细菌肽转运蛋白的研究进展

细菌的肽转运蛋白包括3种,寡肽转运蛋白(Oligopeptide permease,Opp)、二肽转运蛋白(Dipeptide permease,Dpp)和二/三肽转运蛋白(Di-and tripeptide permease,Dtp)。Opp和Dpp属于ABC型超家族(ATP-binding cassette superfamily)转运蛋白,利用ATP水解产生的能量实现底物转运。对Opp和Dpp研究最多的是胞外肽结合蛋白OppA和DppA,它们起着最初识别与结合底物的重要作用。Dtp属于主要协助转运蛋白超家族(Major facilitator superfamily,MFS),与质子进行底物共转运。细菌肽转运蛋白的晶体结构解析结合大量的生化数据分析,使得人们对其转运机制有了深入的了解。本文对这三种肽转运蛋白的研究进展分别进行综述。     

主要协同转运蛋白超家族的研究进展

主要协同转运蛋白超家族(Major facilitator superfamily,MFS)是目前已知最大的膜转运蛋白超家族之一,包括100万个测序成员,其长度大都分布在400-600个氨基酸残基之间。根据TCDB数据库显示,MFS已经扩展到95个家族,它们可以促进糖、药物分子、肽、三羧酸循环代谢产物、有机阴离子和无机阴离子等溶质在电化学梯度下进行跨膜运输。目前,对于MFS转运蛋白的晶体结构及转运机制的研究较多,研究发现MFS转运蛋白家族通常具有12个跨膜螺旋单位,并拥有其独特的折叠方式(MFS折叠),蛋白呈现向胞内、胞外开口或闭合的构象,以"摇杆开关"的转运方式进行物质的运输。MFS转运蛋白超家族在动植物中的生理作用较为广泛,在近期,人源MFS转运蛋白的研究更是引发关注,一些MFS转运蛋白家族成员的缺失可导致大脑萎缩和发育迟缓等;还有一些MFS蛋白具有调节细胞酸碱平衡、促进抗癌和消炎药物吸收等作用,关于人源MFS转运蛋白的研究为糖尿病、疲劳综合征、心血管疾病、癌症等人类疾病的防治提供了依据。主要介绍MFS转运蛋白超家族的发展,阐述其晶体结构、转运机制及生理作用,并在此基础上进行展望,以期为MFS的进一步深入研究及探讨提供理论依据。     

溶质转运蛋白超家族的功能及结构研究进展

溶质转运蛋白(solute carriers,SLC)超家族是人类细胞膜(含胞内膜)上最重要的膜转运蛋白家族之一,它参与了细胞间的物质运输、能量传递、营养代谢、信号传导等重要生理活动。SLC转运蛋白超家族包含52个亚家族,共有400多名成员。研究表明,人类基因突变所致SLC蛋白表达异常或功能缺陷与糖尿病、高血压、抑郁症等多种重大疾病密切相关,使得该家族蛋白的功能研究近年来备受关注。SLC转运家族蛋白三维结构的解析有助于阐述其底物选择性结合与转运的精确分子机制,为研究该家族功能相关疾病的分子机理以及针对理性药物研发奠定了精细的三维结构基础。本文对近年来溶质转运蛋白超家族的结构及功能研究进展进行了总结,试图对该家族的共性规律进行阐述。     

外排转运蛋白介导的抗真菌药物耐药研究进展

近年来,随着广谱抗生素,免疫抑制剂,抗肿瘤化疗药物的广泛应用,器官移植的普遍开展以及AIDS患者的逐年增加,各系统侵袭性真菌感染日益增多。抗真菌药物的大量应用使得真菌耐药现象日渐严重。大量研究表明,耐药真菌细胞膜上外排转运蛋白的过量表达对抗真菌药物耐药形成起到重要作用。ATP结合盒式蛋白(ABC转运体)和易化扩散载体超家族蛋白(MFS转运体)便是其中最重要的两种。本文从ABC及MFS转运体的结构和功能出发,分析其在抗真菌药物耐药形成中的作用,并对相关研究进展进行综述。     

包含主要协同转运蛋白超家族结构域蛋白2a的研究进展

包含主要协同转运蛋白超家族结构域蛋白2a (major facilitator superfamily domain containing protein2a,MFSD2A)属于主要协同转运蛋白超家族(majorfacilitatorsuperfamily,MFS),其在血脑屏障(blood-brain barrier, BBB)完整性的维持和二十二碳六烯酸(docosahexaenoic acid, DHA)的转运上发挥着重要作用。在敲除MFSD2A基因的小鼠脑内,DHA含量显著降低并伴有神经元丢失,从而导致小头畸形和认知障碍。基于MFSD2A在中枢神经系统(central nervous system, CNS)的作用,已初步提示MFSD2A在药物输送到CNS方面可能是一个潜在治疗靶蛋白。该文回顾了当前MFSD2A的研究进展,总结梳理了MFSD2A在机体中的正常生理功能,以及在多种疾病(尤其是阿尔茨海默病)发生发展中的作用。     

