Modulation and Functional Role of the Orientations of the N- and P-Domains of Cu+ -Transporting ATPase along the Ion Transport Cycle.

Abstract

Ion transport of different P-type ATPases is regulated similarly through the interplay of multiple protein domains. In the presence of ATP, binding of a cation to the ion binding site in the transmembrane helices leads to the phosphorylation of the P-domain, allowing ion transfer across the membrane. The details of the mechanism, however, are not clear. Here, we report the modulation of the orientation between the N- and P-domains of Cu(+)-transporting ATPase along the ion transport cycle using high-resolution nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy in solution. On the basis of residual dipolar coupling measurements, it is found that the interdomain orientation (relative openness) of the N- and P-domains is distinctly modulated depending on the specific state of the N- and P-domains along the ion translocation cycle. The two domains' relative position in the apo state is semiopen, whereas it becomes closed upon binding of ATP to the N-domain. After phosphorylation of the P-domain and the release of ADP, the opening, however, becomes the widest among all the states. We reason such wide opening resulting from the departure of ADP prepares the N- and P-domains to accommodate the A-domain for interaction and, hence, promote ion transport and allow dephosphorylation of the P-domain. Such wide interdomain opening is abolished when an Asn to Asp mutation is introduced into the conserved DXXK motif located in the hinge region of the N- and P-domains of Cu(+)-ATPase, suggesting the indispensible role of the N- and P-interdomain orientation during ion transportation. Our results shed new light on the structural and mechanistic details of P-type ATPase function at large.