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Huang H, Ge B, Sun C, Zhang S, Huang F. Membrane curvature affects the stability and folding kinetics of bacteriorhodopsin. Process Biochem 2019. [DOI: 10.1016/j.procbio.2018.10.002] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/23/2023]
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2
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Lage EV, Pillai SA, Pal H, Bahadur A, Casas M, Sández-Macho I, Bahadur P. Urea induced changes in self-assembly and aggregate microstructures of amphiphilic star block copolymers with widely different hydrophobicity. Colloids Surf A Physicochem Eng Asp 2018. [DOI: 10.1016/j.colsurfa.2017.10.032] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/25/2022]
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3
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Heydenreich FM, Vuckovic Z, Matkovic M, Veprintsev DB. Stabilization of G protein-coupled receptors by point mutations. Front Pharmacol 2015; 6:82. [PMID: 25941489 PMCID: PMC4403299 DOI: 10.3389/fphar.2015.00082] [Citation(s) in RCA: 56] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/07/2015] [Accepted: 03/31/2015] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
G protein-coupled receptors (GPCRs) are flexible integral membrane proteins involved in transmembrane signaling. Their involvement in many physiological processes makes them interesting targets for drug development. Determination of the structure of these receptors will help to design more specific drugs, however, their structural characterization has so far been hampered by the low expression and their inherent instability in detergents which made protein engineering indispensable for structural and biophysical characterization. Several approaches to stabilize the receptors in a particular conformation have led to breakthroughs in GPCR structure determination. These include truncations of the flexible regions, stabilization by antibodies and nanobodies, fusion partners, high affinity and covalently bound ligands as well as conformational stabilization by mutagenesis. In this review we focus on stabilization of GPCRs by insertion of point mutations, which lead to increased conformational and thermal stability as well as improved expression levels. We summarize existing mutagenesis strategies with different coverage of GPCR sequence space and depth of information, design and transferability of mutations and the molecular basis for stabilization. We also discuss whether mutations alter the structure and pharmacological properties of GPCRs.
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Affiliation(s)
- Franziska M Heydenreich
- Laboratory of Biomolecular Research, Paul Scherrer Institut Villigen, Switzerland ; Department of Biology, ETH Zürich Zürich, Switzerland
| | - Ziva Vuckovic
- Laboratory of Biomolecular Research, Paul Scherrer Institut Villigen, Switzerland ; Department of Biology, ETH Zürich Zürich, Switzerland
| | - Milos Matkovic
- Laboratory of Biomolecular Research, Paul Scherrer Institut Villigen, Switzerland ; Department of Biology, ETH Zürich Zürich, Switzerland
| | - Dmitry B Veprintsev
- Laboratory of Biomolecular Research, Paul Scherrer Institut Villigen, Switzerland ; Department of Biology, ETH Zürich Zürich, Switzerland
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4
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Nadeau VG, Gao A, Deber CM. Design and characterization of a membrane protein unfolding platform in lipid bilayers. PLoS One 2015; 10:e0120253. [PMID: 25799099 PMCID: PMC4370600 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0120253] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/11/2014] [Accepted: 01/20/2015] [Indexed: 11/29/2022] Open
Abstract
Accurate measurement of membrane protein stability—and particularly how it may vary as a result of disease-phenotypic mutations—ideally requires a denaturant that can unfold a membrane-embedded structure while leaving the solubilizing environment unaffected. The steric trap method fulfills this requirement by using monovalent streptavidin (mSA) molecules to unfold membrane proteins engineered with two spatially close biotin tags. Here we adapted this method to an 87-residue helix-loop-helix (hairpin) construct derived from helices 3 and 4 in the transmembrane domain of the human cystic fibrosis transmembrane conductance regulator (CFTR), wherein helix-helix tertiary interactions are anticipated to confer a portion of construct stability. The wild type CFTR TM3/4 hairpin construct was modified with two accessible biotin tags for mSA-induced unfolding, along with two helix-terminal pyrene labels to monitor loss of inter-helical contacts by pyrene excimer fluorescence. A series of eight constructs with biotin tags at varying distances from the helix-terminal pyrene labels were expressed, purified and labeled appropriately; all constructs exhibited largely helical circular dichroism spectra. We found that addition of mSA to an optimized construct in lipid vesicles led to a complete and reversible loss in pyrene excimer fluorescence and mSA binding, and hence hairpin unfolding—results further supported by SDS-PAGE visualization of mSA bound and unbound species. While some dimeric/oligomeric populations persist that may affect quantitation of the unfolding step, our characterization of the design yields a promising prototype of a future platform for the systematic study of membrane protein folding in a lipid bilayer environment.