细菌吸附及转运芳香族化合物的研究进展

芳香族化合物是一类具有苯环结构的有机物,它们结构稳定,不易分解,并可通过食物链进行生物富集和生物放大,对生态环境及人类健康造成极大危害。细菌具有超强的分解代谢能力,能降解多环芳烃(polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, PAHs)等多种难降解芳香族污染物。吸附和转运是细菌进行芳香族化合物细胞内代谢的前提。虽然芳香族化合物的细菌降解已取得较为显著的研究进展,但吸附和转运机理仍不甚清楚。本文讨论了细菌对芳香族化合物的吸附有积极作用的细胞表面疏水性、生物被膜形成和细菌趋化性等影响因素,总结了FadL家族、TonB依赖性受体蛋白、OmpW家族等外膜转运系统和主要协同转运蛋白超家族(major facilitator superfamily, MFS)转运体、ATP结合盒(ATP-binding cassette, ABC)转运蛋白等内膜转运系统对该类化合物跨膜运输作用,并对跨膜转运机制进行了讨论和阐述,旨在为芳香族污染物的防控和治理提供一定理论参考。     

ABC转运蛋白的结构与转运机制

腺苷三磷酸结合盒转运蛋白（ATP-binding cassette transponer,ABC转运蛋白）超家族是一组跨膜蛋白,具有ATP结合区域的单向底物转运泵,以主动转运方式完成多种分子的跨膜转运.ABC转运蛋白的一个亚家族与多药抗性（multidrug resistance,MDR）有关,而多药抗性是临床肿瘤化疗中需要解决的主要问题,所以其结构与转运机制一直是研究的热点.最近几年获得了一些高分辨率的ABC转运蛋白的晶体结构,该文将根据ABC转运蛋白的结构的研究进展对其可能的转运机制进行讨论.     

介导多药耐药的ABC转运蛋白超家族与MTX耐药性的关系研究

细胞耐药性的产生是导致肿瘤化疗失败的重要因素, 尤其是多药耐药是目前研究的一个重点。ABC转运蛋白超家族成员介导药物的外排, 与多药耐药密切相关。为了解该家族成员与MTX耐药的相关性, 进一步探讨MTX的耐药机制, 应用SuperArray基因芯片对MTX耐药前后编码ABC转运蛋白超家族成员的mdr1、mrp1、mrp2、mrp3、mrp5、mrp6和abcg2 7个基因进行检测, 并对MRP1和MRP5蛋白表达进行了验证。结果显示, 与MTX耐药性相关的ABC转运蛋白超家族成员主要为多药耐药相关蛋白, 其中mrp1和mrp5呈现高表达, 并且, 在MTX抗性细胞中, MRP5在mRNA及蛋白水平的表达均明显增强, 提示其在MTX耐药机制中起重要作用, 可能为潜在的药物作用靶点。     

一个新的ATP结合盒式转运蛋白——乳腺癌耐受蛋白

ATP结合盒式(ATP binding cassette,ABC)膜转运蛋白超家族因其具有供能ATP结合功能区而冠名．目前除渗透性糖蛋白(permeability glycoprotein,P-gp)和多药耐受相关蛋白(muhidrug resistance associated protein．MRPs)外,最近,报道了一个新的ATP结合盒式膜转运蛋白超家族成员——乳腺癌耐受蛋白(breast cancer resistance     

ABC转运蛋白结构及在植物病原真菌中的功能研究进展

ABC(ATP-binding cassette)转运蛋白是最大的膜转运蛋白超家族之一,其主要功能是利用ATP水解产生的能量将底物进行逆浓度梯度运输.所有生物体都含有大量ABC蛋白.ABC蛋白位于细胞的不同空间,如细胞膜、液泡、线粒体和过氧化物酶体.通常,ABC转运蛋白由跨膜结构域(TMD)和核苷酸结合结构域(NBD)组成,分别与底物和ATP结合.NBD执行与ATP结合和水解,是ABC转运蛋白的动力引擎,TMD识别特异性配体.大多数ABC转运蛋白最初是通过研究生物体耐药性而被发现的,包括多效耐药(PDR)和多药耐药(MDR).本文对ABC转运蛋白的结构及作用机制,以及植物病原真菌中ABC转运蛋白功能的研究进展进行综述.     

