scholarly journals Hierarchy of protein assembly at the vertex ring domain for yeast vacuole docking and fusion

2003 ◽  
Vol 160 (3) ◽  
pp. 365-374 ◽  
Author(s):  
Li Wang ◽  
Alexey J. Merz ◽  
Kevin M. Collins ◽  
William Wickner
Keyword(s):  
Membrane Fusion ◽  
Fusion Proteins ◽  
Fusion Reaction ◽  
Protein Sorting ◽  
Protein Assembly ◽  
Ring Domain ◽  
Rab Gtpase ◽  
Initial Vertex ◽  
Functional Relationships ◽  
Fusion Inhibitors

Vacuole tethering, docking, and fusion proteins assemble into a “vertex ring” around the apposed membranes of tethered vacuoles before catalyzing fusion. Inhibitors of the fusion reaction selectively interrupt protein assembly into the vertex ring, establishing a causal assembly hierarchy: (a) The Rab GTPase Ypt7p mediates vacuole tethering and forms the initial vertex ring, independent of t-SNAREs or actin; (b) F-actin disassembly and GTP-bound Ypt7p direct the localization of other fusion factors; (c) The t-SNAREs Vam3p and Vam7p regulate each other's vertex enrichment, but do not affect Ypt7p localization. The v-SNARE Vti1p is enriched at vertices by a distinct pathway that is independent of the t-SNAREs, whereas both t-SNAREs will localize to vertices when trans-pairing of SNAREs is blocked. Thus, trans-SNARE pairing is not required for SNARE vertex enrichment; and (d) The t-SNAREs regulate the vertex enrichment of both G-actin and the Ypt7p effector complex for homotypic fusion and vacuole protein sorting (HOPS). In accord with this hierarchy concept, the HOPS complex, at the end of the vertex assembly hierarchy, is most enriched at those vertices with abundant Ypt7p, which is at the start of the hierarchy. Our findings provide a unique view of the functional relationships between GTPases, SNAREs, and actin in membrane fusion.

scholarly journals Yeast vacuolar HOPS, regulated by its kinase, exploits affinities for acidic lipids and Rab:GTP for membrane binding and to catalyze tethering and fusion

2015 ◽  
Vol 26 (2) ◽  
pp. 305-315 ◽  
Author(s):  
Amy Orr ◽  
William Wickner ◽  
Scott F. Rusin ◽  
Arminja N. Kettenbach ◽  
Michael Zick
Keyword(s):  
Protein Sorting ◽  
Rab Gtpase ◽  
Attachment Protein ◽  
Functional Relationships ◽  
Sensitive Factor ◽  
Protein Receptors ◽  
Membrane Tethering ◽  
Rab Effector ◽  
Supporting Membrane ◽  
Acidic Lipids

Fusion of yeast vacuoles requires the Rab GTPase Ypt7p, four SNAREs (soluble N-ethylmaleimide–sensitive factor attachment protein receptors), the SNARE disassembly chaperones Sec17p/Sec18p, vacuolar lipids, and the Rab-effector complex HOPS (homotypic fusion and vacuole protein sorting). Two HOPS subunits have direct affinity for Ypt7p. Although vacuolar fusion has been reconstituted with purified components, the functional relationships between individual lipids and Ypt7p:GTP have remained unclear. We now report that acidic lipids function with Ypt7p as coreceptors for HOPS, supporting membrane tethering and fusion. After phosphorylation by the vacuolar kinase Yck3p, phospho-HOPS needs both Ypt7p:GTP and acidic lipids to support fusion.

scholarly journals Interdependent assembly of specific regulatory lipids and membrane fusion proteins into the vertex ring domain of docked vacuoles

