生物膜膜蛋白三维结构研究的现状与展望

1　生物膜膜蛋白三维结构研究的重要性与迫切性　　细胞是生命的基本结构与功能单位 .细胞的外周膜与细胞内的膜系统称为生物膜 .细胞的能量转换、信息识别与传递、物质运送和分配等基本生命现象都与生物膜密切相关 .生物膜是由蛋白质、脂类以及碳水化合物等组成的超分子体系 ,膜蛋白是膜功能的主要体现者 .生物膜膜蛋白可分为外周膜蛋白和内在膜蛋白 ,后者约占整个膜蛋白的 70 %～ 80 % ,它们部分或全部嵌入膜内 ,有的则是跨膜分布 ,如受体、离子通道、离子泵、膜孔、运载体(ｔｒａｎｓｐｏｒｔｅｒ)以及各种膜酶等等 .象水溶性蛋白质一样 …     

生物膜研究的一个难点与热点-内在膜蛋白三维结构的解析

１研究内在膜蛋白的三维结构的重要性象水溶性蛋白质一样,要深入了解膜蛋白的功能必须解析它们的三维结构。第一个水溶性蛋白质－肌红蛋白的三维结构的解析是由英国Ｋｅｎｄｒｅｗ于１９５７年用Ｘ－射线衍射法完成的,从而使他获得了诺贝尔奖。由于各种技术的日益发展与...     

蛋白质结构研究

生物大分子的功能主要取决于它们的三维结构、运动及相互作用。对蛋白质结构的解析可以从根本上阐明蛋白质功能的分子机制和基础,同时也是研究蛋白质功能的一个重途径。本文简述了当前蛋白质结构研究的主要手段,如X射线晶体学、核磁共振波谱学和三维电镜重构方法学等及其优缺点和适用性,总结了目前蛋白质结构研究进展并对将来的发展方向进行了一些探讨。尽管上述三种主要的研究方法已经比较成熟,而且在适用对象和实验方法上有很好的相互补充,但还是有相当多的生物学问题在结构水平上得不到解释和支持。因此,本文对目前蛋白质结构研究的热点和难点——膜蛋白和蛋白质复合物的研究现状和方法做了简要的概述,希望能够引起广大同行的关注。     

膜蛋白结构解析中的重要进展

概述了膜蛋白结构研究的重要性。介绍了应用X射线晶体学技术解析大肠杆菌乳糖通透酶LacY三维结构取得的重要进展——发现磷脂含量在膜蛋白结晶中所起的关键性作用。为未来膜蛋白结构的解析提供了新的思路。     

膜蛋白结构研究方法新进展

膜蛋白是一类结构独特的蛋白质,执行很多基本的和重要的细胞生物学功能。了解膜蛋白在生物膜上的基本构象,对研究膜蛋白的精细拓扑结构、功能具有重要意义。但是膜蛋白的疏水特性使其需要与生物膜共同形成稳定的自然构象,至今在蛋白质组学的研究中对膜蛋白知之甚少。了解分子结构是了解生物大分子功能的一个重要途径。因此,本文对近来膜分子结构研究领域的进展作一简要概述。晶体学方法、单颗粒方法和原子力显微镜为膜蛋白的研究提供了大量的细节数据。固相核磁共振技术提供了跨膜α螺旋结构的方向约束数据和精确的分子间距离约束数据。直接位点标记的旋转电子顺磁共振可以得到更长的距离约束数据,但是目前的标记策略仍然具有局限性。位点特异的红外二色性分析可使得在脂双层中定向分析跨膜α螺旋束成为可能。     

融合标签技术在膜蛋白结构研究中的应用

膜蛋白高级结构的研究包括不同的层次,即膜蛋白拓扑学结构的研究、利用核磁共振技术和蛋白质晶体衍射技术对三维结构的研究,以及膜蛋白复合体的研究。在研究过程中,如果能够基于膜蛋白的拓扑学结构预测,选择合适的蛋白质或多肽融合标签,利用基因融合技术在基因水平上对膜蛋白进行改造,可以产生含有融合标签的重组膜蛋自,不仅具有原有膜蛋白的功能活性,还具有融合标签所特有的生理生化特性,将会极大地促进膜蛋白结构和功能的研究。我们就目前膜蛋白结构研究中所涉及的融合标签技术及其应用策略和所取得的进展做一简述。     

生物膜的生物物理观——从微区到脂筏

大量的实验表明,在细胞质膜中,由于不同成分具有不同的生物化学特性,发生相分离而局部形成微区.不同的微区可行使不同的功能.近年来一种富含胆固醇、鞘脂类以及大量的受体和信号分子的液态有序相的微区,即脂筏(lipid rafts),由于被发现参与信号转导和一些物质的生理循环过程而备受关注.随着实验手段的提高,人们对生物膜在分子水平上认识的不断深化,脂筏结构和功能的物理、化学基础研究方面也取得了初步的进展.     

