Diffraction-based density restraints for membrane and membrane-peptide molecular dynamics simulations

A Triple Role for a Bilayer: Using Nanoliposomes to Cross and Protect Cellular Membranes

Thanks in large part to the seminal work of Steve White and his colleagues, we appreciate the "ordered complexity" of the lipid bilayer and how it impacts the incorporation of integral membrane proteins as well as more peripherally associated proteins. Steve's work also provides a vital foundation to tackle another challenge: cytotoxic oligomeric complexes which accumulate in various neurodegenerative diseases. These oligomers have a relatively fluid structure and interact with many different proteins in the cell, but their main target is thought to be the phospholipid membrane, either the plasma membrane or internal organelles such as the mitochondria. This fascinating encounter between two essentially fluid phases generates a more disordered membrane, and presumably promotes uncontrolled transport of small metal ions across the membrane barrier. Happily, this unwanted interaction may be suppressed by mobilizing the phospholipid bilayer into its own defense. Extruded nanolipoparticles (NLPs) consisting of DPPC lipids, cholesterol and PEG2000 are excellent vehicles to take up small "oligomer-bashing" hydrophobic molecules such as baicalein and transport them with increased half-life in the plasma and with markedly more efficient crossing of the blood-brain barrier. Thus the bilayer has a triple role in this account: a safe space for a reactive hydrophobic small molecule, a barrier to cross to deliver a drug payload and a target to protect against oligomer attacks. NLPs containing small hydrophobic molecules show great promise in combating neurodegenerative diseases in animal models and may serve as an example of the White approach: applying robust physical-chemical principles to deal with biological problems involving phospholipid membranes.

Membrane association of the PTEN tumor suppressor: neutron scattering and MD simulations reveal the structure of protein-membrane complexes

Neutron reflection (NR) from planar interfaces is an emerging technology that provides unique and otherwise inaccessible structural information on disordered molecular systems such as membrane proteins associated with fluid bilayers, thus addressing one of the remaining challenges of structural biology. Although intrinsically a low-resolution technique, using structural information from crystallography or NMR allows the construction of NR models that describe the architecture of protein-membrane complexes at high resolution. In addition, a combination of these methods with molecular dynamics (MD) simulations has the potential to reveal the dynamics of protein interactions with the bilayer in atomistic detail. We review recent advances in this area by discussing the application of these techniques to the complex formed by the PTEN phosphatase with the plasma membrane. These studies provide insights in the cellular regulation of PTEN, its interaction with PI(4,5)P2 in the inner plasma membrane and the pathway by which its substrate, PI(3,4,5)P3, accesses the PTEN catalytic site.

Zooming in on disordered systems: neutron reflection studies of proteins associated with fluid membranes

Neutron reflectometry (NR) is an emerging experimental technique for the structural characterization of proteins interacting with fluid bilayer membranes under conditions that mimic closely the cellular environment. Thus, cellular processes can be emulated in artificial systems and their molecular basis studied by adding cellular components one at a time in a well-controlled environment while the resulting structures, or structural changes in response to external cues, are monitored with neutron reflection. In recent years, sample environments, data collection strategies and data analysis were continuously refined. The combination of these improvements increases the information which can be obtained from NR to an extent that enables structural characterization of protein-membrane complexes at a length scale that exceeds the resolution of the measurement by far. Ultimately, the combination of NR with molecular dynamics (MD) simulations can be used to cross-validate the results of the two techniques and provide atomic-scale structural models. This review discusses these developments in detail and demonstrates how they provide new windows into relevant biomedical problems. This article is part of a Special Issue entitled: Interfacially Active Peptides and Proteins. Guest Editors: William C. Wimley and Kalina Hristova.

