scholarly journals Membrane Interface Composition Drives the Structure and the Tilt of the Single Transmembrane Helix Protein PMP1: MD Studies

2011 ◽  
Vol 100 (7) ◽  
pp. 1660-1667 ◽  
Author(s):  
Veronica Beswick ◽  
Adriana Isvoran ◽  
Pierre Nédellec ◽  
Alain Sanson ◽  
Nadège Jamin
Author(s):  
Jeffry A. Reidler ◽  
John P. Robinson

We have prepared two-dimensional (2D) crystals of tetanus toxin using procedures developed by Uzgiris and Kornberg for the directed production of 2D crystals of monoclonal antibodies at an antigen-phospholipid monolayer interface. The tetanus toxin crystals were formed using a small mole fraction of the natural receptor, GT1, incorporated into phosphatidyl choline monolayers. The crystals formed at low concentration overnight. Two dimensional crystals of this type are particularly useful for structure determination using electron microscopy and computer image refinement. Three dimensional (3D) structural information can be derived from these crystals by computer reconstruction of photographs of toxin crystals taken at different tilt angles. Such 3D reconstructions may help elucidate the mechanism of entry of the enzymatic subunit of toxins into cells, particularly since these crystals form directly on a membrane interface at similar concentrations of ganglioside GT1 to the natural cellular receptors.


2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Zichen Wang ◽  
Huaxun Fan ◽  
Xiao Hu ◽  
John Khamo ◽  
Jiajie Diao ◽  
...  

<p>The receptor tyrosine kinase family transmits signals into cell via a single transmembrane helix and a flexible juxtamembrane domain (JMD). Membrane dynamics makes it challenging to study the structural mechanism of receptor activation experimentally. In this study, we employ all-atom molecular dynamics with Highly Mobile Membrane-Mimetic to capture membrane interactions with the JMD of tropomyosin receptor kinase A (TrkA). We find that PIP<sub>2 </sub>lipids engage in lasting binding to multiple basic residues and compete with salt bridge within the peptide. We discover three residues insertion into the membrane, and perturb it through computationally designed point mutations. Single-molecule experiments indicate the contribution from hydrophobic insertion is comparable to electrostatic binding, and in-cell experiments show that enhanced TrkA-JMD insertion promotes receptor ubiquitination. Our joint work points to a scenario where basic and hydrophobic residues on disordered domains interact with lipid headgroups and tails, respectively, to restrain flexibility and potentially modulate protein function.</p>


2008 ◽  
Vol 59 (11) ◽  
Author(s):  
Maria Tomoaia-Cotisel ◽  
Aurora Mocanu

The phase behaviour and surface structure of dipalmitoyl phosphatidyl choline (DPPC) monolayers at the air/water interface, in the absence and the presence of procaine, have been investigated by Langmuir-Blodgett (LB) technique and atomic force microscopy. The LB films were transferred on mica, at a controlled surface pressure, characteristic for the expanded liquid to condensed liquid phase transition of pure DPPC monolayers. The results indicate that procaine penetrates into and specifically interacts with phospholipid monolayers stabilizing the lipid membrane interface.


Cells ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 10 (6) ◽  
pp. 1558
Author(s):  
Rajni Garg ◽  
Chinmay Anand ◽  
Sohini Ganguly ◽  
Sandhya Rao ◽  
Rinkee Verma ◽  
...  