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Affiliation(s)
- Vincent G. Nadeau
- Division of Molecular Structure & Function, Research Institute, Hospital for Sick Children, Toronto, Ontario, M5G 0A4, Canada
- Department of Biochemistry, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, M5S 1A8, Canada
| | - Anqi Gao
- Division of Molecular Structure & Function, Research Institute, Hospital for Sick Children, Toronto, Ontario, M5G 0A4, Canada
- Department of Biochemistry, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, M5S 1A8, Canada
| | - Charles M. Deber
- Division of Molecular Structure & Function, Research Institute, Hospital for Sick Children, Toronto, Ontario, M5G 0A4, Canada
- Department of Biochemistry, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, M5S 1A8, Canada
- * E-mail:
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6
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Roman EA, González Flecha FL. Kinetics and thermodynamics of membrane protein folding. Biomolecules 2014; 4:354-73. [PMID: 24970219 PMCID: PMC4030980 DOI: 10.3390/biom4010354] [Citation(s) in RCA: 21] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/31/2013] [Revised: 02/19/2014] [Accepted: 02/23/2014] [Indexed: 02/06/2023] Open
Abstract
Understanding protein folding has been one of the great challenges in biochemistry and molecular biophysics. Over the past 50 years, many thermodynamic and kinetic studies have been performed addressing the stability of globular proteins. In comparison, advances in the membrane protein folding field lag far behind. Although membrane proteins constitute about a third of the proteins encoded in known genomes, stability studies on membrane proteins have been impaired due to experimental limitations. Furthermore, no systematic experimental strategies are available for folding these biomolecules in vitro. Common denaturing agents such as chaotropes usually do not work on helical membrane proteins, and ionic detergents have been successful denaturants only in few cases. Refolding a membrane protein seems to be a craftsman work, which is relatively straightforward for transmembrane β-barrel proteins but challenging for α-helical membrane proteins. Additional complexities emerge in multidomain membrane proteins, data interpretation being one of the most critical. In this review, we will describe some recent efforts in understanding the folding mechanism of membrane proteins that have been reversibly refolded allowing both thermodynamic and kinetic analysis. This information will be discussed in the context of current paradigms in the protein folding field.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ernesto A Roman
- Laboratory of Molecular Biophysics, Institute of Biochemistry and Biophysical Chemistry, University of Buenos Aires-CONICET, Buenos Aires 1113, Argentina.
| | - F Luis González Flecha
- Laboratory of Molecular Biophysics, Institute of Biochemistry and Biophysical Chemistry, University of Buenos Aires-CONICET, Buenos Aires 1113, Argentina.
