Lipid-destabilizing properties of the hydrophobic helices H8 and H9 from colicin E1

Colicins are toxic proteins produced by Escherichia coli that must cross the membrane to exert their activity. The lipid insertion of their pf domain is linked to a conformational change which enables the penetration of a hydrophobic hairpin. They provide useful models to more generally study insertion of proteins, channel formation and protein translocation in and across membranes. In this paper, we study the lipid-destabilizing properties of helices H8 and H9 forming the hydrophobic hairpin of colicin E1. Modelling analysis suggests that those fragments behave like tilted peptides. The latter are characterized by an asymmetric distribution of their hydrophobic residues when helical. They are able to interact with a hydrophobic/hydrophilic interface (such as a lipid membrane) and to destabilize the organized system into which they insert. Fluorescence techniques using labelled liposomes clearly show that H9, and H8 to a lesser extent, destabilize lipid particles, by inducing fusion and leakage. AFM assays clearly indicate that H8 and especially H9 induce membrane fragilization. Holes in the membrane are even observed in the presence of H9. This behaviour is close to what is seen with viral fusion peptides. Those results suggest that the peptides could be involved in the toroidal pore formation of colicin E1, notably by disturbing the lipids and facilitating the insertion of the other, more hydrophilic, helices that will form the pore. Since tilted, lipid-destabilizing fragments are also common to membrane proteins and to signal sequences, we suggest that tilted peptides should have an ubiquitous role in the mechanism of insertion of proteins into membranes.     

Lipid-destabilizing properties of the hydrophobic helices H8 and H9 from colicin E1

Colicins are toxic proteins produced by Escherichia coli that must cross the membrane to exert their activity. The lipid insertion of their pf domain is linked to a conformational change which enables the penetration of a hydrophobic hairpin. They provide useful models to more generally study insertion of proteins, channel formation and protein translocation in and across membranes. In this paper, we study the lipid-destabilizing properties of helices H8 and H9 forming the hydrophobic hairpin of colicin E1. Modelling analysis suggests that those fragments behave like tilted peptides. The latter are characterized by an asymmetric distribution of their hydrophobic residues when helical. They are able to interact with a hydrophobic/hydrophilic interface (such as a lipid membrane) and to destabilize the organized system into which they insert. Fluorescence techniques using labelled liposomes clearly show that H9, and H8 to a lesser extent, destabilize lipid particles, by inducing fusion and leakage. AFM assays clearly indicate that H8 and especially H9 induce membrane fragilization. Holes in the membrane are even observed in the presence of H9. This behaviour is close to what is seen with viral fusion peptides. Those results suggest that the peptides could be involved in the toroidal pore formation of colicin E1, notably by disturbing the lipids and facilitating the insertion of the other, more hydrophilic, helices that will form the pore. Since tilted, lipid-destabilizing fragments are also common to membrane proteins and to signal sequences, we suggest that tilted peptides should have an ubiquitous role in the mechanism of insertion of proteins into membranes.     

Protein modulation of lipids, and vice-versa, in membranes

This review describes: (i) perturbations of the membrane lipids that are induced by integral membrane proteins, and reciprocally, (ii) the effects that the lipids may have on the function of membrane-associated proteins. Topics of the first category that are covered include: stoichiometry and selectivity of the first shell of lipids associated at the intramembranous perimeter of transmembrane proteins; the chain configuration and exchange rates of the first-shell lipids; the effects of transmembrane peptides on transbilayer movement of lipids (flip-flop); the effects of membrane proteins on lipid polymorphism and formation of non-lamellar phases; and the effects of hydrophobic mismatch on lipid chain configuration, phase stability and selectivity of lipid-protein association. Topics of the second category are: the influence of lipid selectivity on conformational changes in the protein; the effects of elastic fluctuations of the lipid bilayer on protein insertion and orientation in membranes; the effects of hydrophobic matching on intramembrane protein-protein association; and the effects of intrinsic lipid curvature on membrane integration, oligomer formation and activity of membrane proteins.     