Validation of depth-dependent fluorescence quenching in membranes by molecular dynamics simulation of tryptophan octyl ester in POPC bilayer

Depth-dependent fluorescence quenching is an important tool for studying the penetration of proteins and peptides into lipid bilayers. Extracting quantitative information from quenching data is, however, complicated by (1) a limited number of experimentally available quenchers and (2) thermal disorder resulting in broad distributions of the transverse positions of both quenchers and fluorophores. Here we validate and refine a general approach to determining the location of a fluorescent probe along the bilayer normal from quenching data, based on a molecular dynamics (MD) simulation of a model compound, tryptophan octyl ester (TOE), in a 1-palmitoyl-2-oleoyl-sn-glycero-3-phosphocholine (POPC) bilayer. The TOE ring was found to lie deeply within the bilayer (most probable position of 13.3 Å and center-of-weight of the distribution of 14.8 Å from the bilayer center), and it was very broadly distributed (with 9 Å depth distribution width), which is consistent with previous experimental observations. The depth-dependent quenching profiles were simulated by treating carbon atoms of the lipid acyl chain of POPC as "pseudo-quenchers" and calculating appropriate transverse overlaps and collision rates with indole atoms of TOE. These simulated quenching profiles were well fitted by a Gaussian function of depth, as is routinely done with experimental data subjected to the distribution analysis procedure [Methods Enzymol. 1997, 278, 462-473]. Comparison of the collisional pseudoquenching profiles with the actual profiles of the indole moiety of TOE allows for testing of the validity of the data analysis and identification of the possible sources of error in calculating depths of membrane penetration from quenching data.

Conformational states of melittin at a bilayer interface

The distribution of peptide conformations in the membrane interface is central to partitioning energetics. Molecular-dynamics simulations enable characterization of in-membrane structural dynamics. Here, we describe melittin partitioning into dioleoylphosphatidylcholine lipids using CHARMM and OPLS force fields. Although the OPLS simulation failed to reproduce experimental results, the CHARMM simulation reported was consistent with experiments. The CHARMM simulation showed melittin to be represented by a narrow distribution of folding states in the membrane interface.

Membrane association of the PTEN tumor suppressor: electrostatic interaction with phosphatidylserine-containing bilayers and regulatory role of the C-terminal tail

The phosphatidylinositolphosphate phosphatase PTEN is the second most frequently mutated protein in human tumors. Its membrane association, allosteric activation and membrane dissociation are poorly understood. We recently reported PTEN binding affinities to membranes of different compositions (Shenoy et al., 2012, PLoS ONE 7, e32591) and a preliminary investigation of the protein-membrane complex with neutron reflectometry (NR). Here we use NR to validate molecular dynamics (MD) simulations of the protein and study conformational differences of the protein in solution and on anionic membranes. NR shows that full-length PTEN binds to such membranes roughly in the conformation and orientation suggested by the crystal structure of a truncated PTEN protein, in contrast with a recently presented model which suggested that membrane binding depends critically on the SUMOylation of the CBR3 loop of PTEN's C2 domain. Our MD simulations confirm that PTEN is peripherally bound to the bilayer surface and show slight differences of the protein structure in solution and in the membrane-bound state, where the protein body flattens against the bilayer surface. PTEN's C2 domain binds phosphatidylserine (PS) tightly through its CBR3 loop, and its phosphatase domain also forms electrostatic interactions with PS. NR and MD results show consistently that PTEN's unstructured, anionic C-terminal tail is repelled from the bilayer surface. In contrast, this tail is tightly tugged against the C2 domain in solution, partially obstructing the membrane-binding interface of the protein. Arresting the C-terminal tail in this conformation by phosphorylation may provide a control mechanism for PTEN's membrane binding and activity.

Molecular dynamics simulations and conductance studies of the interaction of VP1 N-terminus from Polio virus and gp41 fusion peptide from HIV-1 with lipid membranes

The icosahedral Polio virus capsid consists of 60 copies of each of the coat proteins VP1, VP2, VP3 and myristolyated VP4 (myrVP4). Catalyzed by the host cell receptor the Polio virus enters the host cell via externalization of myrVP4 and the N terminal part of VP1. There are several assumptions about the individual role of both of the proteins in the mechanism of membrane attachment and genome injection. We use the first 32 N terminal amino acids of VP1 and applied molecular dynamics simulations to assess its mechanism of function when attached and inserted into hydrated lipid membranes (POPC). Helical models are placed in various positions in regard to the lipid membrane to start with. As a comparison, the first 33 amino acids of the fusion peptide of gp41 of HIV-1 are simulated under identical conditions. Computational data support the idea that VP1 is not penetrating into the membrane to form a pore; it rather lays on the membrane surface and only perturbs the membrane. Furthermore, this idea is strengthened by channel recordings of both peptides showing irregular openings.