2004 ◽  
Vol 167 (6) ◽  
pp. 1087-1098 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rutilio A. Fratti ◽  
Youngsoo Jun ◽  
Alexey J. Merz ◽  
Nathan Margolis ◽  
William Wickner
Keyword(s):  
Membrane Fusion ◽  
Protein Interactions ◽  
Fusion Proteins ◽  
Membrane Microdomains ◽  
Rab Gtpase ◽  
Protein Protein Interactions ◽  
Px Domain ◽  
Protein Partitioning ◽  
Membrane Fusion Proteins ◽  
Rab Effector

Membrane microdomains are assembled by lipid partitioning (e.g., rafts) or by protein–protein interactions (e.g., coated vesicles). During docking, yeast vacuoles assemble “vertex” ring-shaped microdomains around the periphery of their apposed membranes. Vertices are selectively enriched in the Rab GTPase Ypt7p, the homotypic fusion and vacuole protein sorting complex (HOPS)–VpsC Rab effector complex, SNAREs, and actin. Membrane fusion initiates at vertex microdomains. We now find that the “regulatory lipids” ergosterol, diacylglycerol and 3- and 4-phosphoinositides accumulate at vertices in a mutually interdependent manner. Regulatory lipids are also required for the vertex enrichment of SNAREs, Ypt7p, and HOPS. Conversely, SNAREs and actin regulate phosphatidylinositol 3-phosphate vertex enrichment. Though the PX domain of the SNARE Vam7p has direct affinity for only 3-phosphoinositides, all the regulatory lipids which are needed for vertex assembly affect Vam7p association with vacuoles. Thus, the assembly of the vacuole vertex ring microdomain arises from interdependent lipid and protein partitioning and binding rather than either lipid partitioning or protein interactions alone.

scholarly journals New Biophysical Approaches Reveal the Dynamics and Mechanics of Type I Viral Fusion Machinery and Their Interplay with Membranes

Viruses ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 12 (4) ◽  
pp. 413 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mark A. Benhaim ◽  
Kelly K. Lee
Keyword(s):  
Membrane Fusion ◽  
Conformational Changes ◽  
Viral Entry ◽  
Fusion Proteins ◽  
Structural Changes ◽  
Fusion Reaction ◽  
Type I ◽  
Viral Fusion ◽  
Technological Advances ◽  
Viral Fusion Proteins

Protein-mediated membrane fusion is a highly regulated biological process essential for cellular and organismal functions and infection by enveloped viruses. During viral entry the membrane fusion reaction is catalyzed by specialized protein machinery on the viral surface. These viral fusion proteins undergo a series of dramatic structural changes during membrane fusion where they engage, remodel, and ultimately fuse with the host membrane. The structural and dynamic nature of these conformational changes and their impact on the membranes have long-eluded characterization. Recent advances in structural and biophysical methodologies have enabled researchers to directly observe viral fusion proteins as they carry out their functions during membrane fusion. Here we review the structure and function of type I viral fusion proteins and mechanisms of protein-mediated membrane fusion. We highlight how recent technological advances and new biophysical approaches are providing unprecedented new insight into the membrane fusion reaction.

scholarly journals Reovirus FAST Protein Transmembrane Domains Function in a Modular, Primary Sequence-Independent Manner To Mediate Cell-Cell Membrane Fusion

2009 ◽  
Vol 83 (7) ◽  
pp. 2941-2950 ◽  
Author(s):  
Eileen K. Clancy ◽  
Roy Duncan
Keyword(s):  
Cell Membrane ◽  
Membrane Fusion ◽  
Fusion Proteins ◽  
Transmembrane Domain ◽  
Fusion Reaction ◽  
Membrane Topology ◽  
Fast Proteins ◽  
Signal Anchor ◽  
Reverse Signal ◽  
Cell Cell

