Identification of synapsin I peptides that insert into lipid membranes

2001 ◽  
Vol 354 (1) ◽  
pp. 57-66 ◽  
Author(s):  
James J. CHEETHAM ◽  
Sabine HILFIKER ◽  
Fabio BENFENATI ◽  
Thomas WEBER ◽  
Paul GREENGARD ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Synaptic Vesicle ◽  
Synaptic Vesicles ◽  
Molecular Mechanisms ◽  
Phospholipid Bilayer ◽  
Synapsin I ◽  
Affinity Binding ◽  
Hydrophobic Core ◽  
Vesicle Membrane ◽  
High Affinity Binding ◽  
High Affinity

The synapsins constitute a family of synaptic vesicle-associated phosphoproteins essential for regulating neurotransmitter release and synaptogenesis. The molecular mechanisms underlying the selective targeting of synapsin I to synaptic vesicles are thought to involve specific protein–protein interactions, while the high-affinity binding to the synaptic vesicle membrane may involve both protein–protein and protein–lipid interactions. The highly hydrophobic N-terminal region of the protein has been shown to bind with high affinity to the acidic phospholipids phosphatidylserine and phosphatidylinositol and to penetrate the hydrophobic core of the lipid bilayer. To precisely identify the domains of synapsin I which mediate the interaction with lipids, synapsin I was bound to liposomes containing the membrane-directed carbene-generating reagent 3-(trifluoromethyl)-3-(m-[125I]iodophenyl)diazirine and subjected to photolysis. Isolation and N-terminal amino acid sequencing of 125I-labelled synapsin I peptides derived from CNBr cleavage indicated that three distinct regions in the highly conserved domain C of synapsin I insert into the hydrophobic core of the phospholipid bilayer. The boundaries of the regions encompass residues 166–192, 233–258 and 278–327 of bovine synapsin I. These regions are surface-exposed in the crystal structure of domain C of bovine synapsin I and are evolutionarily conserved among isoforms across species. The present data offer a molecular explanation for the high-affinity binding of synapsin I to phospholipid bilayers and synaptic vesicles.

scholarly journals Interactions of synapsin I with phospholipids: possible role in synaptic vesicle clustering and in the maintenance of bilayer structures.

1993 ◽  
Vol 123 (6) ◽  
pp. 1845-1855 ◽  
Author(s):  
F Benfenati ◽  
F Valtorta ◽  
M C Rossi ◽  
F Onofri ◽  
T Sihra ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Synaptic Vesicle ◽  
Synaptic Vesicles ◽  
High Surface ◽  
Resonance Spectroscopy ◽  
Synapsin I ◽  
Hydrophobic Core ◽  
Membrane Phospholipids ◽  
Head Region ◽  
Vesicle Membrane ◽  
Liposome Fusion

Synapsin I is a synaptic vesicle-specific phosphoprotein composed of a globular and hydrophobic head and of a proline-rich, elongated and basic tail. Synapsin I binds with high affinity to phospholipid and protein components of synaptic vesicles. The head region of the protein has a very high surface activity, strongly interacts with acidic phospholipids and penetrates the hydrophobic core of the vesicle membrane. In the present paper, we have investigated the possible functional effects of the interaction between synapsin I and vesicle phospholipids. Synapsin I enhances both the rate and the extent of Ca(2+)-dependent membrane fusion, although it has no detectable fusogenic activity per se. This effect, which appears to be independent of synapsin I phosphorylation and localized to the head region of the protein, is attributable to aggregation of adjacent vesicles. The facilitation of Ca(2+)-induced liposome fusion is maximal at 50-80% of vesicle saturation and then decreases steeply, whereas vesicle aggregation does not show this biphasic behavior. Association of synapsin I with phospholipid bilayers does not induce membrane destabilization. Rather, 31P-nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy demonstrated that synapsin I inhibits the transition of membrane phospholipids from the bilayer (L alpha) to the inverted hexagonal (HII) phase induced either by increases in temperature or by Ca2+. These properties might contribute to the remarkable selectivity of the fusion of synaptic vesicles with the presynaptic plasma membrane during exocytosis.

scholarly journals Interactions of synapsin I with small synaptic vesicles: distinct sites in synapsin I bind to vesicle phospholipids and vesicle proteins.