Continuous distribution model for the investigation of complex molecular architectures near interfaces with scattering techniques

Biological membranes are composed of a thermally disordered lipid matrix and therefore require non-crystallographic scattering approaches for structural characterization with x-rays or neutrons. Here we develop a continuous distribution (CD) model to refine neutron or x-ray reflectivity data from complex architectures of organic molecules. The new model is a flexible implementation of the composition-space refinement of interfacial structures to constrain the resulting scattering length density profiles. We show this model increases the precision with which molecular components may be localized within a sample, with a minimal use of free model parameters. We validate the new model by parameterizing all-atom molecular dynamics (MD) simulations of bilayers and by evaluating the neutron reflectivity of a phospholipid bilayer physisorbed to a solid support. The determination of the structural arrangement of a sparsely-tethered bilayer lipid membrane (stBLM) comprised of a multi-component phospholipid bilayer anchored to a gold substrate by a thiolated oligo(ethylene oxide) linker is also demonstrated. From the model we extract the bilayer composition and density of tether points, information which was previously inaccessible for stBLM systems. The new modeling strategy has been implemented into the ga_refl reflectivity data evaluation suite, available through the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) Center for Neutron Research (NCNR).

The interaction of phospholipase A2 with a phospholipid bilayer: coarse-grained molecular dynamics simulations

A number of membrane-active enzymes act in a complex environment formed by the interface between a lipid bilayer and bulk water. Although x-ray diffraction studies yield structures of isolated enzyme molecules, a detailed characterization of their interactions with the interface requires a measure of how deeply such a membrane-associated protein penetrates into a lipid bilayer. Here, we apply coarse-grained (CG) molecular dynamics (MD) simulations to probe the interaction of porcine pancreatic phospholipase A2 (PLA2) with a lipid bilayer containing palmitoyl-oleoyl-phosphatidyl choline and palmitoyl-oleoyl-phosphatidyl glycerol molecules. We also used a configuration from a CG-MD trajectory to initiate two atomistic (AT) MD simulations. The results of the CG and AT simulations are evaluated by comparison with available experimental data. The membrane-binding surface of PLA2 consists of a patch of hydrophobic residues surrounded by polar and basic residues. We show this proposed footprint interacts preferentially with the anionic headgroups of the palmitoyl-oleoyl-phosphatidyl glycerol molecules. Thus, both electrostatic and hydrophobic interactions determine the location of PLA2 relative to the bilayer. From a general perspective, this study demonstrates that CG-MD simulations may be used to reveal the orientation and location of a membrane-surface-bound protein relative to a lipid bilayer, which may subsequently be refined by AT-MD simulations to probe more detailed interactions.

Folding amphipathic helices into membranes: amphiphilicity trumps hydrophobicity

High amphiphilicity is a hallmark of interfacial helices in membrane proteins and membrane-active peptides, such as toxins and antimicrobial peptides. Although there is general agreement that amphiphilicity is important for membrane-interface binding, an unanswered question is its importance relative to simple hydrophobicity-driven partitioning. We have examined this fundamental question using measurements of the interfacial partitioning of a family of 17-residue amidated-acetylated peptides into both neutral and anionic lipid vesicles. Composed only of Ala, Leu, and Gln residues, the amino acid sequences of the peptides were varied to change peptide amphiphilicity without changing total hydrophobicity. We found that peptide helicity in water and interface increased linearly with hydrophobic moment, as did the favorable peptide partitioning free energy. This observation provides simple tools for designing amphipathic helical peptides. Finally, our results show that helical amphiphilicity is far more important for interfacial binding than simple hydrophobicity.