Molecular Sorting Research Articles

Dynamic sorting of lipids and proteins in membrane tubes with a moving phase boundary

Cellular organelle membranes maintain their integrity, global shape, and composition despite vigorous exchange among compartments of lipids and proteins during trafficking and signaling. Organelle homeostasis involves dynamic molecular sorting mechanisms that are far from being understood. In contrast, equilibrium thermodynamics of membrane mixing and sorting, particularly the phase behavior of binary and ternary model membrane mixtures and its coupling to membrane mechanics, is relatively well characterized. Elucidating the continuous turnover of live cell membranes, however, calls for experimental and theoretical membrane models enabling manipulation and investigation of directional mass transport. Here we introduce the phenomenon of curvature-induced domain nucleation and growth in membrane mixtures with fluid phase coexistence. Membrane domains were consistently observed to nucleate precisely at the junction between a strongly curved cylindrical (tube) membrane and a pipette-aspirated giant unilamellar vesicle. This experimental geometry mimics intracellular sorting compartments, because they often show tubular-vesicular membrane regions. Nucleated domains at tube necks were observed to present diffusion barriers to the transport of lipids and proteins. We find that curvature-nucleated domains grow with characteristic parabolic time dependence that is strongly curvature-dependent. We derive an analytical model that reflects the observed growth dynamics. Numerically calculated membrane shapes furthermore allow us to elucidate mechanical details underlying curvature-dependent directed lipid transport. Our observations suggest a novel dynamic membrane sorting principle that may contribute to intracellular protein and lipid sorting and trafficking.

Direct Measurement of Heating by Optically Trapped Gold Nanoparticles Using Molecular Sorting in a Lipid Bilayer

Gold nanoparticles have are extremely useful as multi-functional and sensitive probes for investigation and manipulation of biological systems. Particles, as small as tenths of nanometers, can be visualized, optically manipulated, and used as controlled force transducers. Their high absorbance also makes them excellent converters of electromagnetic radiation into thermal energy. If the heating can be quantified it can also be advantageously used to perform controlled thermal treatment. We performed a direct measurement of the heating associated with optical trapping of individual gold nanospheres. A trapped gold nanosphere was embedded in a two dimensional supported gel phase lipid bilayer with incorporated fluorescent molecules which preferentially located, e.g., in the gel phase. Visualization of the melted region gave direct information about the temperature profile around the irradiated particle. The heating is highly dependent on particle size and laser power, with surface temperatures increasing from a few to hundreds of degrees Celcius. This quantification allows for creating controlled and localized temperature gradients which can be utilized for destruction of unwanted biological material such as cancer cells, to create local temperature gradients in lipid bilayers, or for nano-engineering purposes.

Bending Stiffness Depends on Curvature of Ternary Lipid Mixture Tubular Membranes

Lipid and protein sorting and trafficking in intracellular pathways maintain cellular function and contribute to organelle homeostasis. Biophysical aspects of membrane shape coupled to sorting have recently received increasing attention. Here we determine membrane tube bending stiffness through measurements of tube radii, and demonstrate that the stiffness of ternary lipid mixtures depends on membrane curvature for a large range of lipid compositions. This observation indicates amplification by curvature of cooperative lipid demixing. We show that curvature-induced demixing increases upon approaching the critical region of a ternary lipid mixture, with qualitative differences along two roughly orthogonal compositional trajectories. Adapting a thermodynamic theory earlier developed by M. Kozlov, we derive an expression that shows the renormalized bending stiffness of an amphiphile mixture membrane tube in contact with a flat reservoir to be a quadratic function of curvature. In this analytical model, the degree of sorting is determined by the ratio of two thermodynamic derivatives. These derivatives are individually interpreted as a driving force and a resistance to curvature sorting. We experimentally show this ratio to vary with composition, and compare the model to sorting by spontaneous curvature. Our results are likely to be relevant to the molecular sorting of membrane components in vivo.

