scholarly journals Collinearity of alpha-helices or beta strands in membrane proteins causes a characteristic peak centred on 4.9 Å resolution in diffraction intensity profiles, inducing higher diffraction anisotropy

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Juliette Martin ◽  
Xavier Robert ◽  
Patrice Gouet ◽  
Pierre Falson ◽  
Vincent Chaptal

AbstractDiffraction anisotropy is a phenomenon that impacts more specifically membrane proteins, compared to soluble ones, but the reasons for this discrepancy remained unclear. Often, it is referred to a difference in resolution limits between highest and lowest diffraction limits as a signature for anisotropy. We show in this article that there is no simple correlation between anisotropy and difference in resolution limits, with notably a substantial number of structures displaying various anisotropy with no difference in resolution limits. We further investigated diffraction intensity profiles, and observed a peak centred on 4.9Å resolution more predominant in membrane proteins. Since this peak is in the region corresponding to secondary structures, we investigated the influence of secondary structure ratio. We showed that secondary structure content has little influence on this profile, while secondary structure collinearity in membrane proteins correlate with a stronger peak. Finally, we could further show that the presence of this peak is linked to higher diffraction anisotropy.SynopsisMembrane protein diffraction anisotropy originates from a peak at 4.9 Å resolution in intensity profiles, due to secondary structure collinearity.

2019 ◽  
Vol 47 (W1) ◽  
pp. W477-W481 ◽  
Author(s):  
Elliot D Drew ◽  
Robert W Janes

Abstract 2StrucCompare is a webserver whose primary aim is to visualize subtle but functionally important differences between two related protein structures, either of the same protein or related homologues, with similar or functionally different tertiary structures. At the heart of the package is identifying and visualizing differences between conformations at the secondary structure and at the residue level, such as contact differences or side chain conformational differences found between two protein chains. The protein secondary structures are determined according to four established methods (DSSP, STRIDE, P-SEA and STICKS), and as each employs different assignment strategies, small conformational differences between the two structures can give rise to paired residues being denoted as having different secondary structure features with the different methods. 2StrucCompare captures both the large and more subtle differences found between structures, enabling visualization of these differences that could be key to an understanding of a proteins’ function. 2StrucCompare is freely accessible at http://2struccompare.cryst.bbk.ac.uk/index.php


2019 ◽  
Vol 476 (21) ◽  
pp. 3241-3260
Author(s):  
Sindhu Wisesa ◽  
Yasunori Yamamoto ◽  
Toshiaki Sakisaka

The tubular network of the endoplasmic reticulum (ER) is formed by connecting ER tubules through three-way junctions. Two classes of the conserved ER membrane proteins, atlastins and lunapark, have been shown to reside at the three-way junctions so far and be involved in the generation and stabilization of the three-way junctions. In this study, we report TMCC3 (transmembrane and coiled-coil domain family 3), a member of the TEX28 family, as another ER membrane protein that resides at the three-way junctions in mammalian cells. When the TEX28 family members were transfected into U2OS cells, TMCC3 specifically localized at the three-way junctions in the peripheral ER. TMCC3 bound to atlastins through the C-terminal transmembrane domains. A TMCC3 mutant lacking the N-terminal coiled-coil domain abolished localization to the three-way junctions, suggesting that TMCC3 localized independently of binding to atlastins. TMCC3 knockdown caused a decrease in the number of three-way junctions and expansion of ER sheets, leading to a reduction of the tubular ER network in U2OS cells. The TMCC3 knockdown phenotype was partially rescued by the overexpression of atlastin-2, suggesting that TMCC3 knockdown would decrease the activity of atlastins. These results indicate that TMCC3 localizes at the three-way junctions for the proper tubular ER network.


2005 ◽  
Vol 33 (5) ◽  
pp. 910-912 ◽  
Author(s):  
P.J. Bond ◽  
J. Cuthbertson ◽  
M.S.P. Sansom

Interactions between membrane proteins and detergents are important in biophysical and structural studies and are also biologically relevant in the context of folding and transport. Despite a paucity of high-resolution data on protein–detergent interactions, novel methods and increased computational power enable simulations to provide a means of understanding such interactions in detail. Simulations have been used to compare the effect of lipid or detergent on the structure and dynamics of membrane proteins. Moreover, some of the longest and most complex simulations to date have been used to observe the spontaneous formation of membrane protein–detergent micelles. Common mechanistic steps in the micelle self-assembly process were identified for both α-helical and β-barrel membrane proteins, and a simple kinetic mechanism was proposed. Recently, simplified (i.e. coarse-grained) models have been utilized to follow long timescale transitions in membrane protein–detergent assemblies.


