scholarly journals Membrane association of VAMP2 SNARE motif in cells and its regulation by different lipid phases of synaptic vesicle membrane

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Chuchu Wang ◽  
Jia Tu ◽  
Shengnan Zhang ◽  
Bin Cai ◽  
Zhenying Liu ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Mammalian Cells ◽  
Structural Changes ◽  
Lipid Membrane ◽  
Environmental Changes ◽  
Snare Complex ◽  
Membrane Association ◽  
Vesicle Membrane ◽  
Spatial Regulation ◽  
Snare Motif ◽  
Mechanistic Basis

SummaryVesicle associated membrane protein 2 (VAMP2) contains a conserved SNARE motif that forms helix bundles with the homologous motifs of syntaxin-1 and SNAP25 to assemble into a SNARE complex for the exocytosis of synaptic vesicles (SV). Prior to SNARE assembly, the structure of VAMP2 is unclear. Here, using in-cell NMR spectroscopy, we described the dynamic membrane association of VAMP2 SNARE motif in mammalian cells at atomic resolution, and further tracked the intracellular structural changes of VAMP2 upon the lipid environmental changes. The underlying mechanistic basis was then investigated by solution NMR combined with mass-spectrometry-based lipidomic profiling. We analyzed the lipid compositions of lipid-raft and non-raft phases of SV membrane and revealed that VAMP2 configures distinctive conformations in different phases of SV membrane. The phase of cholesterol-rich lipid rafts could largely weaken the association of SNARE motif with SV membrane and thus, facilitate vesicle docking; While in the non-raft phase, the SNARE motif tends to hibernate on SV membrane with minor activity. Our work provides a spatial regulation of different lipid membrane phases to the structure of core SNARE proteins, which deepens our knowledge on the modulation of SNARE machinery.

scholarly journals Pathological transitions in myelin membranes driven by environmental and multiple sclerosis conditions

2018 ◽  
Vol 115 (44) ◽  
pp. 11156-11161 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rona Shaharabani ◽  
Maor Ram-On ◽  
Yeshayahu Talmon ◽  
Roy Beck
Keyword(s):  
Multiple Sclerosis ◽  
Phase Transition ◽  
Lipid Composition ◽  
Environmental Conditions ◽  
Structural Changes ◽  
Environmental Changes ◽  
Hexagonal Phase ◽  
Structural Phase ◽  
Structural Modifications ◽  
Transition Points

Multiple sclerosis (MS) is an autoimmune disease, leading to the destruction of the myelin sheaths, the protective layers surrounding the axons. The etiology of the disease is unknown, although there are several postulated environmental factors that may contribute to it. Recently, myelin damage was correlated to structural phase transition from a healthy stack of lamellas to a diseased inverted hexagonal phase as a result of the altered lipid stoichiometry and low myelin basic protein (MBP) content. In this work, we show that environmental conditions, such as buffer salinity and temperature, induce the same pathological phase transition as in the case of the lipid composition in the absence of MBP. These phase transitions have different transition points, which depend on the lipid’s compositions, and are ion specific. In extreme environmental conditions, we find an additional dense lamellar phase and that the native lipid composition results in similar pathology as the diseased composition. These findings demonstrate that several local environmental changes can trigger pathological structural changes. We postulate that these structural modifications result in myelin membrane vulnerability to the immune system attacks and thus can help explain MS etiology.

scholarly journals The Structural Integrity of the Model Lipid Membrane during Induced Lipid Peroxidation: The Role of Flavonols in the Inhibition of Lipid Peroxidation

Antioxidants ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 9 (5) ◽  
pp. 430 ◽  
Author(s):  
Anja Sadžak ◽  
Janez Mravljak ◽  
Nadica Maltar-Strmečki ◽  
Zoran Arsov ◽  
Goran Baranović ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Lipid Peroxidation ◽  
Lipid Bilayers ◽  
Lipid Membranes ◽  
Structural Changes ◽  
Structural Integrity ◽  
Lipid Membrane ◽  
Membrane Properties ◽  
Structural Reorganization ◽  
Unsaturated Lipids ◽  
Oxidative Attack