Membrane fusion: a structural perspective on the interplay of lipids and proteins

The fusion of biological membranes is governed by the carefully orchestrated interplay of membrane proteins and lipids. Recently determined structures of fusion proteins, individual domains of fusion proteins and their complexes with regulatory proteins and membrane lipids have yielded much suggestive insight into how viral and intracellular membrane fusion might proceed. These structures may be combined with new knowledge on the fusion of pure lipid bilayer membranes in an attempt to begin to piece together the complex puzzle of how biological membrane fusion machines operate on membranes.     

Effect of lipid structural modifications on their intermolecular hydrogen bonding interactions and membrane functions

The large number of different membrane lipids with various structural modifications and properties and the characteristic lipid composition of different types of membranes suggest that different lipids have specific functions in the membrane. Many of the varying properties of lipids with different polar head groups and in different ionization states can be attributed to the presence of interactive or repulsive forces between the head groups in the bilayer. The interactive forces are hydrogen bonds between hydrogen bond donating groups such as --P--OH,--OH, and--NH3+ and hydrogen bond accepting groups such as --P--O- and --COO-. These interactions increase the lipid phase transition temperature and can account for the tendency of certain lipids to go into the hexagonal phase and the dependence of this tendency on the pH and ionization state of the lipid. The presence or absence of these interactions can also affect the penetration of hydrophobic substances into the bilayer, including hydrophobic residues of membrane proteins. Evidence for this suggestion has been gathered from studies of the myelin basic protein, a water-soluble protein with a number of hydrophobic residues. In this way the lipid composition can affect the conformation and activity of membrane proteins. Since hydrogen-bonding interactions depend on the ionization state of the lipid, they can be altered by changes in the environment which affect the pK of the ionizable groups. The formation of the hexagonal phase or inverted micelles, the conformation and activity of membrane proteins, and other functions mediated by lipids could thus be regulated in this way.     

Sorting of lipids and transmembrane peptides between detergent-soluble bilayers and detergent-resistant rafts

Specific proteins and lipids sequester to regions of cell membranes called rafts. Due to their high content of sphingomyelin (SM) and cholesterol, raft bilayers are thicker than nonraft bilayers and, at least at 4 degrees C, are resistant to Triton X-100 extraction. It has been postulated that rafts concentrate proteins with long transbilayer domains because of "hydrophobic matching" between the transbilayer domain and the thick bilayer hydrocarbon region. However, because the area compressibility and bending moduli of SM:cholesterol bilayers are larger than that of nonraft bilayers, there should be an energy cost to partition proteins or peptides into rafts. To determine the effects on peptide sorting of raft thickness and mechanical properties, we incorporated two transbilayer peptides (P-23, P-29) into bilayers composed of SM, dioleoylphosphatidylcholine, and cholesterol, separated detergent-soluble membranes (DSMs) from detergent-resistant membranes (DRMs), and measured their peptide and lipid compositions. P-23 and P-29 were designed to have transbilayer domains that matched the hydrocarbon thicknesses of DSMs and DRMs, respectively. At both 4 degrees C and 37 degrees C DSMs were enriched in dioleoylphosphatidylcholine and DRMs were enriched in SM and cholesterol. At both temperatures both P-23 and P-29 preferentially localized to DSMs, demonstrating the importance of bilayer mechanical properties relative to hydrophobic mismatch. However, at 37 degrees C significantly more P-29 than P-23 was located in DRMs, implying that hydrophobic matching played a role in peptide sorting at physiological temperature. These experiments demonstrate that the sorting of peptides as measured by detergent extraction is temperature-dependent and both bilayer mechanical properties and hydrophobic matching impact peptide distribution between DSMs and DRMs.     

Tilted peptides: a structural motif involved in protein membrane insertion?