ABSTRACT The FAST proteins are a unique family of virus-encoded cell-cell membrane fusion proteins. In the absence of a cleavable N-terminal signal peptide, a single-pass transmembrane domain (TMD) functions as a reverse signal-anchor to direct the FAST proteins into the plasma membrane in an Nexo/Ccyt topology. There is little information available on the role of the FAST protein TMD in the cell-cell membrane fusion reaction. We show that in the absence of conservation in the length or primary amino acid sequence, the p14 TMD can be functionally exchanged with the TMDs of the p10 and p15 FAST proteins. This is not the case for chimeric p14 proteins containing the TMDs of two different enveloped viral fusion proteins or a cellular membrane protein; such chimeric proteins were defective for both pore formation and syncytiogenesis. TMD structural features that are conserved within members of the FAST protein family presumably play direct roles in the fusion reaction. Molecular modeling suggests that the funnel-shaped architecture of the FAST protein TMDs may represent such a conserved structural and functional motif. Interestingly, although heterologous TMDs exert diverse influences on the trafficking of the p14 FAST protein, these TMDs are capable of functioning as reverse signal-anchor sequences to direct p14 into lipid rafts in the correct membrane topology. The FAST protein TMDs are therefore not primary determinants of type III protein topology, but they do play a direct, sequence-independent role in the membrane fusion reaction.

scholarly journals SNAREs, tethers and SM proteins: how to overcome the final barriers to membrane fusion?

2020 ◽  
Vol 477 (1) ◽  
pp. 243-258 ◽  
Author(s):  
Herre Jelger Risselada ◽  
Andreas Mayer
Keyword(s):  
Free Energy ◽  
Membrane Fusion ◽  
Fusion Proteins ◽  
Fusion Reaction ◽  
Natural Resistance ◽  
Fusion Pore ◽  
Viral Fusion ◽  
Protein Fusion ◽  
Energy Barriers ◽  
Sm Proteins

Physiological membrane vesicles are built to separate reaction spaces in a stable manner, even when they accidentally collide or are kept in apposition by spatial constraints in the cell. This requires a natural resistance to fusion and mixing of their content, which originates from substantial energetic barriers to membrane fusion [1]. To facilitate intracellular membrane fusion reactions in a controlled manner, proteinaceous fusion machineries have evolved. An important open question is whether protein fusion machineries actively pull the fusion reaction over the present free energy barriers, or whether they rather catalyze fusion by lowering those barriers. At first sight, fusion proteins such as SNARE complexes and viral fusion proteins appear to act as nano-machines, which mechanically transduce force to the membranes and thereby overcome the free energy barriers [2,3]. Whether fusion proteins additionally alter the free energy landscape of the fusion reaction via catalytic roles is less obvious. This is a question that we shall discuss in this review, with particular focus on the influence of the eukaryotic SNARE-dependent fusion machinery on the final step of the reaction, the formation and expansion of the fusion pore.

scholarly journals The Major Role of the Rab Ypt7p in Vacuole Fusion Is Supporting HOPS Membrane Association

2009 ◽  
Vol 284 (24) ◽  
pp. 16118-16125 ◽  
Author(s):  
Christopher M. Hickey ◽  
Christopher Stroupe ◽  
William Wickner
Keyword(s):  
Fusion Reaction ◽  
Protein Sorting ◽  
Membrane Association ◽  
Rab Gtpase ◽  
Gtpase Activating Protein ◽  
Attachment Protein ◽  
Vacuole Fusion ◽  
Sensitive Factor ◽  
Protein Receptors

Yeast vacuole fusion requires soluble N-ethylmaleimide-sensitive factor attachment protein receptors (SNAREs), the Rab GTPase Ypt7p, vacuolar lipids, Sec17p and Sec18p, and the homotypic fusion and vacuole protein sorting complex (HOPS). HOPS is a multisubunit protein with direct affinities for SNAREs, vacuolar lipids, and the GTP-bound form of Ypt7p; each of these affinities contributes to HOPS association with the organelle. Using all-purified components, we have reconstituted fusion, but the Rab Ypt7p was not required. We now report that phosphorylation of HOPS by the vacuolar kinase Yck3p blocks HOPS binding to vacuolar lipids, making HOPS membrane association and the ensuing fusion depend on the presence of Ypt7p. In accord with this finding in the reconstituted fusion reaction, the inactivation of Ypt7p by the GTPase-activating protein Gyp1–46p only blocks the fusion of purified vacuoles when Yck3p is present and active. Thus, although Ypt7p may contribute to other fusion functions, its central role is to bind HOPS to the membrane.

