigen-binding site. 2) Sets of adhesion molecules then bind, focusing the interacting proteins to the junctional site. One binding protein, L3/T4, binds Ia and concentrates the Ia molecules to the contact site. 3) The two-chain TcR then links together the TcR-Ia-antigen complexes, forming a linear chain of receptors which will self-associate once reaching a critical length, forming a cluster. This cluster juxtaposes associated channel subunits, the T3 membrane molecules, creating an ion channel, stimulating the T cell. 4) The MHC molecule is structurally a part of this activation complex, and therefore also forms a cluster on the APC surface, possibly activating the presenting cell. 5) Secretory products are then released into the synaptic site allowing for efficient and directed cell-cell communication. Cytolytic class-I-restricted cells use a similar pathway to focus the effect of cytolytic proteins. This analogy views neuronal communication and lymphoid recognition as evolutionary descendents of a primordial lymphocytic type of cell interaction.

Identification of a molecular weight 43,000 protein kinase in acetylcholine receptor-enriched membranes

A photoaffinity ATP ligand is used to identify the protein kinase present in acetylcholine receptor-enriched membranes from Torpedo californica. Incubation of these membranes with 8-azido-[alpha-32P]ATP and subsequent irradiation with UV light resulted in covalent labeling of a major band of Mr 43,000. Alkali-stripped membranes that show a selective reduction in the Mr 43,000 polypeptide also show a corresponding reduction in incorporation of photoaffinity label. In addition, the neutralized alkaline extract also showed one band at Mr 43,000 when labeled with the photoaffinity ligand. After alkali extraction, endogenous protein kinase activity decreased in the membranes in proportion to the loss of Mr 43,000 peptide. Moreover, the alkaline extract was able to phosphorylate casein in an exogenous assay system. These results suggest that a Mr 43,000 polypeptide in acetylcholine receptor-enriched membranes is the acetylcholine receptor kinase.

Activation and desensitization of Torpedo acetylcholine receptor: evidence for separate binding sites

The acetylcholine receptor from Torpedo californica was labeled by reaction with the fluorescent probe 4-[N-(iodoacetoxy)ethyl-N-methyl]amino-7-nitrobenz-2-oxa-1,3-diazole without apparent effect on its in vitro ligand binding and functional properties. Addition of acetylcholine or carbamoylcholine to the labeled-receptor preparations enhanced the fluorescence of the bound probe, and this effect was specific for agonists and inhibited by prior incubation with excess alpha-bungarotoxin. Equilibrium fluorescence titrations gave apparent dissociation constants of 0.86 +/- 0.14 mM for carbamoylcholine and 79 +/- 11 microM for acetylcholine, in good agreement with the dissociation constants measured for the permeability response of the receptor. Stopped-flow experiments showed that the fluorescence change was a single exponential process whose rate increased with ligand concentration, reaching a saturating value for carbamoylcholine of approximately 400 s-1. The equilibrium binding of carbamoylcholine was not significantly affected by prior incubation of the receptor with d-tubocurarine or histrionicotoxin and the dissociation constant was only slightly increased in the presence of lidocaine. These inhibitory ligands do not, therefore, compete directly with agonists for this low-affinity binding site, suggesting that their mode of action may be indirect.

Subunit structure of the acetylcholine receptor from Electrophorus electricus

The amino-terminal amino acid sequences of the four major peptides (Mr 41,000, 50,000, 55,000, and 62,000) present in purified preparations of Electrophorus electricus nicotinic acetylcholine receptor (AcChoR) have been determined for 24 cycles by automated sequence analysis procedures yielding four unique polypeptide sequences. The sequences showed a high degree of similarity, having identical residues in a number of positions ranging between 37% and 50% for specific pairs of subunits. Comparison of the sequences obtained with those of the subunits of similar molecular weight from Torpedo californica AcChoR revealed an even higher degree of homology (from 46% to 71%) for these two highly diverged species. Simultaneous sequence analysis of the amino termini present in native, purified Electrophorus AcChoR showed that these four related sequences were the only ones present and that they occur in a ratio of 2:1:1:1, with the smallest subunit ("alpha 1") being present in two copies. Genealogical analysis suggests that the subunits of both Torpedo and Electrophorus AcChoRs derive from a common ancestral gene, the divergence having occurred early in the evolution of the receptor. This shared ancestry and the very early divergence of the four subunits, as well as the highly conserved structure of the AcChoR complex along animal evolution, suggest that each of the subunits evolved to perform discrete crucial roles in the physiological function of the AcChoR.

