Amphiphilic Membrane Proteins Research Articles

Deconvoluting the Effect of the Hydrophobic and Hydrophilic Domains of an Amphiphilic Integral Membrane Protein in Lipid Bicontinuous Cubic Mesophases.

Lipidic bicontinuous cubic mesophases with encapsulated amphiphilic proteins are widely used in a range of biological and biomedical applications, including in meso crystallization, as drug delivery vehicles for therapeutic proteins, and as biosensors and biofuel cells. However, the effect of amphiphilic protein encapsulation on the cubic phase nanostructure is not well-understood. In this study, we illustrate the effect of incorporating the bacterial amphiphilic membrane protein Ag43, and its individual hydrophobic β(43) and hydrophilic α(43) domains, in bicontinuous cubic mesophases. For the monoolein, monoalmitolein, and phytantriol cubic phases with and without 8% w/w cholesterol, the effect of the full length amphiphilic protein Ag43 on the cubic phase nanostructure was more significant than the sum of the individual hydrophobic β(43) and hydrophilic α(43) domains. Several factors were found to potentially influence the impact of the hydrophobic β(43) domain on the cubic phase internal nanostructure. These include the size of the hydrophobic β(43) domain relative to the thickness of the lipid bilayer, as well as its charge and diameter. The size of the hydrophilic α(43) domain relative to the water channel radius of the cubic mesophase was also found to be important. The secondary structure of the Ag43 proteins was affected by the hydrophobic thickness and physicochemical properties of the lipid bilayer and the water channel diameter of the cubic phase. Such structural changes may be small but could potentially affect membrane protein function.

Converting Signalling Pathway of Olfactory Receptor Proteins Into Electronic Read Out

Integration of modern nanoelectronic technology with the potent molecular machines of living organisms offers a pathway to advanced chemical sensing and high throughput screening of ligand binding. Integration of amphiphilic membrane proteins remains a challenging problem despite their vital and varied functionality in living organisms. We have created a nanoelectronic interface to G-protein coupled receptors (GPCRs), a large family of membrane proteins whose roles in the detection of molecules outside eukaryotic cells and initiation of cascades of intracellular responses make them important pharmaceutical targets. Olfactory receptor proteins (ORs) are the most numerous class of GPCRs, representing transcription products of ∼ 3% of the mammalian genome. We report a method to integrate ORs with carbon nanotube (NT) transistors. The resulting devices transduce signals associated with odorant binding to ORs in the gas phase under ambient conditions and show responses that are in excellent agreement with results from established assays for OR-ligand binding. The work represents significant progress towards an electronic nose that can be directly compared to biological olfactory systems as well as a general method for the study of GPCR function in multiple domains using electronic readout.View Large Image | View Hi-Res Image | Download PowerPoint Slide

Antigen heterogeneity and epitope variable expression in Mycoplasma meleagridis isolates

Immunoblotting was used to check the antigenic profiling of 27 Mycoplasma meleagridis strains isolated in different countries. Hyperimmune polyclonal rabbit antiserum as well as monoclonal antibodies (MAbs) raised against M. meleagridis (MM) showed antigen heterogeneity among strains. Five anti-MM MAbs were selected for lack of reaction against heterologous avian mycoplasma. Three of these five Mabs did not cross-react with 63 mycoplasma strains from six species affecting turkeys other than M. meleagridis. The five Mabs used to analyse the epitopes of 30 M. meleagridis strains indicated that some epitopes were not expressed in all strains. Moreover, other epitopes were located on proteins which differed according to number or molecular mass from strain to strain. The five Mabs therefore, recognised variable surface proteins, among which two were amphiphilic membrane proteins. Three of the selected Mabs recognised 29 or 30 of the 30 tested strains. The in vitro expression of surface epitopes in M. meleagridis ATCC 25284 was investigated by colony immunobinding and allowed demonstration of a variable antigenic system.

Isolation of the gene encoding an immunodominant membrane protein of the apple proliferation phytoplasma, and expression and characterization of the gene product.