Tilted peptides are short hydrophobic protein fragments characterized by an asymmetric distribution of their hydrophobic residues when helical. They are able to interact with a hydrophobic/hydrophilic interface (such as a lipid membrane) and to destabilize the organized system into which they insert. They were detected in viral fusion proteins and in proteins involved in different biological processes involving membrane insertion or translocation of the protein in which they are found. In this paper, we have analysed different protein domains related to membrane insertion with regard to their tilted properties. They are the N-terminal signal peptide of the filamentous haemagglutinin (FHA), a Bordetella pertussis protein secreted in high amount and the hydrophobic domain from proteins forming pores (i.e. ColIa, Bax and Bcl-2). From the predictions and the experimental approaches, we suggest that tilted peptides found in those proteins could have a more general role in the mechanism of insertion/translocation of proteins into/across membranes. For the signal sequences, they could help the protein machinery involved in protein secretion to be more active. In the case of toroidal pore formation, they could disturb the lipids, facilitating the insertion of the other more hydrophilic helices.     

Peptides and Membrane Fusion: Towards an Understanding of the Molecular Mechanism of Protein-Induced Fusion

Processes such as endo- or exocytosis, membrane recycling, fertilization and enveloped viruses infection require one or more critical membrane fusion reactions. A key feature in viral and cellular fusion phenomena is the involvement of specific fusion proteins. Among the few well-characterized fusion proteins are viral spike glycoproteins responsible for penetration of enveloped viruses into their host cells, and sperm proteins involved in sperm-egg fusion. In their sequences, these proteins possess a ``fusion peptide,' a short segment (up to 20 amino acids) of relatively hydrophobic residues, commonly found in a membrane-anchored polypeptide chain. To simulate protein-mediated fusion, many studies on peptide-induced membrane fusion have been conducted on model membranes such as liposomes and have employed synthetic peptides corresponding to the putative fusion sequences of viral proteins, or de novo synthesized peptides. Here, the application of peptides as a model system to understand the molecular details of membrane fusion will be discussed in detail. Data obtained from these studies will be correlated to biological studies, in particular those that involve viral and sperm-egg systems. Structure-function relationships will be revealed, particularly in the context of protein-induced membrane perturbations and bilayer-to-nonbilayer transition underlying the mechanism of fusion. We will also focus on the involvement of lipid composition of membranes as a potential regulating factor of the topological fusion site in biological systems. Received: 3 August 1998/Revised: 15 October 1998     

Peptide models for the membrane destabilizing actions of viral fusion proteins.

The fusion of enveloped viruses to target membranes is promoted by certain viral fusion proteins. However, many other proteins and peptides stabilize bilayer membranes and inhibit membrane fusion. We have evaluated some characteristics of the interaction of peptides that are models of segments of measles and influenza fusion proteins with membranes. Our results indicate that these models of the fusogenic domains of viral fusion proteins promote conversion of model membrane bilayers to nonbilayer phases. This is opposite to the effects of peptides and proteins that inhibit viral fusion. A peptide model for the fusion segment of the HA protein of influenza increased membrane leakage as well as promoted the formation of nonbilayer phases upon acidification from pH 7-5. We analyze the gross conformational features of the peptides, and speculate on how these conformational features relate to the structures of the intact proteins and to their role in promoting membrane fusion.     

Properties and structures of the influenza and HIV fusion peptides on lipid membranes: implications for a role in fusion

The fusion peptides of HIV and influenza virus are crucial for viral entry into a host cell. We report the membrane-perturbing and structural properties of fusion peptides from the HA fusion protein of influenza virus and the gp41 fusion protein of HIV. Our goals were to determine: 1), how fusion peptides alter structure within the bilayers of fusogenic and nonfusogenic lipid vesicles and 2), how fusion peptide structure is related to the ability to promote fusion. Fluorescent probes revealed that neither peptide had a significant effect on bilayer packing at the water-membrane interface, but both increased acyl chain order in both fusogenic and nonfusogenic vesicles. Both also reduced free volume within the bilayer as indicated by partitioning of a lipophilic fluorophore into membranes. These membrane ordering effects were smaller for the gp41 peptide than for the HA peptide at low peptide/lipid ratio, suggesting that the two peptides assume different structures on membranes. The influenza peptide was predominantly helical, and the gp41 peptide was predominantly antiparallel beta-sheet when membrane bound, however, the depths of penetration of Trps of both peptides into neutral membranes were similar and independent of membrane composition. We previously demonstrated: 1), the abilities of both peptides to promote fusion but not initial intermediate formation during PEG-mediated fusion and 2), the ability of hexadecane to compete with this effect of the fusion peptides. Taken together, our current and past results suggest a hypothesis for a common mechanism by which these two viral fusion peptides promote fusion.     

