Cytochrome b561 is not fatty acylated but acetylated at amino terminus in chromaffin vesicle membranes: an approach for the identification of posttranslational modification of transmembrane proteins

Summary.  We examined the nature of the posttranslational modification of bovine cytochrome b ₅₆₁, a membrane-spanning protein and an essential component of neuroendocrine secretory vesicles. Matrix-assisted laser desorption and ionization time-of-flight mass spectrometry (MALDI-TOF-MS) showed two populations in the partially digested fragments of cytochrome b ₅₆₁, which were obtained by controlled treatment of cytochrome b ₅₆₁-proteoliposomes with trypsin. One population, containing the posttranslationally modified amino-terminal region, showed molecular masses which were by about 40 Da larger than the theoretical molecular masses. The other population, without the modified amino-terminal region, showed a reasonable matching with the theoretical masses. This result suggested that the posttranslational modification occurred only in the amino-terminal region. The amino-terminal peptide was isolated by tryptic peptide mapping followed by treatment with acylamino-acid-releasing enzyme. Amino acid sequence and MALDI-TOF-MS analyses of the amino-terminal peptide showed that the initial Met residue was acetylated. There was no other posttranslational modification in the amino-terminal region, such as covalent fatty acylation through an ester linkage to Ser or Thr residues. Received May 9, 2002; accepted July 26, 2002; published online May 21, 2003 RID="*" ID="*" Correspondence and reprints: Department of Molecular Science, Graduate School of Science and Technology, Kobe University, Rokkodai-cho 1-1, Nada-ku, Hyogo 657-8501, Japan.     

Isolation of a membrane protein by chromatofocusing: Cytochrome b-561 of the adrenal chromaffin granule

Chromatofocusing, a form of ion-exchange chromatography in which proteins are separated on the basis of their differing isoelectric points, has been adapted for use with membrane proteins, solubilized by the non-ionic detergent Nonidet P-40. Using a two-step detergent extraction followed by chromatofocusing under high pressure, the highly hydrophobic protein cytochrome b-561 was isolated from chromaffin granule membranes and purified to near homogeneity in a functionally active form, in less than 5 h. Chromatofocusing conditions were optimized empirically since the behaviour of the chromaffin granule membrane proteins conformed less to the theory than that of soluble proteins, and the various factors affecting yield and resolution are discussed. The speed, high resolution and focusing effect could make this method particularly suitable for rapid isolation in a functionally active form of the many membrane proteins that are unstable in dilute solution and when removed from their lipid environment.     

The asymmetric orientation of cytochrome b561 in bovine chromaffin granule membranes

The topological arrangement of cytochrome b561 in the bovine adrenal medullary chromaffin granule membrane was investigated by radiolabeling and immunoprecipitation techniques using antibody raised against the purified cytochrome. The first labeling procedure involved a membrane-permeable amino group labeling reagent, ethyl acetimidate, and two membrane-nonpermeable amino group labeling reagents, isethionyl acetimidate and trinitrobenzenesulfonic acid. The second radiolabeling procedure involved lactoperoxidase-catalyzed iodination of the exposed tyrosines on the membrane-bound proteins. The labeled cytochrome b561 was isolated by immunoprecipitating detergent extracts of treated membranes, followed by electrophoresis of the precipitated cytochrome in polyacrylamide-dodecyl sulfate. From the analysis of both labeling techniques, cytochrome b561 appeared to be a transmembrane protein and a major portion of this protein was cytoplasmically exposed.     

Glycoproteins and glycopeptides in the chromaffin granule membrane

The glycoproteins and glycopeptides of adrenal chromaffin granule membranes have been analyzed by gel filtration, electrophoresis, and amino acid analysis. It has been found that almost all of the polypeptides present in the membrane are glycoproteins. Indeed, most of these possess sugar specificities which permit binding to concanavalin A-Sepharose. A new set of low-molecular-weight glycopeptides was found. There is an inverse correlation between carbohydrate content and polypeptide molecular weight.This research was supported by grant NS-13201 from the National Institutes of Health.     

The acylphosphate present in chromaffin granule membrane preparations is not associated with the proton-pump

Chromaffin granule membranes were incubated in the presence of low ATP concentrations, at low temperature. A phosphorylated compound was rapidly formed which was stable in 10% trichloroacetic acid at 0 degree C. The lability of this compound in the presence of hydroxylamine or hot trichloroacetic acid indicated an acylphosphate, i.e., an ATPase phosphointermediate. Vanadate but not N-ethylmaleimide inhibited the formation of this derivative. Since the ATP-dependent generation of a transmembrane potential in chromaffin granule vesicles by the H+-pump was inhibited by N-ethylmaleimide but not by vanadate, the acylphosphate should not be associated with the H+-pump, i.e. ATPase I. We suggest that it is associated with ATPase II, an ATPase of unknown function present in chromaffin granule membrane preparations. This hypothesis is supported by the fact that ATPase II is vanadate sensitive and has a molecular mass of 140 kDa, properties similar to those of the phosphorylated intermediate.     