Rv3852 is a unique nucleoid-associated protein (NAP) found exclusively in Mycobacterium tuberculosis (Mtb) and closely related species. Although annotated as H-NS, we showed previously that it is very different from H-NS in its properties and is distinct from other NAPs, anchoring to cell membrane by virtue of possessing a C-terminal transmembrane helix. Here, we investigated the role of Rv3852 in Mtb in organizing architecture or synthesis machinery of cell wall by protein–protein interaction approach. We demonstrated a direct physical interaction of Rv3852 with Wag31, an important cell shape and cell wall integrity determinant essential in Mtb. Wag31 localizes to the cell poles and possibly acts as a scaffold for cell wall synthesis proteins, resulting in polar cell growth in Mtb. Ectopic expression of Rv3852 in M. smegmatis resulted in its interaction with Wag31 orthologue DivIVAMsm. Binding of the NAP to Wag31 appears to be necessary for fine-tuning Wag31 localization to the cell poles, enabling complex cell wall synthesis in Mtb. In Rv3852 knockout background, Wag31 is mislocalized resulting in disturbed nascent peptidoglycan synthesis, suggesting that the NAP acts as a driver for localization of Wag31 to the cell poles. While this novel association between these two proteins presents one of the mechanisms to structure the elaborate multi-layered cell envelope of Mtb, it also exemplifies a new function for a NAP in mycobacteria.


Author(s):  
Rajnee Hasan ◽  
Md. Nazmul Haq Rony ◽  
Rasel Ahmed

Abstract Background The M4 family of metalloproteases is comprised of a large number of zinc-containing metalloproteases. A large number of these enzymes are important virulence factors of pathogenic bacteria and therefore potential drug targets. Whereas some enzymes have potential for biotechnological applications, the M4 family of metalloproteases is known almost exclusively from bacteria. The aim of the study was to identify the structure and properties of M4 metalloprotease proteins. Results A total of 31 protein sequences of M4 metalloprotease retrieved from UniProt representing different species of bacteria have been characterized for various physiochemical properties. They were thermostable, hydrophillic protein of a molecular mass ranging from 38 to 66 KDa. Correlation on the basis of both enzymes and respective genes has also been studied by phylogenetic tree. B. cereus M4 metalloprotease (PDB ID: 1NPC) was selected as a representative species for secondary and tertiary structures among the M4 metalloprotease proteins. The secondary structure displaying 11 helices (H1-H11) is involved in 15 helix-helix interactions, while 4 β-sheet motifs composed of 15 β-strands in PDBsum. Possible disulfide bridges were absent in most of the cases. The tertiary structure of B. cereus M4 metalloprotease was validated by QMEAN4 and SAVES server (Ramachandran plot, verify 3D, and ERRAT) which proved the stability, reliability, and consistency of the tertiary structure of the protein. Functional analysis was done in terms of membrane protein topology, disease-causing region prediction, proteolytic cleavage sites prediction, and network generation. Transmembrane helix prediction showed absence of transmembrane helix in protein. Protein-protein interaction networks demonstrated that bacillolysin of B. cereus interacted with ten other proteins in a high confidence score. Five disorder regions were identified. Active sites analysis showed the zinc-binding residues—His-143, His-147, and Glu-167, with Glu-144 acting as the catalytic residues. Conclusion Moreover, this theoretical overview will help researchers to get a details idea about the protein structure and it may also help to design enzymes with desirable characteristics for exploiting them at industrial level or potential drug targets.


Nanomaterials ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
pp. 39
Author(s):  
Xiaolong Xu ◽  
Mauro Rajteri ◽  
Jinjin Li ◽  
Shuo Zhang ◽  
Jian Chen ◽  
...  

In this work, the interface composition of the superconducting Ti/PdAu bilayer is tuned by an annealing process in N2 from 100 to 500 °C to control the superconducting transition temperature (Tc). This Ti-PdAu composition layer is characterized with a high-resolution transmission electron microscopy (HRTEM) and energy-dispersive spectrometer (EDS) to show the infiltration process. The surface topography, electrical, and cryogenic properties are also shown. The inter-infiltration of Ti and PdAu induced by the thermal treatments generates an intermixed layer at the interface of the bilayer film. Due to the enforced proximity effect by the annealing process, the Tc of Ti (55 nm)/PdAu (60 nm) bilayer thin films is tuned from an initial value of 243 to 111 mK which is a temperature that is suitable for the application as the function unit of a superconducting transition edge sensor.


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