细胞膜的形貌结构及其功能信息

利用原子力显微镜（atomic force microscopy,AFM）比较观察了从冬小麦（Triticum aestivum）叶肉细胞中分离的生活原生质体和失水死亡的原生质体质膜的表面特性．其结果表明,生活原生质体质膜显示极性化状态,不同的细胞及区域质膜脂质分子层的活性状态不同,质膜表面凸凹不平,具有明显的区域化结构．有的细胞质膜表面呈现规则的网格状结构,似脂质与蛋白质结合的复合体,经测定这种结构的直径为（15．8±0．09）nm,高度为（1．9±0．3）nm．通过二维和三维角度观察,在分离的生活原生质体质膜表面上分布着许多颗粒状物．经蛋白酶的处理和作用后,这种质膜表面的颗粒状物普遍发生了构象变化,大的颗粒状物变得松散,宽度增加,高度明显降低．显示这些颗粒状物可能为膜表面的嵌镶蛋白．这些质膜蛋白块大小不等,分布不规则,大的蛋白块直径约在200～440nm之间,高度为28～50nm;中等大小的蛋白块直径在40～60nm之间,高度在1．8～5nm;而小蛋白质颗粒直径为12～40nm,高度在0．7～2．2nm．大的蛋白质块上有微孔．此外,分离的生活原生质体质膜表面存在着许多由内吞作用形成的“内陷穴”,一般在15gm。的质膜上有16个大小不等的穴．较大的穴口平均直径为139nm,深度为7．2nm,较小的穴口直径平均是96nm,深度为2．3nm．原生质体失水死亡后,质膜表面极性化状态降低,质膜出现皱褶,脂质分子层结构信息显示扁平状态,嵌镶的蛋白质颗粒少．在这种脱水死亡的原生质体质膜表面上仍能观察到内吞作用形成的内陷穴,但由于原生质体脱水形成皱褶,穴的口径缩小,深度增加．一般大的穴口平均直径为47．4nm,深度为31．9nm;小口径直径为26．5nm,深度为43nm．经测量冬小麦细胞质膜厚度为6．6～9．8nm,有蛋白质的区域较厚．     

真菌极性生长结构的研究现状

极性生长的模式普遍存在于真核细胞生物的形态发生过程中,参与真菌的极性生长的结构主要包含顶体(Spitzenk(o)rper)和极体(Polarisome)、胞吐体(Exocyst)、肌动蛋白、微管、脂筏等结构,真菌的极性生长是一极其精细和复杂的过程,需要顶体、极体、分泌囊泡、微管、脂筏以及包括其他相关蛋白在内各种调节蛋白的相互协调,从而促进其菌丝的生长.     

不同生境下木麻黄脯氨酸含量和质膜ATPase活性的研究

采集生长于恶劣环境和中生环境的普通木麻黄(Casuarina)小枝,超速离心提取粗质膜制剂后,用两相系统法纯化得到质膜微囊,研究不同生境下木麻黄的质膜ATPase活性,并测定木麻黄小枝的游离脯氨酸含量。实验结果表明:同一生境中的木麻黄ATPase活性相对一致,而同一树种木麻黄不同生境下质膜微囊H~+-ATPase、Ca~(2+)-ATPase、K~+-ATPase活性有显著差异,表现出以渗透胁迫为主的恶劣环境下的木麻黄质膜微囊ATPase活性和木麻黄细胞内游离脯氨酸明显高于中生环境下生长的木麻黄。说明普通木麻黄在干旱和盐胁迫下能调整生理生化过程来提高其质膜ATPase活性和增加细胞内脯氨酸含量提高渗透调节能力以保证其在恶劣环境的正常生长。     

Thematic Review Series: Proteomics: Contributions of quantitative proteomics to understanding membrane microdomains

Membrane microdomains, e.g., lipid rafts and caveolae, are crucial cell surface organelles responsible for many cellular signaling and communication events, which makes the characterization of their proteomes both interesting and valuable. They are large cellular complexes comprised of specific proteins and lipids, yet they are simple enough in composition to be amenable to modern LC/MS/MS methods for proteomics. However, the proteomic characterization of membrane microdomains by traditional qualitative mass spectrometry is insufficient for distinguishing true components of the microdomains from copurifying contaminants or for evaluating dynamic changes in the proteome compositions. In this review, we discuss the contributions quantitative proteomics has made to our understanding of the biology of membrane microdomains.     