Signal recognition particle-dependent membrane insertion of mouse invariant chain: a membrane-spanning protein with a cytoplasmically exposed amino terminus

Invariant (Ii) chain is a membrane-spanning protein that is found associated intracellularly with class II histocompatibility antigens. In the endoplasmic reticulum Ii chain spans the membrane and exposes the NH2 terminus on the cytoplasmic and the COOH terminus on the lumenal side. This orientation across the membrane is demonstrated directly with the monoclonal antibody In-1, which exclusively recognizes the NH2 terminal cytoplasmically exposed part of Ii chain. Membrane insertion of Ii chain requires signal recognition particle and docking protein. When tested in a wheat germ cell free system, signal recognition particle arrests translation of Ii chain. No signal sequence is cleaved from Ii chain upon membrane insertion.     

The carboxyl terminus of the epsilon subunit of the chloroplast ATP synthase is exposed during illumination

The epsilon subunit of the chloroplast ATP synthase is an inhibitor of activity of the enzyme. Recombinant forms of the epsilon subunit from spinach chloroplasts lacking the last 10, 32, or 45 amino acids were immobilized onto activated Sepharose. A polyclonal antiserum raised against the epsilon subunit was passed over these immobilized protein columns, and the purified antibodies which were not bound recognized the portions of the epsilon subunit missing from the recombinant form present on the column. The full polyclonal antiserum can strip the epsilon subunit from the ATP synthase in illuminated thylakoid membranes [Richter, M. L., and McCarty, R. E. (1987) J. Biol. Chem. 262, 15037-15040]. Exposure of illuminated thylakoid membranes to antibodies recognizing the last 32 amino acids of the epsilon subunit collapses the proton gradient and hinders ATP synthesis with similar efficiency as the full polyclonal preparation. These results indicate that antibodies against the last 32 amino acids of the epsilon subunit are capable of stripping the subunit from the ATP synthase in illuminated membranes. Neither of these effects was seen when the membranes were exposed to the antibodies in the dark. This is direct evidence that the chloroplast ATP synthase undergoes a conformational shift during its activation by the electrochemical proton gradient which specifically alters the conformation of the carboxyl-terminal domain of the epsilon subunit from protected to solvent-exposed. The relation between this shift and activation of the enzyme by the electrochemical proton gradient is discussed.     

Cytochrome b561 spectral changes associated with electron transfer in chromaffin-vesicle ghosts

The involvement of cytochrome b561, an integral membrane protein, in electron transfer across chromaffin-vesicle membranes is confirmed by changes in its redox state observed as changes in the absorption spectrum occurring during electron transfer. In ascorbate-loaded chromaffin-vesicle ghosts, cytochrome b561 is nearly completely reduced and exhibits an absorption maximum at 561 nm. When ferricyanide is added to a suspension of these ghosts, the cytochrome becomes oxidized as indicated by the disappearance of the 561 nm absorption. If a small amount of ferricyanide is added, it becomes completely reduced by electron transfer from intravesicular ascorbate. When this happens, cytochrome b561 returns to its reduced state. If an excess of ferricyanide is added, the intravesicular ascorbate becomes exhausted and the cytochrome b561 remains oxidized. The spectrum of these absorbance changes correlates with the difference spectrum (reduced-oxidized) of cytochrome b561. Cytochrome b561 becomes transiently oxidized when ascorbate oxidase is added to a suspension of ascorbate-loaded ghosts. Since dehydroascorbate does not oxidize cytochrome b561, it is likely that oxidation is caused by semidehydroascorbate generated by ascorbate oxidase acting on free ascorbate. This suggests that cytochrome b561 can reduce semidehydroascorbate and supports the hypothesis that the function of cytochrome b561 in vivo is to transfer electrons into chromaffin vesicles to reduce internal semidehydroascorbate to ascorbate.     

Accessibility of phospholipids in the chromaffin granule membrane.