Atomic-Resolution Simulations Predict a Transition State for Vesicle Fusion Defined by Contact of a Few Lipid Tails

Membrane fusion is essential to both cellular vesicle trafficking and infection by enveloped viruses. While the fusion protein assemblies that catalyze fusion are readily identifiable, the specific activities of the proteins involved and nature of the membrane changes they induce remain unknown. Here, we use many atomic-resolution simulations of vesicle fusion to examine the molecular mechanisms for fusion in detail. We employ committor analysis for these million-atom vesicle fusion simulations to identify a transition state for fusion stalk formation. In our simulations, this transition state occurs when the bulk properties of each lipid bilayer remain in a lamellar state but a few hydrophobic tails bulge into the hydrophilic interface layer and make contact to nucleate a stalk. Additional simulations of influenza fusion peptides in lipid bilayers show that the peptides promote similar local protrusion of lipid tails. Comparing these two sets of simulations, we obtain a common set of structural changes between the transition state for stalk formation and the local environment of peptides known to catalyze fusion. Our results thus suggest that the specific molecular properties of individual lipids are highly important to vesicle fusion and yield an explicit structural model that could help explain the mechanism of catalysis by fusion proteins.     

Modulation of entry of enveloped viruses by cholesterol and sphingolipids (Review)

Enveloped animal viruses infect host cells by fusion of viral and target membranes. This crucial fusion event occurs either with the plasma membrane of the host cells at the physiological pH or with the endosomal membranes at low pH and is triggered by specific glycoproteins in the virus envelope. Both lipids and proteins play critical and co-operative roles in the fusion process. Interactions of viral proteins with their receptors direct which membranes fuse and viral fusion proteins then drive the process. These fusion proteins operate on lipid assemblies, whose physical and mechanical properties are equally important to the proper functioning of the process. Lipids contribute to the viral fusion process by virtue of their distinct chemical structure, composition and/or their preferred partitioning into specific microdomains in the plasma membrane called 'rafts'. An involvement of lipid rafts in viral entry and membrane fusion has been examined recently. However, the mechanism(s) by which lipids as dynamic raft components control viral envelope-glycoprotein-triggered fusion is not clear. This paper will review literature findings on the contribution of the two raft-associated lipids, cholesterol and sphingolipids in viral entry.     

Modulation of entry of enveloped viruses by cholesterol and sphingolipids (Review)

Enveloped animal viruses infect host cells by fusion of viral and target membranes. This crucial fusion event occurs either with the plasma membrane of the host cells at the physiological pH or with the endosomal membranes at low pH and is triggered by specific glycoproteins in the virus envelope. Both lipids and proteins play critical and co-operative roles in the fusion process. Interactions of viral proteins with their receptors direct which membranes fuse and viral fusion proteins then drive the process. These fusion proteins operate on lipid assemblies, whose physical and mechanical properties are equally important to the proper functioning of the process. Lipids contribute to the viral fusion process by virtue of their distinct chemical structure, composition and/or their preferred partitioning into specific microdomains in the plasma membrane called 'rafts'. An involvement of lipid rafts in viral entry and membrane fusion has been examined recently. However, the mechanism(s) by which lipids as dynamic raft components control viral envelope-glycoprotein-triggered fusion is not clear. This paper will review literature findings on the contribution of the two raft-associated lipids, cholesterol and sphingolipids in viral entry.     