Hypoxia-induced modifications in plasma membranes and lipid microdomains in A549 cells and primary human alveolar cells

We evaluated the response to mild hypoxia exposure of A549 alveolar human cells and of a continuous alveolar cell line from human excised lungs (A30) exposed to 5% O(2) for 5 and 24 h. No signs of increased peroxidation and of early apoptosis were detected. After 24 h of hypoxia total cell proteins/DNA ratio decreased significantly by about 20%. Similarly, we found a decrease in membrane phospholipid and cholesterol content. The membrane fluidity assessed by fluorescence anisotropy measurements was unchanged. We also prepared the detergent resistant membrane fraction (DRM) to analyze the distribution of the two types of lipid microdomains, caveolae and lipid rafts. The DRM content of Cav-1, marker of caveolae, was decreased, while CD55, marker of lipid rafts, increased in both cell lines. Total content of these markers in the membranes was unchanged indicating remodelling of their distribution between detergent-resistant and detergent-soluble fraction of the cellular membrane. The changes in protein markers distribution did not imply changes in the corresponding mRNA, except in the case of Cav-1 for A30 line. In the latter case we found a parallel decrease in Cav-1 and in the corresponding mRNA. We conclude that an exposure to a mild degree of hypoxia triggers a significant remodelling of the lipid microdomains expression, confirming that they are highly dynamic structures providing a prompt signalling platform to changes of the pericellular microenvironment.     

Novel anti-cholesterol monoclonal immunoglobulin G antibodies as probes and potential modulators of membrane raft-dependent immune functions

Natural autoantibodies against cholesterol are present in the sera of all healthy individuals; their function, production, and regulation, however, are still unclear. Here, we managed to produce two monoclonal anti-cholesterol antibodies (ACHAs) by immunizing mice with cholesterol-rich liposomes. The new ACHAs were specific to cholesterol and to some structurally closely related 3beta-hydroxyl sterols, and they reacted with human lipoproteins VLDL, LDL, and HDL. They bound, usually with low avidity, to live human or murine lymphocyte and monocyte-macrophage cell lines, which was enhanced substantially by a moderate papain digestion of the cell surface, removing some protruding extracellular protein domains. Cell-bound ACHAs strongly colocalized with markers of cholesterol-rich lipid rafts and caveolae at the cell surface and intracellularly with markers of the endoplasmic reticulum and Golgi complex. These data suggest that these IgG ACHAs may serve as probes of clustered cholesterol (e.g., different lipid rafts) in live cells and thus may also have immunomodulatory potential.     

Endocytosis via caveolae

Caveolae are flask-shaped invaginations present in the plasma membrane of many cell types. They have long been implicated in endocytosis, transcytosis, and cell signaling. Recent work has confirmed that caveolae are directly involved in the internalization of membrane components (glycosphingolipids and glycosylphosphatidylinositol-anchored proteins), extracellular ligands (folic acid, albumin, autocrine motility factor), bacterial toxins (cholera toxin, tetanus toxin), and several nonenveloped viruses (Simian virus 40, Polyoma virus). Unlike clathrin-mediated endocytosis, internalization through caveolae is a triggered event that involves complex signaling. The mechanism of internalization and the subsequent intracellular pathways that the internalized substances take are starting to emerge.     

Membrane proteinase 3 and its interactions within microdomains of neutrophil membranes

Proteinase 3 (PR3) is a serine protease of neutrophil granules released to the medium or into the phagocytic vesicle upon neutrophil stimulation. A fraction of the enzyme is thought to associate with the cell membrane yielding membrane PR3 (mPR3). In autoimmune disorders characterized by the presence of antineutrophil cytoplasmic antibodies (ANCA), the reaction of the latter with their target antigen mPR3 activates the cell inflicting injuries on the surrounding tissues. In a previous communication we provided evidence for the presence of mPR3 in lipid rafts obtained by lysis of neutrophils in Triton X-100 and for the mediation of PR3 binding to the membrane by a glycosylphosphatidylinositol (GPI)-anchored neutrophil protein, possibly FcgammaRIIIb. In the current study we employed the mild detergent Brij 58 to isolate high molecular weight (HMW) protein complexes in the void volume of a Sepharose 4B gel filtration minicolumn. HMW complexes of unstimulated neutrophils comprised PR3, FcgammaRIIIb, the beta2 integrin CD11b/CD18 as well as the membrane and cytosolic subunits of the NADPH oxidase, p22phox and p47phox/p67phox. Treatment of neutrophils with phosphatidylinositol-specific phospholipase C (PI-PLC) reduced amounts of PR3 and FcgammaRIIIb in HMW complexes isolated from the treated cells, supporting our previous suggestion that FcgammaRIIIb acts as a membrane adaptor for PR3. FcgammaRIIIb of HMW fractions co-immunoprecipitated with PR3, indicating their presence in the same protein complex. Since HMW fractions contained also the majority of biotinylated proteins obtained by the reaction of neutrophils with a membrane impermeable biotinylating agent Sulfo-NHS-biotin, it was concluded that HMW proteins were derived from cell membranes. Lipid rafts isolated from Brij 58-lysed neutrophils were similar in their protein composition to the HMW complexes but not identical.     