Substrate-bound structure of the E. coli multidrug resistance transporter MdfA

Multidrug resistance is a serious threat to public health. Proton motive force-driven antiporters from the major facilitator superfamily (MFS) constitute a major group of multidrug-resistance transporters. Currently, no reports on crystal structures of MFS antiporters in complex with their substrates exist. The E. coli MdfA transporter is a well-studied model system for biochemical analyses of multidrug-resistance MFS antiporters. Here, we report three crystal structures of MdfA-ligand complexes at resolutions up to 2.0 Å, all in the inward-facing conformation. The substrate-binding site sits proximal to the conserved acidic residue, D34. Our mutagenesis studies support the structural observations of the substrate-binding mode and the notion that D34 responds to substrate binding by adjusting its protonation status. Taken together, our data unveil the substrate-binding mode of MFS antiporters and suggest a mechanism of transport via this group of transporters.     

Energy coupling mechanisms of MFS transporters

Major facilitator superfamily (MFS) is a large class of secondary active transporters widely expressed across all life kingdoms. Although a common 12‐transmembrane helix‐bundle architecture is found in most MFS crystal structures available, a common mechanism of energy coupling remains to be elucidated. Here, we discuss several models for energy‐coupling in the transport process of the transporters, largely based on currently available structures and the results of their biochemical analyses. Special attention is paid to the interaction between protonation and the negative‐inside membrane potential. Also, functional roles of the conserved sequence motifs are discussed in the context of the 3D structures. We anticipate that in the near future, a unified picture of the functions of MFS transporters will emerge from the insights gained from studies of the common architectures and conserved motifs.     

Mechanisms of drug/H+ antiport: complete cysteine-scanning mutagenesis and the protein engineering approach

The notorious difficulty of elucidating structures of membrane transporters by crystallography has long prevented our understanding of active transport mechanism coupled with ion/proton transport. The determination of the first crystal structure of the drug/H+ antiporter AcrB was a breakthrough for structure-based understanding of drug/H+ antiport. However, although AcrB is a major multidrug exporter in Gram-negative organisms, the majority of bacterial drug exporters are major facilitator superfamily (MFS) drug transporters. As no crystal structures have been solved for MFS transporters, the alternative protein-engineering methods are still very useful for estimating structures and functions of drug/H+ antiporters. This review describes this alternative approach for investigating the structure and function of tetracycline/H+ antiporters.     

Atomic resolution structure of the E. coli YajR transporter YAM domain

YajR is an Escherichia coli transporter that belongs to the major facilitator superfamily. Unlike most MFS transporters, YajR contains a carboxyl terminal, cytosolic domain of 67 amino acid residues termed YAM domain. Although it is speculated that the function of this small soluble domain is to regulate the conformational change of the 12-helix transmembrane domain, its precise regulatory role remains unclear. Here, we report the crystal structure of the YAM domain at 1.07-Å resolution, along with its structure determined using nuclear magnetic resonance. Detailed analysis of the high resolution structure revealed a symmetrical dimer in which a belt of well-ordered poly-pentagonal water molecules is embedded. A mutagenesis experiment and a thermal stability assay were used to analyze the putative role of this dimerization in response to changes in halogen concentration.     

Structure of the periplasmic adaptor protein from a major facilitator superfamily (MFS) multidrug efflux pump

Periplasmic adaptor proteins are key components of bacterial tripartite efflux pumps. The 2.85 Å resolution structure of an MFS (major facilitator superfamily) pump adaptor, Aquifex aeolicus EmrA, shows linearly arranged α-helical coiled-coil, lipoyl, and β-barrel domains, but lacks the fourth membrane-proximal domain shown in other pumps to interact with the inner membrane transporter. The adaptor α-hairpin, which binds outer membrane TolC, is exceptionally long at 127 Å, and the β-barrel contains a conserved disordered loop. The structure extends the view of adaptors as flexible, modular components that mediate diverse pump assembly, and suggests that in MFS tripartite pumps a hexamer of adaptors could provide a periplasmic seal.     

A novel MFS transporter encoding gene in Fusarium verticillioides probably involved in iron-siderophore transport

The major facilitator superfamily (MFS) is a ubiquitous group of proteins involved in the transport of a wide range of compounds, including toxins produced by fungal species. In this paper, a novel MFS encoding gene (Fusarium iron related gene or FIR1), which had shown an up-regulation in fumonisin-inducing conditions, has been identified and characterized. The deduced protein sequence, which predicted 14 transmembrane domains typical of MFS transporters and its phylogenetic relationships with representative members of MFS transporters suggested a possible function of FIR1 as a siderophore transporter. A real-time RT-PCR protocol has been developed to analyse the expression pattern of the FIR1 gene in relation to siderophore production. The results indicated that the synthesis of extracellular siderophores by F. verticillioides observed in absence of extracellular iron was repressed in iron-supplemented cultures and showed a good correspondence with FIR1 gene expression. However, the pattern of FIR1 gene expression observed suggested that this gene did not seem to be functionally related to fumonisin production.     