1. The accessibility of phospholipids in the membrane of the adrenomedullary storage vesicles (chromaffin granules) has been studied. 2. The reaction of 2,4,6-trinitrobenzenesulphonic acid with both intact granules and their ghosts, results in the labelling of 70% of the phosphatidylethanolamine. 3. The action of phospholipase A2 (from bee venom), phospholipase C (from Bacillus cereus) and sphingomyelinase C (from Staphylococcus aureus) on granules and their ghosts was followed as a function of time. No significant difference was observed between the intact granules and their ghosts. 4. In the intact granules the various treatments led to varying amounts of lysis although again no evidence was obtained that such lysis in any way increased the amount of accessible phospholipid. 5. Highly purified granule preparations were also compared with the so-called "large granule" fraction and no significant differences were detected. 6. Approx. 67% of phosphatidylethanolamine + phosphatidic acid, 50% of phosphatidylserine + phosphatidylinositol, 65% of phosphatidylcholine and 20% of sphingomyelin is accessible to enzymatic degradation. In total, approx. 50% of all the phospholipids reacted. 7. It is also shown that, unlike in enzymatic treatment, all the phosphatidylcholine can be exchanged in the presence of a phospholipid exchange protein (prepared from beef liver). 8. It is concluded that transmembrane movement of phosphatidylcholine is slow in isolated membranes of chromaffin granules. The presence of the exchange protein, however, in conjunction with membrane proteins and specific phospholipid arrangements may catalyse this transmembrane movement.     

Location of the carboxyl terminus of bacteriorhodopsin in purple membrane.

Purple membrane samples have been prepared by trypsin digestion to have either 10 or 21 residues removed from the carboxyl terminus of the proteins. Electron diffraction of single membranes and x-ray diffraction of unoriented membrane pellets have been carried out on both these specimens and on native purple membranes. the main conclusion from this work is that the carboxyl terminus is almost entirely disordered, being free to take up many positions, and that its removal does not affect the packing in the crystal. The low resolution x-ray diffraction difference map may also suggest the approximate location of the carboxyl terminus.     

p60c-src activity detected in the chromaffin granule membrane

Using monoclonal antibodies specific for p60c-src we have detected high levels of this kinase in adrenal medullary chromaffin tissue and in highly purified chromaffin granule (secretory vesicle) membranes. An immune complex kinase assay was applied to fractions of adrenal medullary tissue resolved on sucrose density gradients. Thirty-seven per cent of the total tissue p60c-src activity was found in association with chromaffin granule or granule membrane markers. Localization of a significant fraction of total cellular p60c-src activity to this secretory vesicle membrane suggests that the kinase may function in the regulation of neurotransmitter release.     

pH-induced alteration and oxidative destruction of heme in purified chromaffin granule cytochrome b(561): implications for the oxidative stress in catecholaminergic neurons

The transmembrane hemoprotein, cytochrome b(561) (b(561)), in the neuroendocrine secretory vesicles is shown to shuttle electrons from the cytosolic ascorbate (Asc) to the intravesicular matrix to provide reducing equivalents for the dopamine beta-monooxygenase (DbetaM) reaction. Intravesicular Asc may also play a role in relieving catecholamine-induced oxidative stress in catecholaminergic neurons. In the present study, we have examined the alteration of purified oxidized b(561) (b(561,ox)) under mild alkaline conditions to probe the structural and functional characteristics of the protein, using UV-vis and EPR spectroscopic and kinetic techniques. Our results show that low spin heme in oxidized b(561) (b(561,ox)) readily transforms to an altered high spin form and then slowly to an Asc nonreducible form, in a pH-, temperature-, and time-dependent manner, which can be described by single-exponential rate equations, A(t) = A(o)(1- e (-kt)) and A(t) = A(o)e(-kt), respectively. More than half of the Asc nonreducible altered b(561) could be converted back to the native b(561) by pH adjustment followed by dithionite reduction, suggesting the reversibility of the process. The heme center of the transformed Asc nonreducible protein is completely bleached instantaneously by dithionite in the presence of atmospheric oxygen, which appears to be mediated by molecular oxygen and/or hydrogen peroxide. These results demonstrate that the heme centers of the protein are susceptible to the pH-induced alteration and oxidative destruction, raising some questions regarding the proposed one alkaline labile, two-heme model of b(561) [Tsubaki, M.; Nakayama, M.; Okuyama, E.; Ichikawa, Y. (1997) J. Biol. Chem. 272, 23206-23210]. The pH-induced alteration and the destruction of heme under oxidative conditions may play a significant role in the amplification of oxidative stress in catecholaminergic neurons.     