1989 ◽  
Vol 108 (5) ◽  
pp. 1863-1872 ◽  
Author(s):  
F Benfenati ◽  
M Bähler ◽  
R Jahn ◽  
P Greengard
Keyword(s):  
Synaptic Vesicles ◽  
High Ionic Strength ◽  
Synapsin I ◽  
Hydrophobic Core ◽  
Tail Domain ◽  
Vesicle Membrane ◽  
High Affinity ◽  
Cytoplasmic Surface ◽  
Head Domain ◽  
Protease Treatment

Synapsin I is a major neuron-specific phosphoprotein that is specifically localized to the cytoplasmic surface of small synaptic vesicles. In the present study, the binding of synapsin I to small synaptic vesicles was characterized in detail. The binding of synapsin I was preserved when synaptic vesicles were solubilized and reconstituted in phosphatidylcholine. After separation of the protein and lipid components of synaptic vesicles under nondenaturing conditions, synapsin I bound to both components. The use of hydrophobic labeling procedures allowed the assessment of interactions between phospholipids and synapsin I in intact synaptic vesicles. Hydrophobic photolabeling followed by cysteine-specific cleavage of synapsin I demonstrated that the head domain of synapsin I penetrates into the hydrophobic core of the bilayer. The purified NH2-terminal fragment, derived from the head domain by cysteine-specific cleavage, bound to synaptic vesicles with high affinity confirming the results obtained from hydrophobic photolabeling. Synapsin I binding to synaptic vesicles could be inhibited by the entire molecule or by the combined presence of the NH2-terminal and tail fragments, but not by an excess of either NH2-terminal or tail fragment alone. The purified tail fragment bound with relatively high affinity to synaptic vesicles, though it did not significantly interact with phospholipids. Binding of the tail fragment was competed by holosynapsin I; was greatly decreased by phosphorylation; and was abolished by high ionic strength conditions or protease treatment of synaptic vesicles. The data suggest the existence of two sites of interaction between synapsin I and small synaptic vesicles: binding of the head domain to vesicle phospholipids and of the tail domain to a protein component of the vesicle membrane. The latter interaction is apparently responsible for the salt and phosphorylation dependency of synapsin I binding to small synaptic vesicles.

scholarly journals Redistribution of synaptophysin and synapsin I during alpha-latrotoxin-induced release of neurotransmitter at the neuromuscular junction.

1990 ◽  
Vol 110 (2) ◽  
pp. 449-459 ◽  
Author(s):  
F Torri-Tarelli ◽  
A Villa ◽  
F Valtorta ◽  
P De Camilli ◽  
P Greengard ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Synaptic Vesicle ◽  
Synaptic Vesicles ◽  
Low Dose ◽  
Synapsin I ◽  
Nerve Terminals ◽  
Frozen Sections ◽  
Vesicle Membrane ◽  
Ultrathin Frozen Sections ◽  
Nerve Muscle ◽  
Molecular Components

The distribution of two synaptic vesicle-specific phosphoproteins, synaptophysin and synapsin I, during intense quantal secretion was studied by applying an immunogold labeling technique to ultrathin frozen sections. In nerve-muscle preparations treated for 1 h with a low dose of alpha-latrotoxin in the absence of extracellular Ca2+ (a condition under which nerve terminals are depleted of both quanta of neurotransmitter and synaptic vesicles), the immunolabeling for both proteins was distributed along the axolemma. These findings indicate that, in the presence of a block of endocytosis, exocytosis leads to the permanent incorporation of the synaptic vesicle membrane into the axolemma and suggest that, under this condition, at least some of the synapsin I molecules remain associated with the vesicle membrane after fusion. When the same dose of alpha-latrotoxin was applied in the presence of extracellular Ca2+, the immunoreactivity patterns resembled those obtained in resting preparations: immunogold particles were selectively associated with the membrane of synaptic vesicles, whereas the axolemma was virtually unlabeled. Under this condition an active recycling of both quanta of neurotransmitter and vesicles operates. These findings indicate that the retrieval of components of the synaptic vesicle membrane is an efficient process that does not involve extensive intermixing between molecular components of the vesicle and plasma membrane, and show that synaptic vesicles that are rapidly recycling still have the bulk of synapsin I associated with their membrane.