Manipulating the folding of membrane proteins: using the bilayer to our advantage

The folding mechanisms of integral membrane proteins have largely eluded detailed study. This is owing to the inherent difficulties in folding these hydrophobic proteins in vitro, which, in turn, reflects the often apparently insurmountable problem of mimicking the natural membrane bilayer with lipid or detergent mixtures. There is, however, a large body of information on lipid properties and, in particular, on phosphatidylcholine and phosphatidylethanolamine lipids, which are common to many biological membranes. We have exploited this knowledge to develop efficient in vitro lipid-bilayer folding systems for the membrane protein, bacteriorhodopsin. Furthermore, we have shown that a rate-limiting apoprotein folding step and the overall folding efficiency appear to be controlled by particular properties of the lipid bilayer. The properties of interest are the stored curvature elastic energy within the bilayer, and the lateral pressure that the lipid chains exert on the their neighbouring folding proteins. These are generic properties of the bilayer that can be achieved with simple mixtures of biological lipids, and are not specific to the lipids studied here. These bilayer properties also seem to be important in modulating the function of several membrane proteins, as well as the function of membranes in vivo. Thus, it seems likely that careful manipulations of lipid properties will shed light on the forces that drive membrane protein folding, and will aid the development of bilayer folding systems for other membrane proteins.     

Bilayer conformation of fusion peptide of influenza virus hemagglutinin: a molecular dynamics simulation study

Unraveling the conformation of membrane-bound viral fusion peptides is essential for understanding how those peptides destabilize the bilayer topology of lipids that is important for virus-cell membrane fusion. Here, molecular dynamics (MD) simulations were performed to investigate the conformation of the 20 amino acids long fusion peptide of influenza hemagglutinin of strain X31 bound to a dimyristoyl phosphatidylcholine (DMPC) bilayer. The simulations revealed that the peptide adopts a kinked conformation, in agreement with the NMR structures of a related peptide in detergent micelles. The peptide is located at the amphipathic interface between the headgroups and hydrocarbon chains of the lipid by an energetically favorable arrangement: The hydrophobic side chains of the peptides are embedded into the hydrophobic region and the hydrophilic side chains are in the headgroup region. The N-terminus of the peptide is localized close to the amphipathic interface. The molecular dynamics simulations also revealed that the peptide affects the surrounding bilayer structure. The average hydrophobic thickness of the lipid phase close to the N-terminus is reduced in comparison with the average hydrophobic thickness of a pure dimyristoyl phosphatidylcholine bilayer.     

Defect formation of lytic peptides in lipid membranes and their influence on the thermodynamic properties of the pore environment

We present an experimental study of the pore formation processes of small amphipathic peptides in model phosphocholine lipid membranes. We used atomic force microscopy to characterize the spatial organization and structure of alamethicin- and melittin-induced defects in lipid bilayer membranes and the influence of the peptide on local membrane properties. Alamethicin induced holes in gel DPPC membranes were directly visualized at different peptide concentrations. We found that the thermodynamic state of lipids in gel membranes can be influenced by the presence of alamethicin such that nanoscopic domains of fluid lipids form close to the peptide pores, and that the elastic constants of the membrane are altered in their vicinity. Melittin-induced holes were visualized in DPPC and DLPC membranes at room temperature in order to study the influence of the membrane state on the peptide induced hole formation. Also differential scanning calorimetry was used to investigate the effect of alamethicin on the lipid membrane phase behaviour.     

The membrane environment modulates self-association of the human GpA TM domain—Implications for membrane protein folding and transmembrane signaling

The influence of lipid bilayer properties on a defined and sequence-specific transmembrane helix-helix interaction is not well characterized yet. To study the potential impact of changing bilayer properties on a sequence-specific transmembrane helix-helix interaction, we have traced the association of fluorescent-labeled glycophorin A transmembrane peptides by fluorescence spectroscopy in model membranes with varying lipid compositions. The observed changes of the glycophorin A dimerization propensities in different lipid bilayers suggest that the lipid bilayer thickness severely influences the monomer-dimer equilibrium of this transmembrane domain, and dimerization was most efficient under hydrophobic matching conditions. Moreover, cholesterol considerably promotes self-association of transmembrane helices in model membranes by affecting the lipid acyl chain ordering. In general, the order of the lipid acyl chains appears to be an important factor involved in determining the strength and stability of transmembrane helix-helix interactions. As discussed, the described influences of membrane properties on transmembrane helix-helix interactions are highly important for understanding the mechanism of transmembrane protein folding and functioning as well as for gaining a deeper insight into the regulation of signal transduction via membrane integral proteins by bilayer properties.     