Flexible Gates Generate Occluded Intermediates in the Transport Cycle of LacY

The major facilitator superfamily (MFS) transporter lactose permease (LacY) alternates between cytoplasmic and periplasmic open conformations to co-transport a sugar molecule together with a proton across the plasma membrane. Indirect experimental evidence suggested the existence of an occluded transition intermediate of LacY, which would prevent leaking of the proton gradient. As no experimental structure is known, the conformational transition is not fully understood in atomic detail. We simulated transition events from a cytoplasmic open conformation to a periplasmic open conformation with the dynamic importance sampling molecular dynamics method and observed occluded intermediates. Analysis of water permeation pathways and the electrostatic free-energy landscape of a solvated proton indicated that the occluded state contains a solvated central cavity inaccessible from either side of the membrane. We propose a pair of geometric order parameters that capture the state of the pathway through the MFS transporters as shown by a survey of available crystal structures and models. We present a model for the occluded state of apo-LacY, which is similar to the occluded crystal structures of the MFS transporters EmrD, PepT_So, NarU, PiPT and XylE. Our simulations are consistent with experimental double electron spin–spin distance measurements that have been interpreted to show occluded conformations. During the simulations, a salt bridge that has been postulated to be involved in driving the conformational transition formed. Our results argue against a simple rigid-body domain motion as implied by a strict “rocker-switch mechanism” and instead hint at an intricate coupling between two flexible gates.     

The major facilitator superfamily (MFS) revisited

The major facilitator superfamily (MFS) is the largest known superfamily of secondary carriers found in the biosphere. It is ubiquitously distributed throughout virtually all currently recognized organismal phyla. This superfamily currently (2012) consists of 74 families, each of which is usually concerned with the transport of a certain type of substrate. Many of these families, defined phylogenetically, do not include even a single member that is functionally characterized. In this article, we probe the evolutionary origins of these transporters, providing evidence that they arose from a single 2-transmembrane segment (TMS) hairpin structure that triplicated to give a 6-TMS unit that duplicated to a 12-TMS protein, the most frequent topological type of these permeases. We globally examine MFS protein topologies, focusing on exceptional proteins that deviate from the norm. Nine distantly related families appear to have members with 14?TMSs in which the extra two are usually centrally localized between the two 6-TMS repeat units. They probably have arisen by intragenic duplication of an adjacent hairpin. This alternative topology probably arose multiple times during MFS evolution. Convincing evidence for MFS permeases with fewer than 12?TMSs was not forthcoming, leading to the suggestion that all 12?TMSs are required for optimal function. Some homologs appear to have 13, 14, 15 or 16 TMSs, and the probable locations of the extra TMSs were identified. A few MFS permeases are fused to other functional domains or are fully duplicated to give 24-TMS proteins with dual functions. Finally, the MFS families with no known function were subjected to genomic context analyses leading to functional predictions.     

鲍曼不动杆菌中外排泵介导耐药机制的研究进展

外排泵的过表达是目前导致鲍曼不动杆菌多重耐药的最重要机制之一,详细了解这一复杂机制有助于尽快找到有效的防治策略。目前,鲍曼不动杆菌中已被报道的外排泵家族包括耐药结节细胞分化(resistance-nodulation-cell division,RND)家族、主要协同转运蛋白超家族(major facilitator superfamily,MFS)、多药及毒性化合物外排(multidrug and toxic compound extrusion,MATE)家族、小多重耐药(small multidrug resistance,SMR)家族。它们之中既有通过染色体介导的外排泵,也有通过质粒等遗传元件介导的外排泵。外排底物可呈现多样性,也可呈现专一性。本文就上述外排泵的种类、功能和调控机制进行综述。     

Projection structure and molecular architecture of OxlT, a bacterial membrane transporter

The major facilitator superfamily (MFS) represents the largest collection of evolutionarily related members within the class of membrane 'carrier' proteins. OxlT, a representative example of the MFS, is an oxalate-transporting membrane protein in Oxalobacter formigenes. From an electron crystallographic analysis of two-dimensional crystals of OxlT, we have determined the projection structure of this membrane transporter. The projection map at 6 A resolution indicates the presence of 12 transmembrane helices in each monomer of OxlT, with one set of six helices related to the other set by an approximate internal two-fold axis. The projection map reveals the existence of a central cavity, which we propose to be part of the pathway of oxalate transport. By combining information from the projection map with related biochemical data, we present probable models for the architectural arrangement of transmembrane helices in this protein superfamily.