Effect of metal ions on high-affinity binding of pseudosubstrate inhibitors to PKA

2008 ◽  
Vol 413 (1) ◽  
pp. 93-101 ◽  
Author(s):  
Bastian Zimmermann ◽  
Sonja Schweinsberg ◽  
Stephan Drewianka ◽  
Friedrich W. Herberg
Keyword(s):  
Protein Kinase ◽  
Metal Ions ◽  
Metal Binding ◽  
Molecular Mechanisms ◽  
Regulatory Subunit ◽  
Affinity Binding ◽  
High Affinity Binding ◽  
High Affinity ◽  
C Subunit ◽  
Pseudosubstrate Inhibitors

Conformational control of protein kinases is an important way of modulating catalytic activity. Crystal structures of the C (catalytic) subunit of PKA (protein kinase A) in complex with physiological inhibitors and/or nucleotides suggest a highly dynamic process switching between open and more closed conformations. To investigate the underlying molecular mechanisms, SPR (surface plasmon resonance) was used for detailed binding analyses of two physiological PKA inhibitors, PKI (heat-stable protein kinase inhibitor) and a truncated form of the R (regulatory) subunit (RIα 92–260), in the presence of various concentrations of metals and nucleotides. Interestingly, it could be demonstrated that high-affinity binding of each pseudosubstrate inhibitor was dependent only on the concentration of divalent metal ions. At low micromolar concentrations of Mg2+ with PKI, transient interaction kinetics with fast on- and off-rates were observed, whereas at high Mg2+ concentrations the off-rate was slowed down by a factor of 200. This effect could be attributed to the second, low-affinity metal-binding site in the C subunit. In contrast, when investigating the interaction of RIα 92–260 with the C subunit under the same conditions, it was shown that the association rate rather than the dissociation rate was influenced by the presence of high concentrations of Mg2+. A model is presented, where the high-affinity interaction of the C subunit with pseudosubstrate inhibitors (RIα and PKI) is dependent on the closed, catalytically inactive conformation induced by the binding of a nucleotide complex where both of the metal-binding sites are occupied.

Characterization of a Mode of Specific Binding of Fibrin Monomer through its Amino-Terminal Domain by Macrophages and Macrophage Cell-Lines

1990 ◽  
Vol 63 (02) ◽  
pp. 193-203 ◽  
Author(s):  
John R Shainoff ◽  
Deborah J Stearns ◽  
Patricia M DiBello ◽  
Youko Hishikawa-Itoh
Keyword(s):  
Peritoneal Macrophages ◽  
Affinity Binding ◽  
Macrophage Cell ◽  
High Affinity Binding ◽  
Amino Terminal ◽  
High Affinity ◽  
Terminal Domain ◽  
Weak Binding ◽  
Amino Terminal Domain