Defect formation of lytic peptides in lipid membranes and their influence on the thermodynamic properties of the pore environment

We present an experimental study of the pore formation processes of small amphipathic peptides in model phosphocholine lipid membranes. We used atomic force microscopy to characterize the spatial organization and structure of alamethicin- and melittin-induced defects in lipid bilayer membranes and the influence of the peptide on local membrane properties. Alamethicin induced holes in gel DPPC membranes were directly visualized at different peptide concentrations. We found that the thermodynamic state of lipids in gel membranes can be influenced by the presence of alamethicin such that nanoscopic domains of fluid lipids form close to the peptide pores, and that the elastic constants of the membrane are altered in their vicinity. Melittin-induced holes were visualized in DPPC and DLPC membranes at room temperature in order to study the influence of the membrane state on the peptide induced hole formation. Also differential scanning calorimetry was used to investigate the effect of alamethicin on the lipid membrane phase behaviour.     

Membrane insertion and lateral mobility of synthetic amphiphilic signal peptides in lipid model membranes

Amphiphilic signal sequences with the potential to form alpha-helices with a polar, charged face and an apolar face are common in proteins which are imported into mitochondria, in the PTS permeases of bacteria, and in bacterial rhodopsins. Synthetic peptides of such sequences partition into the surface region of lipid membranes where they can adopt different secondary structures. A finely controlled balance of electrostatic and hydrophobic interactions determines the 'affinity' of amphiphilic signal peptides for lipid membranes, as well as the structure, orientation and depth of penetration of these peptides in lipid bilayer membranes. The ability of an individual peptide to associate with lipid bilayer membranes in several different modes is, most likely, a general feature of amphiphilic signal peptides and is reflected in several common physical properties of their amino acid sequences.     

Molecular dynamics simulation of the evolution of hydrophobic defects in one monolayer of a phosphatidylcholine bilayer: relevance for membrane fusion mechanisms

The spontaneous formation of the phospholipid bilayer underlies the permeability barrier function of the biological membrane. Tears or defects that expose water to the acyl chains are spontaneously healed by lipid lateral diffusion. However, mechanical barriers, e.g., protein aggregates held in place, could sustain hydrophobic defects. Such defects have been postulated to occur in processes such as membrane fusion. This gives rise to a new question in bilayer structure: What do the lipids do in the absence of lipid lateral diffusion to minimize the free energy of a hydrophobic defect? As a first step to understand this rather fundamental question about bilayer structure, we performed molecular dynamic simulations of up to 10 ns of a planar bilayer from which lipids have been deleted randomly from one monolayer. In one set of simulations, approximately one-half of the lipids in the defect monolayer were restrained to form a mechanical barrier. In the second set, lipids were free to diffuse around. The question was simply whether the defects caused by removing a lipid would aggregate together, forming a large hydrophobic cavity, or whether the membrane would adjust in another way. When there are no mechanical barriers, the lipids in the defect monolayer simply spread out and thin with little effect on the other intact monolayer. In the presence of a mechanical barrier, the behavior of the lipids depends on the size of the defect. When 3 of 64 lipids are removed, the remaining lipids adjust the lower one-half of their chains, but the headgroup structure changes little and the intact monolayer is unaffected. When 6 to 12 lipids are removed, the defect monolayer thins, lipid disorder increases, and lipids from the intact monolayer move toward the defect monolayer. Whereas this is a highly simplified model of a fusion site, this engagement of the intact monolayer into the fusion defect is strikingly consistent with recent results for influenza hemagglutinin mediated fusion.