Single channel gating events in tracer flux experiments. II. Flux amplitude analysis

Measurement of tracer ion flux from or into a collection of closed membrane structures (CMS) constitutes a broadly applicable technique for studying ion channel gating by specialized gating molecules in biological membranes. The amplitudes for the flux process reflect the overall change in tracer content due to flux during a period in which channels on at least some of the CMS were open. In practice, the attainment of a time-invariant, finite overall tracer content, indicating a cessation of flux, need not imply that flux has reached completion, i.e., that the CMS internal and external tracer concentrations have fully reached equilibrium. Less than maximum flux amplitudes arise when binding of control ligands leads to an inhibition or inactivation of the channel gating molecules prior to a complete equilibration of tracer. Analysis of the dependence of the flux amplitudes on control ligand concentration permits determination of characteristic parameters of the CMS that may vary with the methods of preparation (e.g., the distributions of CMS size and CMS content of gating units). Knowledge of these parameters in turn permits evaluation of the mean single channel flux amplitude contribution, which is functionally dependent on the rate constant ratio (k'eff/ki), where k'eff and ki are, respectively, the effective rate constants for tracer flux and for gating unit inactivation.

Single channel gating events in tracer flux experiments. III. acetylcholine receptor-controlled Li+ efflux from sealed Torpedo marmorata membrane fragments

Filter assay measurements of Li+ efflux from acetylcholine receptor-containing vesicular Torpedo marmorata membrane fragments (microsacs) are presented. Techniques are introduced for: (a) inducing a complete emptying of the Li+ content of all microsacs containing one or more functionally intact receptors, and (b) for determining the distribution of internal volumes of the microsacs using filtration with membrane filters of different pore sizes. The flux amplitudes resulting for acetylcholine receptor-controlled Li+ efflux, when receptors are inhibited by alpha-bungarotoxin or inactivated by a neuroactivator-induced desensitization process, were measured. Amplitude analysis was used to determine characteristic parameters of the microsacs that may vary with the technique of preparation (e.g., the distribution in size and receptor content), as well as the mean single channel flux amplitude contribution (e-kt)infinity, which represents the mean reduction of the Li+ content of a microsac due to efflux from a single receptor-controlled channel closing due to inhibition or inactivation of the receptor. The ratio keff/ki was found to lie in the range 0.1 less than keff/ki less than 0.5, where keff and ki are, respectively, the rate constant for Li+-Na+ exchange flux and for the slow inactivation reaction mode of the acetylcholine receptor induced by carbamoylcholine at high concentrations.

Nicotinic postsynaptic membranes from Torpedo: sidedness, permeability to macromolecules, and topography of major polypeptides

Experiments were conducted to examine the topographic arrangement of the polypeptides of the acetylcholine receptor (AcChR) and the nonreceptor Mr 43,000 protein in postsynaptic membranes isolated from Torpedo electric organ. When examined by electron microscopy, greater than 85% of vesicles were not permeable to ferritin or lactoperoxidase (LPO). Exposure to saponin was identified as a suitable procedure to permeabilize the vesicles to macromolecules with minimal alteration of vesicle size or ultrastructure. The sidedness of vesicles was examined morphologically and biochemically. Comparison of the distribution of intramembrane particles on freeze-fractured vesicles and the distribution found in situ indicated that greater than 85% of the vesicles were extracellular-side out. Vesicles labeled with alpha-bungarotoxin (alpha-Bgtx) were reacted with antibodies against alpha-BgTx or against purified AcChR of Torpedo. Bound antibodies were detected by the use of ferritin-conjugated goat anti-rabbit antibody and were located on the outside of greater than 99% of labeled vesicles. Similar results were obtained for normal vesicles or vesicles exposed to saponin. Quantification of the amount of [3H]-alpha-BgTx bound to vesicles before and after they were made permeable with saponin indicated that less than 5% of alpha-BgTx binding sites were cryptic in normal vesicles. It was concluded that greater than 95% of postsynaptic membranes were oriented extracellular-side out. LPO-catalyzed radioiodinations were performed on normal and saponin-treated vesicles and on vesicles from which the Mr (relative molecular mass) 43,000 protein had been removed by alkaline extraction. In normal vesicles, polypeptides of the AcChR were iodinated while the Mr 43,000 protein was not. In vesicles made permeable with saponin, the pattern of labeling of AcChR polypeptides was unchanged, but the Mr 43,000 protein was heavily iodinated. The relative iodination of AcChR polypeptides was unchanged in membranes equilibrated with agonist or with alpha-BgTx or after alkaline-extraction. It was concluded that the Mr 43,000 protein is present on the intracellular surface of the postsynaptic membrane and that AcChR polypeptides are exposed on the extracellular surface.