SummaryThe studies reported here probe the existence of a receptor-mediated mode of fibrin-binding by macrophages that is associated with the chemical change underlying the fibrinogen-fibrin conversion (the release of fibrinopeptides from the amino-terminal domain) without depending on fibrin-aggregation. The question is pursued by 1) characterization of binding in relation to fibrinopeptide content of both the intact protein and the CNBr-fragment comprising the amino-terminal domain known as the NDSK of the protein, 2) tests of competition for binding sites, and 3) photo-affinity labeling of macrophage surface proteins. The binding of intact monomers of types lacking either fibrinopeptide A alone (α-fibrin) or both fibrinopeptides A and B (αβ-fibrin) by peritoneal macrophages is characterized as proceeding through both a fibrin-specific low density/high affinity (BMAX ≃ 200–800 molecules/cell, KD ≃ 10−12 M) interaction that is not duplicated with fibrinogen, and a non-specific high density/low affinity (BMAX ≥ 105 molecules/cell, KD ≥ 10−6 M) interaction equivalent to the weak binding of fibrinogen. Similar binding characteristics are displayed by monocyte/macrophage cell lines (J774A.1 and U937) as well as peritoneal macrophages towards the NDSK preparations of these proteins, except for a slightly weaker (KD ≃ 10−10 M) high-affinity binding. The high affinity binding of intact monomer is inhibitable by fibrin-NDSK, but not fibrinogen-NDSK. This binding appears principally dependent on release of fibrinopeptide-A, because a species of fibrin (β-fibrin) lacking fibrinopeptide-B alone undergoes only weak binding similar to that of fibrinogen. Synthetic Gly-Pro-Arg and Gly-His-Arg-Pro corresponding to the N-termini of to the α- and the β-chains of fibrin both inhibit the high affinity binding of the fibrin-NDSKs, and the cell-adhesion peptide Arg-Gly-Asp does not. Photoaffinity-labeling experiments indicate that polypeptides with elec-trophoretically estimated masses of 124 and 187 kDa are the principal membrane components associated with specifically bound fibrin-NDSK. The binding could not be up-regulated with either phorbol myristyl acetate, interferon gamma or ADP, but was abolished by EDTA and by lipopolysaccharide. Because of the low BMAX, it is suggested that the high-affinity mode of binding characterized here would be too limited to function by itself in scavenging much fibrin, but may act cooperatively with other, less limited modes of fibrin binding.

High Affinity Binding Sites for Activated Protein C and Protein C on Cultured Human Umbilical Vein Endothelial Cells

1994 ◽  
Vol 72 (03) ◽  
pp. 465-474 ◽  
Author(s):  
Neelesh Bangalore ◽  
William N Drohan ◽  
Carolyn L Orthner
Keyword(s):  
Binding Sites ◽  
Protein C ◽  
Umbilical Vein ◽  
Activated Protein C ◽  
Affinity Binding ◽  
Cell Binding ◽  
High Affinity Binding ◽  
High Affinity ◽  
Gla Domain ◽  
Umbilical Vein Endothelial Cells

SummaryActivated protein C (APC) is an antithrombotic serine proteinase having anticoagulant, profibrinolytic and anti-inflammatory activities. Despite its potential clinical utility, relatively little is known about its clearance mechanisms. In the present study we have characterized the interaction of APC and its active site blocked forms with human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVEC). At 4° C 125I-APC bound to HUVEC in a specific, time dependent, saturable and reversible manner. Scatchard analysis of the binding isotherm demonstrated a Kd value of 6.8 nM and total number of binding sites per cell of 359,000. Similar binding isotherms were obtained using radiolabeled protein C (PC) zymogen as well as D-phe-pro-arg-chloromethylketone (PPACK) inhibited APC indicating that a functional active site was not required. Competition studies showed that the binding of APC, PPACK-APC and PC were mutually exclusive suggesting that they bound to the same site(s). Proteolytic removal of the N-terminal γ-carboxyglutamic acid (gla) domain of PC abolished its ability to compete indicating that the gla-domain was essential for cell binding. Surprisingly, APC binding to these cells appeared to be independent of protein S, a cofactor of APC generally thought to be required for its high affinity binding to cell surfaces. The identity of the cell binding site(s), for the most part, appeared to be distinct from other known APC ligands which are associated with cell membranes or extracellular matrix including phospholipid, thrombomodulin, factor V, plasminogen activator inhibitor type 1 (PAI-1) and heparin. Pretreatment of HUVEC with antifactor VIII antibody caused partial inhibition of 125I-APC binding indicating that factor VIII or a homolog accounted for ∼30% of APC binding. Studies of the properties of surface bound 125I-APC or 125I-PC and their fate at 4°C compared to 37 °C were consistent with association of ∼25% of the initially bound radioligand with an endocytic receptor. However, most of the radioligand appeared not to be bound to an endocytic receptor and dissociated rapidly at 37° C in an intact and functional state. These data indicate the presence of specific, high affinity binding sites for APC and PC on the surface of HUVEC. While a minor proportion of binding sites may be involved in endocytosis, the identity and function of the major proportion is presently unknown. It is speculated that this putative receptor may be a further mechanisms of localizing the PC antithrombotic system to the vascular endothelium.

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