An immunodominant membrane protein (IMP) of the apple proliferation (AP) phytoplasma was detected in preparations from AP-diseased periwinkle plants using monoclonal and polyclonal antibodies to the AP agent. Following isolation from Western blots and partial sequencing, degenerate oligonucleotides derived from the IMP sequence were used as probes to identify a DNA fragment containing the ORF encoding the IMP. Complete sequencing and subsequent analysis of the cloned DNA fragment revealed the presence of two ORFs, predicted to encode proteins with molecular masses of 25 kDa (P-318A) and 19 kDa (P-318B). Whilst database searches failed to assign a possible function to P-318A, analysis of P-318B predicted an amphiphilic membrane protein with a positively charged N-terminal portion, followed by a hydrophobic segment forming an alpha-helix, and a hydrophilic C-terminal part located outside of the cell. The amphiphilic nature of P-318B was confirmed by its solubility in Triton X-114. The gene encoding P-318B was expressed in Escherichia coli and the resulting protein was used to immunize rabbits. The antiserum obtained reacted specifically with P-318B. The same protein was also detected by an antiserum raised against antigen preparations from AP-diseased plants. The P-318B antiserum did not react with antigen preparations from plants infected with the closely related pear decline phytoplasma. However, in Southern hybridization studies, the gene encoding the IMP hybridized to genomic fragments of the pear decline and European stone fruit yellows phytoplasmas. It also showed significant sequence similarity to a gene encoding an antigenic membrane protein of the sweet potato witches' broom phytoplasma, but not to a gene encoding a major immunogenic membrane protein of an aster yellows group phytoplasma. Since it appears that most phytoplasmas possess a major immunogenic membrane protein which may have a function in pathogenesis, this work may be a basis for further studies on fundamental aspects of host-pathogen interactions. It also describes a new approach to obtain suitable immunogens to produce specific antibodies for detection and characterization of the non-culturable phytoplasmas.

Identification of mycoplasma membrane proteins by systematic Tn phoA mutagenesis of a recombinant library.

Wall-less prokaryotes in the genus Mycoplasma include over 90 species of infectious agents whose pathogenicity for humans and other animals is currently being assessed. Molecular characterization of surface proteins is critical in this regard but is hampered by the lack of genetic systems in these organisms. We used TnphoA transposition to systematically mutagenize, in Escherichia coli, a genomic plasmid library constructed from Mycoplasma fermentans, a potential human pathogen. The strategy circumvented problems of expressing mycoplasma genes containing UGA (Trp) codons and relied on the construction of the vector pG7ZCW, designed to reduce TnphoA transposition into vector sequences. Functional phoA gene fusions directly identified genes encoding 19 putative membrane-associated proteins of M. fermentans. Sequences of fusion constructs defined three types of export sequence: (1) non-cleavable, membrane-spanning sequences, (2) signal peptides with signal peptidase (SPase) I-like cleavage sites, and (3) signal peptides with SPase II-like lipoprotein-cleavage sites which, like most other mycoplasmal lipoprotein signals analysed to date, differed from those in several Gram-negative and Gram-positive eubacteria in their lack of a Leu residue at the -3 position. Antibodies to synthetic peptides that were deduced from two fusions to predicted lipoproteins, identified corresponding amphiphilic membrane proteins of 57 kDa and 78 kDa expressed in the mycoplasma. The P57 sequence contained a proline-rich N-terminal region analogous to an adhesin of Mycoplasma gallisepticum. The P78 protein was identical to a serologically defined phase-variant surface lipoprotein. TnphoA mutagenesis provides an efficient means of systematically characterizing functionally diverse lipoproteins and other exported proteins in mycoplasmas.

Extraction of lipoteichoic acid from Streptococcus mutants with the non-ionic detergent Triton X-114

The non-ionic detergent Triton X-114 has previously been used for the selective extraction of amphiphilic membrane proteins, including lipoproteins. This report describes the use of the detergent in the extraction of lipoteichoic acid which is a major macroamphiphilic membrane-associated antigen, present in many Gram-positive bacteria. Lipoteichoic acid was recovered from detergent-rich extracts of Streptococcus mutans by anion-exchange chromatography, although at a reduced yield compared with conventional phenol extraction. However, the non-ionic detergent solubilisation method has a number of distinct advantages over phenol extraction, notably that it is less time consuming, less aggressive and less hazardous. These advantages may prove sufficient to outweigh the disadvantage of reduced yield. This technique provides a novel method for extraction of lipoteichoic acid which may be extended to include other macroamphiphiles such as lipoglycans and lipopolysaccharide (endotoxin)

Characterization of the Cellular Binding Site for the Urokinase-type Plasminogen Activator