Structure and function of an acetylcholine receptor

Structural analysis of an acetylcholine receptor from Torpedo californica leads to a three-dimensional model in which a "monomeric" receptor is shown to contain subunits arranged around a central ionophoretic channel, which in turn traverses the entire 110 A length of the molecule. The receptor extends approximately 15 A on the cytoplasmic side, 55 A on the synaptic side of the membrane. The alpha-bungarotoxin/agonist binding site is found to be approximately 55 A from the entrance to the central gated ion channel. A hypothesis for the mechanism of AcChR is presented which takes into account the structural and kinetic data, which is testable, and which serves as a focus for future studies on the agonist-induced structure change in AcChR.

Effects of local anesthetics and histrionicotoxin on the binding of carbamoylcholine to membrane-bound acetylcholine receptor

The effects of local anesthetics and perhydrohistrionicotoxin on the kinetic mechanism of carbamoylcholine binding to the membrane-bound acetylcholine receptor have been studied by stopped-flow methods. Receptor-enriched membrane fragments from Torpedo californica were reduced and then alkylated by 5-(iodoacetamido)salicylic acid, and the agonist binding kinetics were monitored by the fluorescence changes of this bound probe. The alkylation procedures did not alter the ability of the receptor to mediate agonist-induced cation flux. Preincubation of such modified receptor preparations with saturating concentrations of lidocaine, prilocaine, or dimethisoquin did not significantly affect the equilibrium dissociation constant for carbamoylcholine binding. The multiphasic kinetic signal which accompanies the binding of the agonist was, however, much simplified in the presence of local anesthetics, and the observed kinetics could be described by a mechanism in which a single conformational change follows the formation of the initial complex. Perhydrohistrionicotoxin did not act in the same way as the local anesthetics examined since saturating concentrations did not significantly perturb the agonist binding kinetics.

Structural models of the nicotinic acetylcholine receptor and its toxin-binding sites

Models of the protein structure of agonist-, competitive antagonist-, and snake neurotoxin-binding sites were designed using the sequence of the first 54 residues of the acetylcholine receptor (AChR) alpha subunit from Torpedo californica. These models are based on the premise that the N-terminal portions of the subunits form the outermost extracellular surface of the AChR and that agonists bind to this portion. The models were developed by predicting the secondary structure of the alpha-subunit N-terminal segment from its sequence, then using these predictions to fold the segment into tertiary structures that should bind snake neurotoxins, agonists, and antagonists. Possible gating mechanisms and quaternary structures are suggested by the proposed tertiary structures of the subunits. Experiments are suggested to test aspects of the models.

Immunofluorescence localization at the mammalian neuromuscular junction of the Mr 43,000 protein of Torpedo postsynaptic membranes

Highly purified cholinergic postsynaptic membranes from Torpedo electric tissue contain, in addition to the acetylcholine receptor (AcChoR), major proteins of Mr 43,000 and Mr approximately 90,000 and minor proteins that can be removed from the membranes by alkaline treatment. We have prepared an antiserum to these alkaline-extractable proteins that reacts with the Mr 43,000 protein but not with any of the other major membrane proteins, including the AcChoR subunits. Immunofluorescent staining of sections of Torpedo electric tissue shows that this antiserum binds to the innervated but not the uninnervated surface of the electrocytes. In rat diaphragm muscle, the antigens recognized by this antiserum are highly concentrated at the synapse. Synaptic staining of muscle is eliminated by prior incubation of the antiserum with the Mr 43,000 protein but not by incubation with affinity-purified AcChoR. This antiserum stains end plates of muscles denervated for 7 days. Antiserum to AcChoR binds to the subsynaptic membranes of electrocytes and muscle but does not react with the Mr 43,000 protein. Purified AcChoR blocks staining of synapses by anti-AcChoR but the Mr 43,000 protein does not. These results indicate that the Mr 43,000 protein is located in the innervated membrane of Torpedo electrocytes and that an immunologically similar component is highly concentrated in the postsynaptic membrane of mammalian muscle.