2021 ◽  
Vol 0 (0) ◽  
Author(s):  
Michela Quadrini

Abstract RNA molecules play crucial roles in various biological processes. Their three-dimensional configurations determine the functions and, in turn, influences the interaction with other molecules. RNAs and their interaction structures, the so-called RNA–RNA interactions, can be abstracted in terms of secondary structures, i.e., a list of the nucleotide bases paired by hydrogen bonding within its nucleotide sequence. Each secondary structure, in turn, can be abstracted into cores and shadows. Both are determined by collapsing nucleotides and arcs properly. We formalize all of these abstractions as arc diagrams, whose arcs determine loops. A secondary structure, represented by an arc diagram, is pseudoknot-free if its arc diagram does not present any crossing among arcs otherwise, it is said pseudoknotted. In this study, we face the problem of identifying a given structural pattern into secondary structures or the associated cores or shadow of both RNAs and RNA–RNA interactions, characterized by arbitrary pseudoknots. These abstractions are mapped into a matrix, whose elements represent the relations among loops. Therefore, we face the problem of taking advantage of matrices and submatrices. The algorithms, implemented in Python, work in polynomial time. We test our approach on a set of 16S ribosomal RNAs with inhibitors of Thermus thermophilus, and we quantify the structural effect of the inhibitors.


BMC Biology ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 19 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Cheng-Wen He ◽  
Xue-Fei Cui ◽  
Shao-Jie Ma ◽  
Qin Xu ◽  
Yan-Peng Ran ◽  
...  

Abstract Background The vacuole/lysosome is the final destination of autophagic pathways, but can also itself be degraded in whole or in part by selective macroautophagic or microautophagic processes. Diverse molecular mechanisms are involved in these processes, the characterization of which has lagged behind those of ATG-dependent macroautophagy and ESCRT-dependent endosomal multivesicular body pathways. Results Here we show that as yeast cells gradually exhaust available nutrients and approach stationary phase, multiple vacuolar integral membrane proteins with unrelated functions are degraded in the vacuolar lumen. This degradation depends on the ESCRT machinery, but does not strictly require ubiquitination of cargos or trafficking of cargos out of the vacuole. It is also temporally and mechanistically distinct from NPC-dependent microlipophagy. The turnover is facilitated by Atg8, an exception among autophagy proteins, and an Atg8-interacting vacuolar membrane protein, Hfl1. Lack of Atg8 or Hfl1 led to the accumulation of enlarged lumenal membrane structures in the vacuole. We further show that a key function of Hfl1 is the membrane recruitment of Atg8. In the presence of Hfl1, lipidation of Atg8 is not required for efficient cargo turnover. The need for Hfl1 can be partially bypassed by blocking Atg8 delipidation. Conclusions Our data reveal a vacuolar membrane protein degradation process with a unique dependence on vacuole-associated Atg8 downstream of ESCRTs, and we identify a specific role of Hfl1, a protein conserved from yeast to plants and animals, in membrane targeting of Atg8.


Membranes ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (2) ◽  
pp. 155
Author(s):  
Ekaitz Errasti-Murugarren ◽  
Paola Bartoccioni ◽  
Manuel Palacín

Accounting for nearly two-thirds of known druggable targets, membrane proteins are highly relevant for cell physiology and pharmacology. In this regard, the structural determination of pharmacologically relevant targets would facilitate the intelligent design of new drugs. The structural biology of membrane proteins is a field experiencing significant growth as a result of the development of new strategies for structure determination. However, membrane protein preparation for structural studies continues to be a limiting step in many cases due to the inherent instability of these molecules in non-native membrane environments. This review describes the approaches that have been developed to improve membrane protein stability. Membrane protein mutagenesis, detergent selection, lipid membrane mimics, antibodies, and ligands are described in this review as approaches to facilitate the production of purified and stable membrane proteins of interest for structural and functional studies.


RSC Advances ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (14) ◽  
pp. 8277-8281
Author(s):  
Xiaoyan Huang ◽  
Zhuoxi Liang ◽  
Jiqiu Wen ◽  
Yong Liu ◽  
Ayoub Taallah ◽  
...  

The collaboration of nanochannel confinement and dynamic negative growth creates orderly aligned manganese-based nanotube arrays decorated with nanopores as a secondary structure.


Lab on a Chip ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 20 (17) ◽  
pp. 3230-3238
Author(s):  
Yuewen Zhang ◽  
Therese W. Herling ◽  
Stefan Kreida ◽  
Quentin A. E. Peter ◽  
Tadas Kartanas ◽  
...  

Membrane proteins are gatekeepers for exchange of information and matter between the intracellular and extracellular environment. This paper opens up a route to probe membrane protein interactions under native solution conditions using microfluidics.


1977 ◽  
Vol 163 (1) ◽  
pp. 45-57 ◽  
Author(s):  
A K Dunker ◽  
D J Zaleske

The stereochemical constraints originally used to construct two- and three-stranded alpha-helical coiled-coils were generalized for aggregates of alpha-helices containing from 4 to 14 alpha-helices in tubular bundles. Certain features of bacteriorhodopsin show excellent correlations with these stereochemical constraints.


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