Human urokinase-type plasminogen activator (uPA) binds rapidly and with high affinity to a number of human cell types; this localizes plasmin generation to the close environment of the cell surface. uPA binding to HeLa and U937 cells is mediated by a single class of sites with an affinity of 3.4 +/- 1.3 x 10(-10) M. Binding is abolished by treatment of the cells with trypsin. Chemical cross-linking of Mr 55,000 125I-uPA to the surface of HeLa and U937 cells with disuccinimidyl suberate or with formaldehyde results in the formation of a labeled complex of Mr 100,000, suggesting a Mr of 45,000 +/- 5,000 for the receptor or a subunit thereof. When cells solubilized in Triton X-114 are subjected to heat-induced phase separation, unoccupied receptor, receptor-bound 125I-uPA, and cross-linked 125I-uPA-receptor complex all partition in the detergent phase, whereas the unbound ligand remains in the aqueous phase; similar phase partitioning is observed with endogenous uPA-receptor complexes from cultured human and murine cells. Thus, uPA bound at the cell surface is tightly associated with an amphiphilic membrane protein. Interaction of uPA with this plasma membrane receptor is species-specific, since human uPA fails to bind to murine cells, and murine uPA does not bind to human cells. Finally, incubation of HeLa cells in the presence of epidermal growth factor or phorbol 12-myristate 13-acetate results, over a period of 24 h, in a progressive change in uPA binding: an approximately 10-fold increase in the number of sites is accompanied by a 10-fold decrease in their affinity. Cross-linking and phase partitioning of 125I-uPA bound to epidermal growth factor- or phorbol 12-myristate 13-acetate-treated cells indicate that, as in control conditions, it is associated with a Mr 45,000 cell surface amphiphilic polypeptide.

Transferrin receptors in the basal plasma membrane of the human placental syncytiotrophoblast

Transferrin was identified in a preparation of human syncytiotrophoblast basal plasma membrane. Such transferrin was shown to be bound to an amphiphilic membrane protein of subunit mol.wt 94 000 by crossed hydrophobic interaction immunoelectrophoresis and immunoprecipitation with antibodies to transferrin. Basal plasma membrane bound 125I-labelled transferrin in a saturable, reversible manner with high affinity (Kd = 2.5 +/- 0.6 X 10(-9) M). The maximum binding capacity (0.9 +/- 0.2 pmol transferrin/mg membrane protein) was approximately a half of that of microvillous membrane. The basal membrane transferrin receptors were similar to microvillous receptors in that their affinity for diferric transferrin was higher than that for apo-transferrin and transferrin dissociation was negligible at pH 5.0 but rapid at pH 7.4. We conclude that syncytiotrophoblast basal plasma membrane possesses a receptor similar, if not identical, to that on the microvillous membrane. These receptors are thus in a position to participate in iron transfer to the fetus or potentially to have alternative functions in the syncytiotrophoblast.

37] Immunoelectron microscopy using thin, frozen sections: Application to studies of the intracellular transport of Semliki Forest virus spike glycoproteins

Publisher Summary This chapter describes the practice and application of the thin frozen section technique to the biogenesis of the semliki forest virus (SFV) membrane glycoproteins, and presents a general procedure for making high-titered antiserum to amphiphilic membrane proteins. The results indicate that the spike proteins pass through the Golgi stacks, and antibodies to the spike proteins specifically label all the membrane compartments on the intracellular transport pathway. Parallel biochemical experiments show that the spike proteins acquired complex sugars in the Golgi stacks, but the precise location is not determined. The spike proteins move from cis to trans Golgi cisternae. The spike proteins pass through the Golgi stacks during intracellular transport and are present in all cisternae of the stack. The concentration of spike proteins in endoplasmic reticulum (ER) and Golgi membranes is extremely low. Radiolabeling infected cells with defined specific-activity amino acids show that a typical infected cell, 4-6 hr after infection, is synthesizing about 120,000 spike proteins per minute.

Two-domain structure of microsomal reduced nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide-cytochrome b5 reductase

NADH-cytochrome b 5 reductase is an amphiphilic protein consisting of a hydrophilic (FAD-containing) moiety and a hydrophobic (membrane-binding) segment and exists in aqueous media as an oligomeric aggregate. Circular dichroism studies have shown that denaturation of the reductase by guanidine hydrochloride in the presence of Emulgen 109P, a nonionic detergent, is a two-stage process as a function of the denaturant concentration. The first transition occurs at about 1 m guanidine hydrochloride and the second one at much higher concentrations. The guanidine hydrochloride concentration causing the second-stage unfolding depends on the concentration of Emulgen 109P. A hydrophilic fragment of the reductase lacking the hydrophobic segment undergoes one-stage denaturation at about 1 m guandine hydrochloride regardless of the presence and absence of Emulgen 109P. Both the reductase as well as the hydrophilic fragment lose their NADH-ferricyanide reductase activity and FAD also at about 1 m guanidine hydrochloride in the presence of the detergent. These findings suggest that the first-stage denaturation of the reductase represents the unfolding of the hydrophilic moiety and the second one that of the hydrophobic segment. Gel chromatography experiments have suggested that in the presence of Emulgen 109P the reductase exists as a mixed micelle with the detergent and this aggregation state persists even after the first-stage denaturation (unfolding of the hydrophilic moiety). The dissociation of the mixed micelle seems to take place concomitant with the second-stage denaturation. It is concluded that the two moieties of the reductase molecule, though linked to each other covalently, exist as independent domains undergoing unfolding separately at least in the presence of Emulgen 109P. This structural feature of the reductase is similar to that of cytochrome b 5 reported by us. The reductase is, therefore, another example of amphiphilic membrane proteins having two structurally independent domains in the molecule.