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7
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Tastan O, Dutta A, Booth P, Klein-Seetharaman J. Retinal proteins as model systems for membrane protein folding. BIOCHIMICA ET BIOPHYSICA ACTA-BIOENERGETICS 2013; 1837:656-63. [PMID: 24333783 DOI: 10.1016/j.bbabio.2013.11.021] [Citation(s) in RCA: 23] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/30/2013] [Revised: 11/19/2013] [Accepted: 11/28/2013] [Indexed: 11/30/2022]
Abstract
Experimental folding studies of membrane proteins are more challenging than water-soluble proteins because of the higher hydrophobicity content of membrane embedded sequences and the need to provide a hydrophobic milieu for the transmembrane regions. The first challenge is their denaturation: due to the thermodynamic instability of polar groups in the membrane, secondary structures in membrane proteins are more difficult to disrupt than in soluble proteins. The second challenge is to refold from the denatured states. Successful refolding of membrane proteins has almost always been from very subtly denatured states. Therefore, it can be useful to analyze membrane protein folding using computational methods, and we will provide results obtained with simulated unfolding of membrane protein structures using the Floppy Inclusions and Rigid Substructure Topography (FIRST) method. Computational methods have the advantage that they allow a direct comparison between diverse membrane proteins. We will review here both, experimental and FIRST studies of the retinal binding proteins bacteriorhodopsin and mammalian rhodopsin, and discuss the extension of the findings to deriving hypotheses on the mechanisms of folding of membrane proteins in general. This article is part of a Special Issue entitled: Retinal Proteins-You can teach an old dog new tricks.
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Affiliation(s)
- Oznur Tastan
- Department of Computer Engineering, Bilkent University, Ankara, Turkey
| | - Arpana Dutta
- Department of Physiology and Biophysics, Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, USA
| | - Paula Booth
- School of Biochemistry, University of Bristol, UK
| | - Judith Klein-Seetharaman
- Division of Metabolic and Vascular Health, Warwick Medical School, University of Warwick, Coventry, UK.
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8
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Dürr UN, Gildenberg M, Ramamoorthy A. The magic of bicelles lights up membrane protein structure. Chem Rev 2012; 112:6054-74. [PMID: 22920148 PMCID: PMC3497859 DOI: 10.1021/cr300061w] [Citation(s) in RCA: 266] [Impact Index Per Article: 22.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/14/2012] [Indexed: 12/12/2022]
Affiliation(s)
| | - Melissa Gildenberg
- Biophysics
and Department of Chemistry, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Michigan 48109-1055,
United States
| | - Ayyalusamy Ramamoorthy
- Biophysics
and Department of Chemistry, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Michigan 48109-1055,
United States
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9
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Kraft JF, Vestergaard M, Schiøtt B, Thøgersen L. Modeling the Self-Assembly and Stability of DHPC Micelles Using Atomic Resolution and Coarse Grained MD Simulations. J Chem Theory Comput 2012; 8:1556-69. [DOI: 10.1021/ct200921u] [Citation(s) in RCA: 28] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/29/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Johan F. Kraft
- Center for Insoluble Protein
Structures (inSPIN), Interdisciplinary Nanoscience
Center (iNANO), Department
of Chemistry, Aarhus University, Langelandsgade 140, DK-8000 Aarhus C, Denmark
| | - Mikkel Vestergaard
- Center for Insoluble Protein
Structures (inSPIN), Interdisciplinary Nanoscience
Center (iNANO), Department
of Chemistry, Aarhus University, Langelandsgade 140, DK-8000 Aarhus C, Denmark
| | - Birgit Schiøtt
- Center for Insoluble Protein
Structures (inSPIN), Interdisciplinary Nanoscience
Center (iNANO), Department
of Chemistry, Aarhus University, Langelandsgade 140, DK-8000 Aarhus C, Denmark
| | - Lea Thøgersen
- Centre for Membrane Pumps in
Cells and Disease (PUMPKIN), Bioinformatics Research Centre, C.F. Møllers Alle 8, DK-8000 Aarhus C,
Denmark
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10
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Agah S, Faham S. Crystallization of membrane proteins in bicelles. METHODS IN MOLECULAR BIOLOGY (CLIFTON, N.J.) 2012; 914:3-16. [PMID: 22976019 DOI: 10.1007/978-1-62703-023-6_1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/13/2022]