The structural integrity, elasticity, and fluidity of lipid membranes are critical for cellular activities such as communication between cells, exocytosis, and endocytosis. Unsaturated lipids, the main components of biological membranes, are particularly susceptible to the oxidative attack of reactive oxygen species. The peroxidation of unsaturated lipids, in our case 1,2-dioleoyl-sn-glycero-3-phosphocholine (DOPC), induces the structural reorganization of the membrane. We have employed a multi-technique approach to analyze typical properties of lipid bilayers, i.e., roughness, thickness, elasticity, and fluidity. We compared the alteration of the membrane properties upon initiated lipid peroxidation and examined the ability of flavonols, namely quercetin (QUE), myricetin (MCE), and myricitrin (MCI) at different molar fractions, to inhibit this change. Using Mass Spectrometry (MS) and Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy (FTIR), we identified various carbonyl products and examined the extent of the reaction. From Atomic Force Microscopy (AFM), Force Spectroscopy (FS), Small Angle X-Ray Scattering (SAXS), and Electron Paramagnetic Resonance (EPR) experiments, we concluded that the membranes with inserted flavonols exhibit resistance against the structural changes induced by the oxidative attack, which is a finding with multiple biological implications. Our approach reveals the interplay between the flavonol molecular structure and the crucial membrane properties under oxidative attack and provides insight into the pathophysiology of cellular oxidative injury.

Monitoring Biomimetic Lipid Membrane Compositions And Structural Changes In Bound Protein On Biocompatible Gold Nanoparticles Surfaces By Vibrational Spectroscopy

2010 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tibebe Lemma ◽  
Robert J. Forster ◽  
Tia E. Keyes ◽  
P. M. Champion ◽  
L. D. Ziegler
Keyword(s):  
Gold Nanoparticles ◽  
Vibrational Spectroscopy ◽  
Structural Changes ◽  
Lipid Membrane

scholarly journals Fusion of phospholipid vesicles with a planar membrane depends on the membrane permeability of the solute used to create the osmotic pressure.

1989 ◽  
Vol 93 (2) ◽  
pp. 201-210 ◽  
Author(s):  
F S Cohen ◽  
W D Niles ◽  
M H Akabas
Keyword(s):  
Osmotic Pressure ◽  
Lipid Bilayer ◽  
Lipid Membrane ◽  
Contact Region ◽  
Companion Paper ◽  
Phospholipid Vesicles ◽  
Osmotic Gradient ◽  
Vesicle Membrane ◽  
Permeable Channel ◽  
Planar Membrane

Phospholipid vesicles fuse with a planar membrane when they are osmotically swollen. Channels in the vesicle membrane are required for swelling to occur when the vesicle-containing compartment is made hyperosmotic by adding a solute (termed an osmoticant). We have studied fusion using two different channels, porin, a highly permeable channel, and nystatin, a much less permeable channel. We report that an osmoticant's ability to support fusion (defined as the magnitude of osmotic gradient necessary to obtain sustained fusion) depends on both its permeability through lipid bilayer as well as its permeability through the channel by which it enters the vesicle interior. With porin as the channel, formamide requires an osmotic gradient about ten times that required with urea, which is approximately 1/40th as permeant as formamide through bare lipid membrane. When nystatin is the channel, however, fusion rates sustained by osmotic gradients of formamide are within a factor of two of those obtained with urea. Vesicles containing a porin-impermeant solute can be induced to swell and fuse with a planar membrane when the impermeant bathing the vesicles is replaced by an isosmotic quantity of a porin-permeant solute. With this method of swelling, formamide is as effective as urea in obtaining fusion. In addition, we report that binding of vesicles to the planar membrane does not make the contact region more permeable to the osmoticant than is bare lipid bilayer. In the companion paper, we quantitatively account for the observation that the ability of a solute to promote fusion depends on its permeability properties and the method of swelling. We show that the intravesicular pressure developed drives fusion.

scholarly journals Regulation of Clathrin-Mediated Endocytosis

2018 ◽  
Vol 87 (1) ◽  
pp. 871-896 ◽  
Author(s):  
Marcel Mettlen ◽  
Ping-Hung Chen ◽  
Saipraveen Srinivasan ◽  
Gaudenz Danuser ◽  
Sandra L. Schmid
Keyword(s):  
Conformational Changes ◽  
Posttranslational Modifications ◽  
Mammalian Cells ◽  
Environmental Changes ◽  
Protein Complexes ◽  
Adaptor Protein ◽  
Endocytic Pathway ◽  
Coat Proteins ◽  
Membrane Composition ◽  
Coated Pits