The Effect of Detergent on Human Mu-opioid Receptor (hMOR) Localization as a Function of Pretreatment with Agonist and Antagonist

Like many other seven transmembrane G-protein coupled receptors (GPCRs), the human mu-opioid receptor (hMOR) interacts with multiple members of the pertussis toxin-sensitive Gi and Go protein families, to regulate adenylyl cyclase, Ca2+ and K+ channels. Notably, opioid agonists represent the most powerful analgesic drugs for the clinical management of pain, through binding opioid receptors. However, not all agonists exert the same level of effect.Plasma membranes are organized into specialized micro-domains differing in composition, biological function and physical properties. In recent years, detergent resistant membranes (DRM) are thought to serve as molecular sorting platforms to concentrate signalling molecules (e.g. opioid receptors) based on membrane fractionation and cholesterol depletion experiments. It remains unclear whether membrane organization with detergent has an effect on hMOR localization.Here we track active hMOR and lipid composition in isopycnic membrane fractions in the presence and absence of CHAPS detergent. hMOR activity was assessed using a modified binding assay. The relative amount of lipid raft marker (flotillin-1), actin and G-proteins were assessed by Western blot analysis. The data show the effects of detergent on receptor distribution. Relocation of the hMOR receptor in the membrane indicates an additional level regulation at the cell membrane.

The role of casein in supporting the operation of surface bound kinesin

Microtubules and associated motor proteins such as kinesin are envisioned for applications such as bioseparation and molecular sorting to powering hybrid synthetic mechanical devices. One of the challenges in realizing such systems is retaining motor functionality on device surfaces. Kinesin motors adsorbed onto glass surfaces lose their functionality or ability to interact with microtubules if not adsorbed with other supporting proteins. Casein, a milk protein, is commonly used in microtubule motility assays to preserve kinesin functionality. However, the mechanism responsible for this preservation of motor function is unknown. To study casein and kinesin interaction, a series of microtubule motility assays were performed where whole milk casein, or its αs1 and αs2, β or κ subunits, were introduced or omitted at various steps of the motility assay. In addition, a series of epifluorescence and total internal reflection microscopy (TIRF) experiments were conducted where fluorescently labeled casein was introduced at various steps of the motility assay to assess casein-casein and casein-glass binding dynamics. From these experiments it is concluded that casein forms a bi-layer which supports the operation of kinesin. The first tightly bound layer of casein mainly performs the function of anchoring the kinesin while the second more loosely bound layer of casein positions the head domain of the kinesin to more optimally interact with microtubules. Studies on individual casein subunits indicate that β casein was most effective in supporting kinesin functionality while κ casein was found to be least effective.

Molecular Weight Recognition in the Multiple-Stranded Helix of a Synthetic Polymer without Specific Monomer–Monomer Interaction

Stereoregular isotactic and syndiotactic poly(methyl methacrylate)s (it- and st-PMMAs) are known to form a multiple-stranded complementary helix, so-called stereocomplex (SC) through van der Waals interactions, which is a rare example of helical supramolecular structures formed by a commodity polymer. In this study, we prepared SCs by using uniform it- and st-PMMAs and those with a narrow molecular weight distribution having different molecular weights and investigated their structures in detail using high-resolution atomic force microscopy as a function of the molecular weight and molecular weight distribution of the component PMMAs. We found that complementary it- and st-PMMAs with the longer molecular length determine the total length of the SC, and molecules of the shorter component associate until they fill up or cover the longer component. These observations support a supramolecular triple-stranded helical structure of the SCs composed of a double-stranded helix of two intertwined it-PMMA chains included in a single helix of st-PMMA, and this triple-stranded helix model of the SCs appears to be applicable to the it- and st-PMMAs having a wide range of molecular weights we employed in this study. In homogeneous double-stranded helices of it-PMMA, it has been found that, in mixtures of two it-PMMAs with different molecular weights, chains of the same molecular weight selectively form a double-stranded it-PMMA helix, or recognize the molecular weights of each other ("molecular sorting"). We thus demonstrate that molecular weight recognition is possible, without any specific interaction between monomer units, through the formation of a topological multiple-stranded helical structure based upon van der Waals interaction.

Evidence of species-specific habitat selectivity of Acropora corals based on identification of new recruits by two molecular markers

One of the most abundant genera of scleractinian corals, Acropora, shows considerable zonation along reef slopes. The zones are thought to be established by both selective larval settle- ment and post-settlement selection. The latter has been credited as more important, possibly due to the obvious relationship between colony shapes and habitat-specific environmental stress. However, there is no evidence that the former has less influence on the creation of the zones. To test the hypo- thesis that larvae settle selectively on species-specific suitable habitat, we identified recruits using mitochondrial and nuclear molecular markers. A 2-step molecular sorting process successfully iden- tified the 7 most dominant species in the area. Comparing the species composition of 3 different depths, the distribution of the settlement of the 3 dominant species A. digitifera, A. hyacinthus and A. tenuis was significantly related to adult zonation, suggesting that Acropora larvae selectively settle on the suitable habitat. This is the first in situ evidence showing selective settlement of coral larvae, and from it we can conclude that the initial stage of the life cycle plays an important role in establishing habitat segregation at the species level in Acropora.