Abstract
The structural biology of membrane proteins remains a challenging field, partly due to the difficulty in obtaining high-quality crystals. We developed the bicelle method as a tool to aid with the production of membrane protein crystals. Bicelles are bilayer discs that are formed by a mixture of a detergent and a lipid. They combine the ease of use of detergents with the benefits of a lipidic medium. Bicelles maintain membrane proteins in a bilayer milieu, which is more similar to their native environment than detergent micelles. At the same time, bicelles are liquid at certain temperatures and they can be integrated into standard crystallization techniques without the need for specialized equipment.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sayeh Agah
- Department of Molecular Physiology and Biological Physics, University of Virginia, Charlottesville, VA, USA
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11
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Otzen D. Protein–surfactant interactions: A tale of many states. BIOCHIMICA ET BIOPHYSICA ACTA-PROTEINS AND PROTEOMICS 2011; 1814:562-91. [DOI: 10.1016/j.bbapap.2011.03.003] [Citation(s) in RCA: 362] [Impact Index Per Article: 27.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/17/2010] [Revised: 02/23/2011] [Accepted: 03/04/2011] [Indexed: 10/18/2022]
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12
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Dutta A, Tirupula KC, Alexiev U, Klein-Seetharaman J. Characterization of membrane protein non-native states. 1. Extent of unfolding and aggregation of rhodopsin in the presence of chemical denaturants. Biochemistry 2010; 49:6317-28. [PMID: 20575534 DOI: 10.1021/bi100338e] [Citation(s) in RCA: 23] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/28/2022]
Abstract
Little is known about the general folding mechanisms of helical membrane proteins. Unfolded, i.e., non-native states, in particular, have not yet been characterized in detail. Here, we establish conditions under which denatured states of the mammalian membrane protein rhodopsin, a prototypic G protein coupled receptor with primary function in vision, can be studied. We investigated the effects of the chemical denaturants sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS), urea, guanidine hydrochloride (GuHCl), and trifluoroacetic acid (TFA) on rhodopsin's secondary structure and propensity for aggregation. Ellipticity at 222 nm decreases in the presence of maximum concentrations of denaturants in the order TFA > GuHCl > urea > SDS + urea > SDS. Interpretation of these changes in ellipticity in terms of helix loss is challenged because the addition of some denaturants leads to aggregation. Through a combination of SDS-PAGE, dependence of ellipticity on protein concentration, and 1D (1)H NMR we show that aggregates form in the presence of GuHCl, TFA, and urea but not in any concentration of SDS, added over a range of 0.05%-30%. Mixed denaturant conditions consisting of 3% SDS and 8 M urea, added in this order, also did not result in aggregation. We conclude that SDS is able to prevent the exposure of large hydrophobic regions present in membrane proteins which otherwise leads to aggregation. Thus, 30% SDS and 3% SDS + 8 M urea are the denaturing conditions of choice to study maximally unfolded rhodopsin without aggregation.
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Affiliation(s)
- Arpana Dutta
- Department of Structural Biology, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, Pittsburgh, PA 15260, USA
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13
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Patel H, Raval G, Nazari M, Heerklotz H. Effects of glycerol and urea on micellization, membrane partitioning and solubilization by a non-ionic surfactant. Biophys Chem 2010; 150:119-28. [DOI: 10.1016/j.bpc.2010.03.015] [Citation(s) in RCA: 32] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/12/2010] [Revised: 03/18/2010] [Accepted: 03/18/2010] [Indexed: 11/24/2022]
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14
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Reversible Unfolding of a Thermophilic Membrane Protein in Phospholipid/Detergent Mixed Micelles. J Mol Biol 2010; 397:550-9. [DOI: 10.1016/j.jmb.2010.01.045] [Citation(s) in RCA: 25] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/04/2009] [Revised: 01/13/2010] [Accepted: 01/21/2010] [Indexed: 01/11/2023]
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