Clathrin-mediated endocytosis (CME) is the major endocytic pathway in mammalian cells. It is responsible for the uptake of transmembrane receptors and transporters, for remodeling plasma membrane composition in response to environmental changes, and for regulating cell surface signaling. CME occurs via the assembly and maturation of clathrin-coated pits that concentrate cargo as they invaginate and pinch off to form clathrin-coated vesicles. In addition to the major coat proteins, clathrin triskelia and adaptor protein complexes, CME requires a myriad of endocytic accessory proteins and phosphatidylinositol lipids. CME is regulated at multiple steps—initiation, cargo selection, maturation, and fission—and is monitored by an endocytic checkpoint that induces disassembly of defective pits. Regulation occurs via posttranslational modifications, allosteric conformational changes, and isoform and splice-variant differences among components of the CME machinery, including the GTPase dynamin. This review summarizes recent findings on the regulation of CME and the evolution of this complex process.

scholarly journals Arrhythmogenic Cardiomyopathy: Molecular Insights for Improved Therapeutic Design

2020 ◽  
Vol 7 (2) ◽  
pp. 21 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tyler L. Stevens ◽  
Michael J. Wallace ◽  
Mona El Refaey ◽  
Jason D. Roberts ◽  
Sara N. Koenig ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Structural Changes ◽  
Mendelian Inheritance ◽  
In Vivo Studies ◽  
Arrhythmogenic Cardiomyopathy ◽  
New Therapeutic Approaches ◽  
Increased Risk ◽  
Fatty Replacement ◽  
Mechanistic Basis

Arrhythmogenic cardiomyopathy (ACM) is an inherited disorder characterized by structural and electrical cardiac abnormalities, including myocardial fibro-fatty replacement. Its pathological ventricular substrate predisposes subjects to an increased risk of sudden cardiac death (SCD). ACM is a notorious cause of SCD in young athletes, and exercise has been documented to accelerate its progression. Although the genetic culprits are not exclusively limited to the intercalated disc, the majority of ACM-linked variants reside within desmosomal genes and are transmitted via Mendelian inheritance patterns; however, penetrance is highly variable. Its natural history features an initial “concealed phase” that results in patients being vulnerable to malignant arrhythmias prior to the onset of structural changes. Lack of effective therapies that target its pathophysiology renders management of patients challenging due to its progressive nature, and has highlighted a critical need to improve our understanding of its underlying mechanistic basis. In vitro and in vivo studies have begun to unravel the molecular consequences associated with disease causing variants, including altered Wnt/β-catenin signaling. Characterization of ACM mouse models has facilitated the evaluation of new therapeutic approaches. Improved molecular insight into the condition promises to usher in novel forms of therapy that will lead to improved care at the clinical bedside.

G-actin conformational change and polymerization induced by paraquat

1998 ◽  
Vol 76 (4) ◽  
pp. 583-591 ◽  
Author(s):  
Isabella DalleDonne ◽  
Aldo Milzani ◽  
Roberto Colombo
Keyword(s):  
Conformational Changes ◽  
Mammalian Cells ◽  
Structural Changes ◽  
Cell Injury ◽  
Atp Hydrolysis ◽  
Protein Composition ◽  
Dnase I ◽  
Cross Linking ◽  
Cytoskeletal Protein ◽  
Actin Assembly

Paraquat (1,1´-dimethyl-4,4´-bipyridilium dichloride) is a broad-spectrum herbicide that is highly toxic to animals (including man), the major lesion being in the lung. In mammalian cells, paraquat causes deep alterations in the organization of the cytoskeleton, marked decreases in cytoskeletal protein synthesis, and alterations in cytoskeletal protein composition; therefore, the involvement of the cytoskeleton in cell injury by paraquat was suggested. We previously demonstrated that monomeric actin binds paraquat; moreover, prolonged actin exposure to paraquat, in depolymerizing medium, induces the formation of actin aggregates, which are built up by F-actin. In this work we have shown that the addition of paraquat to monomeric actin results in a strong quenching of Trp-79 and Trp-86 fluorescence. Trypsin digestion experiments demonstrated that the sequence 61-69 on actin subdomain 2 undergoes paraquat-dependent conformational changes. These paraquat-induced structural changes render actin unable to completely inhibit DNase I. By using intermolecular cross-linking to characterize oligomeric species formed during paraquat-induced actin assembly, we found that the herbicide causes the formation of actin oligomers characterized by subunit-subunit contacts like those occurring in oligomers induced by polymerizing salts (i.e., between subdomain 1 on one actin subunit and subdomain 4 on the adjacent subunit). Furthermore, the oligomerization of G-actin induced by paraquat is paralleled by ATP hydrolysis.Key words: actin, paraquat, subdomain 2, DNase I, ATP hydrolysis.