Setting up roadblocks for kinesin-1: mechanism for the selective speed control of cargo carrying microtubules

Motor-driven cytoskeletal filaments are versatile transport platforms for nanosized cargo in molecular sorting and nano-assembly devices. However, because cargo and motors share the filament lattice as a common substrate for their activity, it is important to understand the influence of cargo-loading on transport properties. By performing single-molecule stepping assays on biotinylated microtubules we found that individual kinesin-1 motors frequently stopped upon encounters with attached streptavidin molecules. Consequently, we attribute the deceleration of cargo-laden microtubules in gliding assays to an obstruction of kinesin-1 paths on the microtubule lattice rather than to 'frictional' cargo-surface interactions. We propose to apply this obstacle-caused slow-down of gliding microtubules in a novel molecular detection scheme: Using a mixture of two distinct microtubule populations that each bind a different kind of protein, the presence of these proteins can be detected via speed changes in the respective microtubule populations.

Study on Molecular Thermal Energy Transfer in a Lipid Bilayer

Recently, lipid bilayers attract a great deal of interest as a material with nanoscale structure. Various devices utilizing lipid bilayers, which include some kinds of sensors and molecular sorting devices, have been proposed. Understanding of thermal energy transfer in the lipid bilayers is important for utilizing the lipid bilayers as a new material for NEMS with nano structures. In this study, we have investigated the energy transfer along and across the bilayer membrane by molecular dynamics simulations of the lipid bilayer in liquid water. We found that along the bilayer membrane, thermal energy flux in the lipid bilayer is much smaller than that in the water layer. On the other hand, in case of thermal energy transfer across the membrane, total thermal resistance of the lipid bilayer-water system is composed of thermal resistances of various parts of the system, including water layer, head group of lipid, and tail hydrocarbon chain of lipid, which exhibit different magnitude of values. It is found that the tail hydrocarbon chains of lipid have the highest thermal resistance.

EXPRESSION OF FLOTILLIN-1 ON EIMERIA TENELLA SPOROZOITES AND ITS ROLE IN HOST CELL INVASION

Lipid rafts are detergent-resistant, liquid-ordered microdomains in plasma membranes that are enriched in cholesterol and sphingolipids and involved in intracellular signal transduction, membrane trafficking, and molecular sorting. In this study, we investigated the possibility that lipid rafts on Eimeria tenella sporozoites may act as platforms for host cell invasion. Flotillin-1, a resident protein of lipid rafts, was identified on E. tenella sporozoites and was prominently expressed at the apex of the cells, a region mediating host cell invasion. Pretreatment of sporozoites with antibody against flotillin-1 blocked parasite invasion. Furthermore, the anticoccidial drug, monensin, disrupted the localization of flotillin-1 within raft structures resulting in loss of invasion. We conclude that Eimeria sporozoites utilize lipid rafts containing flotillin-1 for internalization into host cells.

Cholesterol-sensitive Modulation of Transcytosis

Cholesterol-rich membrane domains (e.g., lipid rafts) are thought to act as molecular sorting machines, capable of coordinating the organization of signal transduction pathways within limited regions of the plasma membrane and organelles. The significance of these domains in polarized postendocytic sorting is currently not understood. We show that dimeric IgA stimulates the incorporation of its receptor into cholesterol-sensitive detergent-resistant membranes confined to the basolateral surface/basolateral endosomes. A fraction of human transferrin receptor was also found in basolateral detergent-resistant membranes. Disrupting these membrane domains by cholesterol depletion (using methyl-beta-cyclodextrin) before ligand-receptor internalization caused depolarization of traffic from endosomes, suggesting that cholesterol in basolateral lipid rafts plays a role in polarized sorting after endocytosis. In contrast, cholesterol depletion performed after ligand internalization stimulated cargo transcytosis. It also stimulated caveolin-1 phosphorylation on tyrosine 14 and the appearance of the activated protein in dimeric IgA-containing apical organelles. We propose that cholesterol depletion stimulates the coupling of transcytotic and caveolin-1 signaling pathways, consequently prompting the membranes to shuttle from endosomes to the plasma membrane. This process may represent a unique compensatory mechanism required to maintain cholesterol balance on the cell surface of polarized epithelia.