scholarly journals How proteins open fusion pores: insights from molecular simulations

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
H. Jelger Risselada ◽  
Helmut Grubmüller
Keyword(s):  
Free Energy ◽  
Fusion Proteins ◽  
Graphics Processing Units ◽  
Fusion Reaction ◽  
Molecular Simulations ◽  
Minimum Free Energy ◽  
Free Energy Calculations ◽  
Coarse Grained ◽  
Fusion Pore ◽  
Graphics Processing

AbstractFusion proteins can play a versatile and involved role during all stages of the fusion reaction. Their roles go far beyond forcing the opposing membranes into close proximity to drive stalk formation and fusion. Molecular simulations have played a central role in providing a molecular understanding of how fusion proteins actively overcome the free energy barriers of the fusion reaction up to the expansion of the fusion pore. Unexpectedly, molecular simulations have revealed a preference of the biological fusion reaction to proceed through asymmetric pathways resulting in the formation of, e.g., a stalk-hole complex, rim-pore, or vertex pore. Force-field based molecular simulations are now able to directly resolve the minimum free-energy path in protein-mediated fusion as well as quantifying the free energies of formed reaction intermediates. Ongoing developments in Graphics Processing Units (GPUs), free energy calculations, and coarse-grained force-fields will soon gain additional insights into the diverse roles of fusion proteins.

Design and synthesis of membrane fusion inhibitors against the feline immunodeficiency virus

2009 ◽  
Vol 17 (14) ◽  
pp. 4916-4920 ◽  
Author(s):  
Shinya Oishi ◽  
Yasuyo Kodera ◽  
Hiroki Nishikawa ◽  
Hirotaka Kamitani ◽  
Tsuyoshi Watabe ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Membrane Fusion ◽  
Feline Immunodeficiency Virus ◽  
Design And Synthesis ◽  
Fusion Inhibitors ◽  
Immunodeficiency Virus

scholarly journals Regulation of membrane fusion by the membrane-proximal coil of the t-SNARE during zippering of SNAREpins

2002 ◽  
Vol 158 (5) ◽  
pp. 929-940 ◽  
Author(s):  
Thomas J. Melia ◽  
Thomas Weber ◽  
James A. McNew ◽  
Lillian E. Fisher ◽  
Robert J. Johnston ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Membrane Fusion ◽  
Fusion Proteins ◽  
The Other ◽  
Proximal Portion ◽  
Intrinsic State ◽  
Temporal Control ◽  
Helical Bundle ◽  
Proximal Half

We utilize structurally targeted peptides to identify a “tC fusion switch” inherent to the coil domains of the neuronal t-SNARE that pairs with the cognate v-SNARE. The tC fusion switch is located in the membrane-proximal portion of the t-SNARE and controls the rate at which the helical bundle that forms the SNAREpin can zip up to drive bilayer fusion. When the fusion switch is “off” (the intrinsic state of the t-SNARE), zippering of the helices from their membrane-distal ends is impeded and fusion is slow. When the tC fusion switch is “on,” fusion is much faster. The tC fusion switch can be thrown by a peptide that corresponds to the membrane-proximal half of the cognate v-SNARE, and binds reversibly to the cognate region of the t-SNARE. This structures the coil in the membrane-proximal domain of the t-SNARE and accelerates fusion, implying that the intrinsically unstable coil in that region is a natural impediment to the completion of zippering, and thus, fusion. Proteins that stabilize or destabilize one or the other state of the tC fusion switch would exert fine temporal control over the rate of fusion after SNAREs have already partly zippered up.

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