Intradomain Confinement of Disulfides in the Folding of Two Consecutive Modules of the LDL Receptor

Oxidative Crosslinking of Peptides and Proteins: Mechanisms of Formation, Detection, Characterization and Quantification

Covalent crosslinks within or between proteins play a key role in determining the structure and function of proteins. Some of these are formed intentionally by either enzymatic or molecular reactions and are critical to normal physiological function. Others are generated as a consequence of exposure to oxidants (radicals, excited states or two-electron species) and other endogenous or external stimuli, or as a result of the actions of a number of enzymes (e.g., oxidases and peroxidases). Increasing evidence indicates that the accumulation of unwanted crosslinks, as is seen in ageing and multiple pathologies, has adverse effects on biological function. In this article, we review the spectrum of crosslinks, both reducible and non-reducible, currently known to be formed on proteins; the mechanisms of their formation; and experimental approaches to the detection, identification and characterization of these species.

Replacement of cysteine at position 46 in the first cysteine-rich repeat of the LDL receptor impairs apolipoprotein recognition

Background and aims

Pathogenic mutations in the Low Density Lipoprotein Receptor gene (LDLR) cause Familial Hypercholesterolemia (FH), one of the most common genetic disorders with a prevalence as high as 1 in 200 in some populations. FH is an autosomal dominant disorder of lipoprotein metabolism characterized by high blood cholesterol levels, deposits of cholesterol in peripheral tissues such as tendon xanthomas and accelerated atherosclerosis. To date, 2500 LDLR variants have been identified in the LDLR gene; however, only a minority of them have been experimentally characterized and proven to be pathogenic. Here we investigated the role of Cys46 located in the first repeat of the LDL receptor binding domain in recognition of apolipoproteins.

Methods

Activity of the p.(Cys46Gly) LDLR variant was assessed by immunoblotting and flow cytometry in CHO-ldlA7 expressing the receptor variant. Affinity of p.(Cys46Gly) for LDL and VLDL was determined by solid-phase immunoassays and in silico analysis was used to predict mutation effects.

Results and conclusion

Functional characterization of p.(Cys46Gly) LDLR variant showed impaired LDL and VLDL binding and uptake activity. Consistent with this, solid-phase immunoassays showed the p.(Cys46Gly) LDLR variant has decreased binding affinity for apolipoproteins. These results indicate the important role of Cys46 in LDL receptor activity and highlight the role of LR1 in LDLr activity modulation. This study reinforces the significance of in vitro functional characterization of LDL receptor activity in developing an accurate approach to FH genetic diagnosis. This is of particular importance because it enables clinicians to tailor personalized treatments for patients’ mutation profile.

Exploring the complete mutational space of the LDL receptor LA5 domain using molecular dynamics: linking SNPs with disease phenotypes in familial hypercholesterolemia

Familial hypercholesterolemia (FH), a genetic disorder with a prevalence of 0.2%, represents a high-risk factor to develop cardiovascular and cerebrovascular diseases. The majority and most severe FH cases are associated to mutations in the receptor for low-density lipoproteins receptor (LDL-r), but the molecular basis explaining the connection between mutation and phenotype is often unknown, which hinders early diagnosis and treatment of the disease. We have used atomistic simulations to explore the complete SNP mutational space (227 mutants) of the LA5 repeat, the key domain for interacting with LDL that is coded in the exon concentrating the highest number of mutations. Four clusters of mutants of different stability have been identified. The majority of the 50 FH known mutations (33) appear distributed in the unstable clusters, i.e. loss of conformational stability explains two-third of FH phenotypes. However, one-third of FH phenotypes (17 mutations) do not destabilize the LR5 repeat. Combining our simulations with available structural data from different laboratories, we have defined a consensus-binding site for the interaction of the LA5 repeat with LDL-r partner proteins and have found that most (16) of the 17 stable FH mutations occur at binding site residues. Thus, LA5-associated FH arises from mutations that cause either the loss of stability or a decrease in domain's-binding affinity. Based on this finding, we propose the likely phenotype of each possible SNP in the LA5 repeat and outline a procedure to make a full computational diagnosis for FH.