The Clinical Significance of Circulating Tumor Cells in the Peripheral Blood

Tumors launch malignant cells into the circulation continuously. In early stages, the immune surveillance system eliminates these cells from the circulation, but at later times they may persist longer and be detected. The first recorded evidence of the presence of circulating tumor cells in the peripheral blood of cancer patients was documented in 1869. Now, modern molecular biologic and cell sorting techniques make their detection and characterization more practicable. This review will consider the methods currently available for their detection and characterization, and the clinical implications of their presence in various malignant conditions.

Selective intracellular accumulation of the major metabolite issued from the activation of the prodrug ethionamide in mycobacteria

Ethionamide is one of the most widely used drugs for the treatment of multidrug-resistant tuberculosis (MDR-TB). Like isoniazid, and pyrazinamide, ethionamide is a prodrug that needs to be activated by a mycobacterial enzyme. Activation pathways of prodrugs are generally problematic to uncover as they produce intermediates potentially difficult to characterize, to purify and that might prove unstable outside of their cellular context. We have used high resolution magic angle spinning-NMR (HRMAS-NMR) to follow ethionamide activation directly within living mycobacterial cells. Data indicated that the intracellular metabolization of ethionamide strictly depends on the presence of the monooxygenase EthA and that EthA-dependent activation of ethionamide is coupled to a precise molecular sorting mechanism of the ethionamide metabolites. We found that the previously identified ethionamide metabolite 2-ethyl-4-hydroxymethylpyridine is produced in substantial amounts by the ethionamide-treated mycobacteria and that it is present exclusively outside of the bacteria. In contrast, the still unidentified ethionamide metabolite ETH* is the only ethionamide derivative detected within the bacterial cell. Moreover, ETH* appears to be unable to cross the bacterial envelope and consequently accumulates within the cytoplasm of the ethionamide-treated mycobacteria. These results strongly suggest that ETH* is the active antimycobacterial ethionamide derivative and open new perspectives for the understanding of the mode of action of prodrugs.

Analytical Currents: STED microscopy illuminates vesicle fate | Imaging of the oxidant peroxynitrite in living cells | Solid immersion lenses made from PDMS | Molecular sorting in microfluidic devices | DNA sequencing on a chip | Single-molecule binding assay in femtoliter arrays | Simple derivatization of glycopeptides for MALDI | Direct electrical detection of DNA synthesis

Analytical Currents: STED microscopy illuminates vesicle fate | Imaging of the oxidant peroxynitrite in living cells | Solid immersion lenses made from PDMS | Molecular sorting in microfluidic devices | DNA sequencing on a chip | Single-molecule binding assay in femtoliter arrays | Simple derivatization of glycopeptides for MALDI | Direct electrical detection of DNA synthesis

Molecular Sorting by Electrical Steering of Microtubules in Kinesin-Coated Channels

Integration of biomolecular motors in nanoengineered structures raises the intriguing possibility of manipulating materials on nanometer scales. We have managed to integrate kinesin motor proteins in closed submicron channels and to realize active electrical control of the direction of individual kinesin-propelled microtubule filaments at Y junctions. Using this technique, we demonstrate molecular sorting of differently labeled microtubules. We attribute the steering of microtubules to electric field-induced bending of the leading tip. From measurements of the orientation-dependent electrophoretic motion of individual, freely suspended microtubules, we estimate the net applied force on the tip to be in the picoNewton range and we infer an effective charge of 12 e- per tubulin dimer under physiological conditions.

Endocytosis pathways in endothelium: how many?

vascular endothelium is a cellular monolayer with the organization of a simple squamous epithelium that lines the entire cardiovascular system and constitutes a regulatable barrier between blood and tissues ([9][1], [17][2]). By its location, it is easily accessible to blood-borne drugs or imaging

Protein–protein interactions as a tool for site‐specific labeling of proteins

Probing structures and dynamics within biomolecules using ensemble and single-molecule fluorescence resonance energy transfer requires the conjugation of fluorophores to proteins in a site-specific and thermodynamically nonperturbative fashion. Using single-molecule fluorescence-aided molecular sorting and the chymotrypsin inhibitor 2-subtilisin BPN' complex as an example, we demonstrate that protein-protein interactions can be exploited to afford site-specific labeling of a recombinant double-cysteine variant of CI2 without the need for extensive and time-consuming chromatography. The use of protein-protein interactions for site-specific labeling of proteins is compatible with and complementary to existing chemistries for selective labeling of N-terminal cysteines, and could be extended to label multiple positions within a given polypeptide chain.