Acetylcholine receptor-controlled ion flux in electroplax membrane vesicles: identification and characterization of membrane properties that affect ion flux measurements

Several intrinsic properties of acetylcholine receptor-rich membrane vesicles prepared from Electrophorus electricus, which need to be considered in measurements of receptor-mediated ion flux, have been identified. One of these properties is a slow exchange of inorganic ions in the vesicles. The slow exchange of ions is not related to the receptor-mediated flux of ions and accounts for 30-35% of the efflux observed. A method to separate this process from the receptor-controlled flux has been developed. It has also been shown, using a light-scattering method, that aggregation-disaggregation of the vesicles can interfere with the efflux measurements, and a method to overcome this problem has been developed. The difference in the amplitude of effluxes induced by saturating amounts of carbamylcholine and gramicidin has been investigated and has been shown not to be due to a receptor-controlled process; therefore, the amplitude difference does not need to be considered in understanding the receptor-controlled process.

Quantitation of cation transport by reconstituted membrane vesicles containing purified acetylcholine receptor

A stopped-flow spectroscopic technique was used to study the kinetics of ion transport by reconstituted membrane preparations containing purified acetylcholine receptor. Influx of thallium (I) into membrane vesicles was monitored as a decrease, due to quenching by the thallous ion, in the fluorescence of an entrapped fluorophore. In a reproducible manner, the reconstituted receptor responded to cholinergic agonists by mediating rapid ion transport in the millisecond time range. The effect of agonists was blocked by receptor desensitization and by histrionicotoxin and was absent in membrane vesicles lacking receptor. Analysis of the fast kinetics of cation transport produced by saturating concentrations of agonists yielded an estimated rate of transport through a single reconstituted receptor channel. Comparison of this rate with those reported for in vivo preparations and for purified membranes shows that the reconstituted protein closely resembles the physiologically active receptor.

Topographic studies of Torpedo acetylcholine receptor subunits as a transmembrane complex

The exposure of the four subunits of the acetylcholine receptor from Torpedo californica on both the extracellular and cytoplasmic faces of the postsynaptic membranes of the electroplaque cells has been investigated. Sealed membrane vesicles containing no protein components other than the receptor were isolated and were shown to have 95% of their synaptic surfaces facing the medium. The susceptibility of the four receptor subunits in these preparations to hydrolysis by trypsin both from the external and from the internal medium was used to investigate the exposure of the subunits on the synaptic and cytoplasmic surfaces of the membrane. It was shown by sodium dodecyl sulfate gel electrophoresis of the tryptic products that all four subunits are exposed on the extracellular surface to a similar degree. All four subunits are also exposed on the internal surface of the membrane, but the apparent degree of exposure varies with the subunit size, the larger subunits being more exposed. The results are discussed in terms of a possible topographic model of the receptor as a transmembrane protein complex.

Functional equivalence of monomeric and dimeric forms of purified acetylcholine receptors from Torpedo californica in reconstituted lipid vesicles

Acetylcholine receptors from Torpedo californica electric organ were solubilized and purified under conditions which prevent inactivation of the agonist-regulated cation channels. The dimer form of the receptors was preserved during purification. Treatment with reducing agents converted dimers into monomers. Receptor monomers and dimers were separately reconstituted into soybean lipid vesicles by the cholate dialysis technique. Reconstituted monomers and dimers were functionally equivalent with respect to their carbamylcholine-induced dose-dependent uptake of 22Na+, the total flux of 22Na+ per receptor during the permeability response, and the occurrence of desensitization. Evidence against non-covalent association of monomers to produce dimeric functional units was obtained using glutaraldehyde as a crosslinking agent. These results show that both the acetylcholine-binding sites and the agonist-regulated cation-specific channel are contained within the alpha 2 beta gamma delta subunit structure of the acetylcholine receptor monomer.

Direct spectroscopic studies of cation translocation by Torpedo acetylcholine receptor on a time scale of physiological relevance

The kinetics of carbamoylcholine-mediated cation transport across the membrane of vesicles containing acetylcholine receptor have been measured on the physiologically relevant time scale of a few milliseconds. The stopped-flow spectroscopic approach utilizes thallium(I) as the cation transported into sealed vesicles containing a water-soluble fluorophore. Upon entry of thallium(I), fluorescence quenching occurs by a heavy atom effect. Rapid thallium translocation into the vesicles is mediated by cholinergic agonists and is blocked by antagonists and neurotoxins and by desensitization. The kinetics of thallium transport are used to demonstrate that the four polypeptides known to comprise the receptor are the only protein components necessary for cation translocation. The kinetics of thallium(I) transport at saturating agonist concentrations are also used to calculate the apparent ion transport rate for a single receptor. The minimal value obtained is close to that for a single activated channel determined in vivo. This demonstrates that the physiological receptor has been isolated in intact form.