Membrane-bound and secreted forms of penicillinase from Bacillus licheniformis

Three forms of penicillinase from Bacillus licheniformis have been isolated. Two are secreted into the extracellular medium and one is membrane-bound. The secreted proteins are water-soluble; one has been previously described and sequenced, the other contains an amino-terminal extension of eight amino acid residues. The membrane-bound form behaves in all respects as a typical amphiphilic membrane protein. It binds one micelle of Triton XI00 and reassociates with egg lecithin to lipid vesicles into which the protein is incorporated. No lipids are covalently associated with the purified protein. Membrane penicillinase contains an amino-terminal peptide extension as compared to the exo forms. This tail is the most likely explanation to its amphiphilic properties.

Formation of protein micelles from amphiphilic membrane proteins.

The membrane penicillinase (penicillin amido-beta-lactamhydrolase, EC 3.5.2.6) from Bacillus licheniformis, the Semliki Forest virus spike proteins, and the Sendai virus glycoproteins have each been isolated as soluble protein aggregates that are virtually free of lipid and detergent. The sedimentation coefficients of the complexes were 18 S, 29 S, and 43 S, respectively. Mixed aggregates containing both the virus glycoproteins and the penicillinase could also be formed. Such protein micelles may serve a number of useful purposes in membrane research.

The amphiphilic membrane glycoproteins of Semliki forest virus are attached to the lipid bilayer by their COOH-terminal ends

The membrane location of the Semliki Forest virus glycoproteins E1, E2 and E3 was studied by protease treatment of (1) virus particles and (2) rough micro somes from cells infected with SF virus†. Protease treatment of virus particles removes all but the membrane-associated segments of the glycoproteins. Analyses of protease-treated SF virus membranes in 15% to 22.5% gradient acrylamide gels demonstrate the presence of three distinct peptide species with apparent molecular weights of 9000, 6000 and 5500. The 9000 and the 5500 molecular weight peptides have been aligned to the COOH-terminal end of E2 and the 6000 molecular weight peptide to the COOH-terminal end of El. The mapping of the peptides was done in a “Dintzis”-type of experiment (Dintzis, 1961) where we labelled the proteins of the virus with a gradient of [ 35S]methionine increasing towards their COOH-terminal end. Protease treatment of microsomes from cells infected with SF virus removes only those parts of the viral glycoproteins that are transversing the lipid bilayer. Analyses of such treated membranes in sodium dodecyl sulphate-containing gels show that a 3000 molecular weight piece is digested from the COOH-terminal end of p62, the cellular precursor of E2 and E3. The COOH-terminus of p62 is shown to be equivalent to that of E2. These results thus demonstrate that the two amphiphilic membrane proteins of SF virus, E1 and E2 (p62) are attached to the lipid bilayer by their COOH-terminal ends. The COOH-terminal end of p62 (E2) spans the microsomal membrane. The third membrane protein, E3, probably does not interact with membrane lipids but is bound to the virus on E1 and (or) E2.

Demonstration of binding of triton X-100 to amphiphilic proteins in crossed immunoelectrophoresis

Binding of non-ionic detergents is a characteristic property of ‘intrinsic’, amphiphilic membrane proteins [ 1,2] and there is currently an increasing interest in methods which permit detection of such detergentbinding. In this paper it will be shown how incorporation of 14Cor 1251-labelled Triton X-100 in agarose gels renders detection of amphiphilic proteins possible in crossed immunoelectrophoresis of complex protein mixtures. Due to binding of Triton X-100, such proteins give rise to radioactive precipitates which may be selectively visualized by autoradiography.

Charge shift electrophoresis: simple method for distinguishing between amphiphilic and hydrophilic proteins in detergent solution.

Seventeen hydrophilic proteins and five amphiphilic membrane proteins were subjected to agarose gel electrophoresis in the presence of a nonionic detergent (Triton X-100), a mixture of anonionic and an anionic detergent (Triton X-100 and sodium deoxycholate), and a mixture of a nonionic and a cationic detergent (Triton X-100 and cetyltrimethylammonium bromide). The electrophoretic mobility of the hydrophilic proteins was unaffected in the three detergent mixtures. However, the mobility of the amphiphilic proteins shifted anodally in the Triton X-100-deoxycholate system and cathodally in the Triton X-100-cetyltrimethylammonium bromide system when compared to the mobility in Triton X-100 alone. The detergent-induced shift in mobility provides a simple, rapid, and sensitive method for distinguishing between hydrophilic and amphiphilic proteins.