Symmetry-Broken Reactant Motion upon Phase-Related Symmetrically Modulated Excitations: Application to Highly Selective Molecular Sorting

This paper introduces a separation protocol relying on affinity chromatography that exhibits unprecedented selectivities. We submit the mixture contained in the separative medium to the simultaneous action of two symmetrically modulated excitations. The first is a uniform periodic field (e.g., electric field) with zero mean value, whereas the second is the periodic modulation of a thermodynamic parameter such as the temperature. Under appropriate tuning of the modulations with the dynamics of the discriminating chemical reaction, we predict a symmetry breaking of molecular motion: the mixture components that are addressed by their rate constants exhibit an oriented motion for a particular phase relation between the modulations of the field and the thermodynamic parameter. The resulting velocity of the mixture components depends on the rate constants and on a conjugated thermodynamic value such as the standard enthalpy of the discrimination process in the case of a temperature modulation. In particular, it may be possible to separate mixture components with identical rate constants. We use the present approach to design a protocol to sort nucleic acids by their sequence.

Folding Efficiency Is Rate-limiting in Dopamine D4 Receptor Biogenesis

Dopamine receptors are G protein-coupled receptors that are critically involved in locomotion, reward, and cognitive processes. The D2 class of dopamine receptors (DRD2, -3, and -4) is the target for antipsychotic medication. DRD4 has been implicated in cognition, and genetic studies have found an association between a highly polymorphic repeat sequence in the human DRD4 coding region and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder. Using DRD4 as a model, we show that antipsychotics can function as potent pharmacological chaperones up-regulating receptor expression and can also rescue a non-functional DRD4 folding mutant. This chaperone-mediated up-regulation involves reduced degradation by the 26 S proteasome; likely via the stabilization of newly synthesized receptor in the endoplasmic reticulum. Dopamine itself can function as a chaperone when shuttled into the cell by means of the dopamine transporter. Furthermore, different repeat variants of DRD4 display differential sensitivity to this chaperone effect. These data suggest that folding efficiency may be rate-limiting for dopamine receptor biogenesis and that this efficiency differs between receptor variants. Consequently, the clinical profile of dopaminergic ligands, including antipsychotics, may include their ability to serve as pharmacological chaperones.

Type I PDZ Ligands Are Sufficient to Promote Rapid Recycling of G Protein-coupled Receptors Independent of Binding to N-Ethylmaleimide-sensitive Factor

Molecular sorting of G protein-coupled receptors (GPCRs) between divergent recycling and lysosomal pathways determines the functional consequences of agonist-induced endocytosis. The carboxyl-terminal cytoplasmic domain of the beta2 adrenergic receptor (beta2AR) mediates both PDZ binding to Na+/H+ exchanger regulatory factor/ezrin/radixin/moesin-binding phosphoprotein of 50 kDa (NHERF/EBP50) family proteins and non-PDZ binding to the N-ethylmaleimide-sensitive factor (NSF). We have investigated whether PDZ interaction(s) are actually sufficient to promote rapid recycling of endocytosed receptors and, if so, whether PDZ-mediated sorting is restricted to the beta2AR tail or to sequences that bind NHERF/EBP50. The trafficking effects of short (10 residue) sequences differing in PDZ and NSF binding properties were examined using chimeric mutant receptors. The recycling activity of the beta2AR-derived tail sequence was not blocked by a point mutation that selectively disrupts binding to NSF, and naturally occurring PDZ ligand sequences were identified that do not bind detectably to NSF yet function as strong recycling signals. The carboxyl-terminal cytoplasmic domain of the beta1-adrenergic receptor, which does not bind either to NSF or NHERF/EBP50 and interacts selectively with a distinct group of PDZ proteins, promoted rapid recycling of chimeric mutant receptors with efficiency similarly high as that of the beta2AR tail. These results indicate that PDZ domain-mediated protein interactions are sufficient to promote rapid recycling of GPCRs, independent of binding to NSF. They also suggest that PDZ-directed recycling is a rather general mechanism of GPCR regulation, which is not restricted to a single GPCR, and may involve additional PDZ domain-containing protein(s) besides NHERF/EBP50.