The amino and carboxyl termini of the Neurospora plasma membrane H+-ATPase are cytoplasmically located

Based on hydropathy analysis, the P-type cation translocating ATPases are believed to have similar topological arrangements in the membrane, but little independent evidence exists for their precise pattern of transmembrane folding. As a first step toward defining the topology of the Neurospora plasma membrane H+-ATPase, we have mapped the orientation of the amino and carboxyl termini. In three different types of experiments, both termini of the H+-ATPase were shown to be exposed at the cytoplasmic surface of the plasma membrane: 1) antibodies specific for the amino and carboxyl termini bound to permeabilized but not intact cells; 2) inside-out plasma membrane vesicles were approximately 100-fold more effective than intact cells in competing for antibody binding; and 3) trypsin, which is known to proteolyze three sites at the amino terminus and one site at the carboxyl terminus of the purified Neurospora H+-ATPase (Mandala, S. M., and Slayman, C. W. (1988) J. Biol. Chem. 263, 15122-15128), was found in the present study to cleave the same sites in inside-out plasma membrane vesicles but not in intact cells. These results indicate that the ATPase polypeptide traverses the membrane an even number of times, in support of a previously published topological model (Hager, K. M., Mandala, S. M., Davenport, J. W., Speicher, D. W., Benz, E. J., Jr., and Slayman, C. W. (1986) Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U. S. A. 83, 7693-7697).     

Importance of the carboxyl terminus of FAT/CD36 for plasma membrane localization and function in long-chain fatty acid uptake

This study investigates the role of the cytoplasmic C terminus of fatty acid translocase (FAT/CD36) in localization of the molecule to the plasma membrane, its insertion into lipid rafts, and its ability to enhance long-chain fatty acid uptake in transfected H4IIE rat hepatoma cells. In these cells, wild-type FAT/CD36 is localized to both lipid raft and nonraft domains of the plasma membrane. Interestingly, a FAT/CD36 truncation mutant lacking the final 10 amino acids of the cytoplasmic C terminus was retained within the cell in detergent-resistant membranes, and unlike wild-type FAT/CD36, it did not enhance oleate uptake. Furthermore, expression of FAT/CD36 in these cells increased the incorporation of oleate into diacylglycerol, a property that was not shared by truncated FAT/CD36. To examine whether the C terminus itself has an intrinsic ability to dictate the plasma membrane localization of FAT/CD36, this region was fused in-frame to enhanced green fluorescent protein (EGFP). This domain was sufficient to attach EGFP to cellular membranes, suggesting an involvement in the intracellular traffic of the molecule. We conclude that the C terminus of FAT/CD36 is required for localization of the receptor to the cell surface and its ability to enhance cellular oleate uptake.     

The preS1 protein of hepatitis B virus is acylated at its amino terminus with myristic acid.

The preS/S coding region of hepatitis B virus encodes two polypeptides (preS1 and preS2) that are larger in size but less abundant than the major viral surface antigen (S) protein. Unlike the preS2 and S proteins, the preS1 protein is preferentially localized on circulating virus particles but is not efficiently secreted from mammalian cells in culture. To search for differences in protein processing that might relate to these properties, we determined whether any of the hepatitis B virus surface proteins are acylated with long-chain fatty acids. Transfected COS cells expressing all three proteins were incubated with 3H-palmitate or 3H-myristate, and the cell extracts were examined by immunoprecipitation. While none of these proteins was labeled with 3H-palmitate, the preS1 protein but not the preS2 or S protein incorporated 3H-myristate via a hydroxylamine-resistant amide linkage. Comparison of the N-terminal amino acid sequences of hepadnaviral preS1 proteins with those of known myristylated proteins suggests that this unusual modification may be a common feature of all hepadnaviral preS1 proteins.     

Stopped-flow analyses on the reaction of ascorbate with cytochrome b561 purified from bovine chromaffin vesicle membranes

Cytochrome b(561) in adrenal chromaffin vesicle membranes conveys electron equivalents from extravesicular ascorbate to the intravesicular monodehydroascorbate radical. We conducted a stopped-flow study on the reaction of ascorbate with purified cytochrome b(561) in the detergent-solubilized state for the first time. The time course of the reduction of oxidized cytochrome b(561) with ascorbate could not be fitted with a single exponential but with a linear combination of at least four exponential functions. This result is consistent with the notion that cytochrome b(561) contains two hemes b, each having a distinct redox potential and a function upon reactions with ascorbate and monodehydroascorbate radical. The fastest phase, which was assigned to the first one-electron donation from ascorbate to heme b on the extravesicular side, was further analyzed by transient phase kinetics employing a two-step bi-uni sequential ordered mechanism. The result showed K(s) = 2.2 mM for ascorbate at pH6.0. At a region below pH5.5, there was a significant lag before the reduction of hemes b occurred. This time lag was interpreted as due to a pH-dependent transient state before the first electron transfer to take place. The fastest phase was completely lost by N-carbethoxylation of heme-coordinating histidyl residues (His88 and His161) and Lys85 upon treatment with diethylpyrocarbonate. The presence of ascorbate during the treatment inhibited the N-carbethoxylation of the histidyl residues and, thereby, restored the final reduction level of hemes b. But the reduction rate was still only one-twentieth of the native form. This result suggested an important role of the conserved Lys85 for the interaction with ascorbate.