Assessment of the roles of ordered lipid microdomains in post-endocytic trafficking of glycosyl-phosphatidylinositol-anchored proteins in mammalian fibroblasts

We have used artificial phosphatidylethanolamine-polyethylene glycol (PE-PEG)-anchored proteins, incorporated into living mammalian cells, to evaluate previously proposed roles for ordered lipid 'raft' domains in the post-endocytic trafficking of glycosylphosphatidylinositol (GPI)-anchored proteins in CHO and BHK cells. In CHO cells, endocytosed PE-PEG protein conjugates colocalized strongly with the internalized GPI-anchored folate receptor, concentrating in the endosomal recycling compartment, regardless of the structure of the hydrocarbon chains of the PE-PEG 'anchor'. However, internalized PE-PEG protein conjugates with long-chain saturated anchors recycled to the plasma membrane at a slow rate comparable to that measured for the GPI-anchored folate receptor, whereas conjugates with short-chain or unsaturated anchors recycled at a faster rate similar to that observed for the transferrin receptor. These findings support the proposal (Mayor et al. Cholesterol-dependent retention of GPI-anchored proteins in endosomes. EMBO J 1998;17:4628-4638) that the slow recycling of GPI proteins in CHO cells rests on their affinity for ordered lipid domains. In BHK cells, internalized PE-PEG protein conjugates with either saturated or unsaturated 'anchors' colocalized strongly with simultaneously endocytosed folate receptor and, like the folate receptor, gradually accumulated in late endosomes/lysosomes. These latter findings do not support previous suggestions that the sorting of GPI proteins to late endosomes in BHK cells depends on their association with lipid rafts.     

Functional roles of glycosphingolipids in signal transduction via lipid rafts

The formation of glycosphingolipid (GSL)-cholesterol microdomains in cell membranes has been proposed to function as platforms for the attachment of lipid-modified proteins, such as glycosylphosphatidylinositol (GPI)-anchored proteins and src-family tyrosine kinases. The microdomains are postulated to be involved in GPI-anchored protein signaling via src-family kinase. Here, the functional roles of GSLs in signal transduction mediated by the microdomains are discussed. Antibodies against GSLs co-precipitate GPI-anchored proteins, src-family kinases and several components of the microdomains. Antibody-mediated crosslinking of GSLs, as well as that of GPI-anchored proteins, induces a rapid activation of src-family kinases and a transient increase in the tyrosine phosphorylation of several substrates. Enzymatic degradation of GSLs reduces the activation of src-family kinase and tyrosine phosphorylation by antibody-mediated crosslinking of GPI-anchored protein. Furthermore, GSLs can also modulate signal transduction of immunoreceptors and growth factor receptors in the microdomains. Thus, GSLs have important roles in signal transduction mediated by the microdomains.     

A membrane defect in the pathogenesis of the Smith-Lemli-Opitz syndrome

The Smith-Lemli-Opitz syndrome (SLOS) is an often lethal birth defect resulting from mutations in the gene responsible for the synthesis of the enzyme 3beta-hydroxy-steroid-Delta7-reductase, which catalyzes the reduction of the double bond at carbon 7 on 7-dehydrocholesterol (7-DHC) to form unesterified cholesterol. We hypothesize that the deficiency in cholesterol biosynthesis and subsequent accumulation of 7-DHC in the cell membrane leads to defective composition, organization, dynamics, and function of the cell membrane. Using skin fibroblasts obtained from SLOS patients, we demonstrate that the SLOS membrane has increased 7-DHC and reduced cholesterol content and abnormal membrane fluidity. X-ray diffraction analyses of synthetic membranes prepared to mimic SLOS membranes revealed atypical membrane organization. In addition, calcium permeability is markedly augmented, whereas membrane-bound Na+/K+ATPase activity, folate uptake, inositol-1,4,5-trisphosphate signaling, and cell proliferation rates are markedly suppressed. These data indicate that the disturbance in membrane sterol content in SLOS, likely at the level of membrane caveolae, directly contributes to the widespread tissue abnormalities in this disease.