scholarly journals Comparative Analyses of theβ-Tubulin Gene and Molecular Modeling Reveal Molecular Insight into the Colchicine Resistance in Kinetoplastids Organisms

2013 ◽  
Vol 2013 ◽  
pp. 1-8 ◽  
Author(s):  
Luis Luis ◽  
María Luisa Serrano ◽  
Mariana Hidalgo ◽  
Alexis Mendoza-León
Keyword(s):  
Conformational Changes ◽  
Mammalian Cells ◽  
Structural Changes ◽  
Differential Susceptibility ◽  
Binding Pocket ◽  
Crystallographic Structure ◽  
Tubulin Gene ◽  
Colchicine Binding Site ◽  
Colchicine Resistance ◽  
Leishmania Spp

Differential susceptibility to microtubule agents has been demonstrated between mammalian cells and kinetoplastid organisms such asLeishmania spp. andTrypanosoma spp. The aims of this study were to identify and characterize the architecture of the putative colchicine binding site ofLeishmania spp. and investigate the molecular basis of colchicine resistance. We cloned and sequenced theβ-tubulin gene ofLeishmania (Viannia) guyanensisand established the theoretical 3D model of the protein, using the crystallographic structure of the bovine protein as template. We identified mutations on theLeishmania  β-tubulin gene sequences on regions related to the putative colchicine-binding pocket, which generate amino acid substitutions and changes in the topology of this region, blocking the access of colchicine. The same mutations were found in theβ-tubulin sequence of kinetoplastid organisms such asTrypanosoma cruzi,T. brucei, andT. evansi. Using molecular modelling approaches, we demonstrated that conformational changes include an elongation and torsion of anα-helix structure and displacement to the inside of the pocket of oneβ-sheet that hinders access of colchicine. We propose that kinetoplastid organisms show resistance to colchicine due to amino acids substitutions that generate structural changes in the putative colchicine-binding domain, which prevent colchicine access.

scholarly journals Membrane Deformation of Endothelial Surface Layer Interspersed with Syndecan-4: A Molecular Dynamics Study

2019 ◽  
Vol 48 (1) ◽  
pp. 357-366 ◽  
Author(s):  
Xi Zhuo Jiang ◽  
Liwei Guo ◽  
Kai H. Luo ◽  
Yiannis Ventikos
Keyword(s):  
Molecular Dynamics ◽  
Lipid Membrane ◽  
Environmental Changes ◽  
Core Protein ◽  
Membrane Surface ◽  
Circulatory System ◽  
Endothelial Glycocalyx ◽  
Force Transmission ◽  
Membrane Deformation ◽  
The Core

Abstract The lipid membrane of endothelial cells plays a pivotal role in maintaining normal circulatory system functions. To investigate the response of the endothelial cell membrane to changes in vascular conditions, an atomistic model of the lipid membrane interspersed with Syndecan-4 core protein was established based on experimental observations and a series of molecular dynamics simulations were undertaken. The results show that flow results in continuous deformation of the lipid membrane, and the degree of membrane deformation is not in monotonic relationship with the environmental changes (either the changes in blood velocity or the alteration of the core protein configuration). An explanation for such non-monotonic relationship is provided, which agrees with previous experimental results. The elevation of the lipid membrane surface around the core protein of the endothelial glycocalyx was also observed, which can be mainly attributed to the Coulombic interactions between the biomolecules therein. The present study demonstrates that the blood flow can deform the lipid membrane directly via the interactions between water molecules and lipid membrane atoms thereby affecting mechanosensing; it also presents an additional force transmission pathway from the flow to the lipid membrane via the glycocalyx core protein, which complements previous mechanotransduction hypothesis.

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