Crystallization of Ca2+-ATPase in detergent-solubilized sarcoplasmic reticulum

Microcrystalline arrays of Ca2+-transporting ATPase (EC 3.6.1.38) develop in detergent-solubilized sarcoplasmic reticulum upon exposure to 10-20 mM CaCl2 at pH 6.0 for several weeks at 2 degrees C, in a crystallization medium that preserves the ATPase activity for several months. Of 48 detergents tested, optimal crystallization was obtained with Brij 36T, Brij 56, and Brij 96 at a detergent:protein weight ratio of 4:1 and with octaethylene glycol dodecyl ether at a ratio of 2:1. Similar Ca2+-induced crystalline arrays were obtained with the purified or delipidated Ca2+-ATPase of sarcoplasmic reticulum but at lower detergent:protein ratios. The crystals are stabilized by fixation with glutaraldehyde and persist even after the removal of phospholipids by treatment with phospholipases A or C and by extraction with organic solvents. The crystals obtained so far can be used only for electron microscopy, but ongoing experiments suggest that under similar conditions large ordered arrays may develop that are suitable for x-ray diffraction analysis.     

Biphasic kinetics of sarcoplasmic reticulum Ca2+-ATPase and the detergent-solubilized monomer

The mechanism of ATP hydrolysis was studied at 0 degrees C and pH 7.5 using purified leaky vesicles of sarcoplasmic reticulum Ca2+-ATPase and enzyme solubilized in monomeric form with high concentrations of octaethylene glycol monododecyl ether (C12E8). The enzyme reaction of membranous Ca2+-ATPase was characterized by an initial burst in the hydrolysis of ATP and modulated by millimolar concentrations of ATP. For detergent-solubilized Ca2+-ATPase no burst and moderate low affinity modulation was observed, but the reaction was activated both at low (phosphorylating) and intermediate (K0.5 = 0.06 mM) ATP concentrations. A study of the partial reactions indicated that the effects of detergent and ATP were attributable to activation of the E1P----E2P transition which was rate-limiting. E32P dephosphorylation of membranous Ca2+-ATPase and the detergent-solubilized monomer comprised both a slow and a rapid component. The inhibitory effect of high Ca2+ was correlated with the development of a dominant contribution of slow phase dephosphorylation and with ATP-induced extra binding of Ca2+ binding which presumably takes place at the phosphorylation site (ECaP). Ca2+ was bound with lesser affinity to detergent-solubilized Ca2+-ATPase but with qualitatively the same characteristics as to membranous ECaP. Either Ca2+ or Mg2+ was required for dephosphorylation, also after detergent solubilization. It is concluded that ATP hydrolysis occurs by the same steps for membranous and monomeric Ca2+-ATPase and involves formation of either EMgP or ECaP as reaction intermediates, leading to biphasic kinetics, which, therefore, cannot be taken as evidence of an oligomeric function of the enzyme.     

Electron microscope observations on Ca2+-ATPase microcrystals in detergent-solubilized sarcoplasmic reticulum

Crystalline arrays of Ca2+-ATPase molecules develop in detergent-solubilized sarcoplasmic reticulum during incubation for several weeks at 2 degrees C under nitrogen in a medium of 0.1 M KCl, 10 mM K-3-(N-morpholino)propanesulfonate, pH 6.0, 3 mM MgCl2, 20 mM CaCl2, 20% glycerol, 3 mM NaN3, 5 mM dithiothreitol, 25 IU/ml Trasylol, 2 micrograms/ml 1,6-di-tert-butyl-p-cresol, 2 mg/ml protein, and 2-4 mg of detergent/mg of protein. Electron microscopy of sectioned, negatively stained, freeze-fractured, and frozen-hydrated Ca2+-ATPase crystals indicates that they consist of stacked lamellar arrays of Ca2+-ATPase molecules. Prominent periodicities of ATPase molecules within the lamellae arise from a centered rectangular lattice of dimensions 164 x 55.5 A. The association of lamellae into three-dimensional stacks is assumed to involve interactions between the exposed hydrophilic headgroups of ATPase molecules, that is promoted by glycerol and 20 mM Ca2+. Similar Ca2+-induced crystals were observed with purified or purified and delipidated Ca2+-ATPase preparations at lower detergent/protein ratios. Cross-linking of Ca2+-ATPase crystals with glutaraldehyde protects the structure against conditions such as low Ca2+, high pH, elevated temperature, SH group reagents, high concentration of detergents, and removal of phospholipids by extraction with organic solvents that disrupt unfixed preparations.     

Characterization of detergent-solubilized sarcoplasmic reticulum Ca2+-ATPase by high-performance liquid chromatography

Sarcoplasmic reticulum Ca2+-ATPase solubilized by the nonionic detergent octaethylene glycol monododecyl ether was studied by molecular sieve high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) and analytical ultracentrifugation. Significant irreversible aggregation of soluble Ca2+-ATPase occurred within a few hours in the presence of less than or equal to 50 microM Ca2+. The aggregates were inactive and were primarily held together by hydrophobic forces. In the absence of reducing agent, secondary formation of disulfide bonds occurred. The stability of the inactive dimer upon dilution permitted unambiguous assignment of its elution position and sedimentation coefficient. At high Ca2+ concentration (500 microM), monomeric Ca2+-ATPase was stable for several hours. Reversible self-association induced by variation in protein, detergent, and lipid concentrations was studied by large-zone HPLC. The association constant for dimerization of active Ca2+-ATPase was found to be 10(5)-10(6) M-1 depending on the detergent concentration. More detergent was bound to monomeric than to dimeric Ca2+-ATPase, even above the critical micellar concentration of the detergent. Binding of Ca2+ and vanadate as well as ATP-dependent phosphorylation was studied in monomeric and in reversibly associated dimeric preparations. In both forms, two high-affinity Ca2+ binding sites per phosphorylation site existed. The delipidated monomer purified by HPLC was able to form ADP-insensitive phosphoenzyme and to bind ATP and vanadate simultaneously. These results suggest that formation of Ca2+-ATPase oligomers in the membrane is governed by nonspecific forces (low affinity) and that each polypeptide chain constitutes a functional unit.     

The sarcoplasmic reticulum Ca2+-ATPase

Summary This review summarizes studies on the structural organization of Ca²⁺-ATPase in the sarcoplasmic reticulum membrane in relation to the function of the transport protein. Recent advances in this field have been made by a combination of protein-chemical, ultrastructural, and physicochemical techniques on membraneous and detergent solubilized ATPase. A particular feature of the ATPase (Part I) is the presence of a hydrophilic head, facing the cytoplasm, and a tail inserted in the membrane. In agreement with this view the protein is moderately hydrophobic, compared to many other integral membrane proteins, and the number of traverses of the 115 000 Dalton peptide chain through the lipid may be limited to 3–4.There is increasing evidence (Part II) that the ATPase is self-associated in the membrane in oligomeric form. This appears to be a common feature of many transport proteins. Each ATPase peptide seems to be able to perform the whole catalytic cycle of ATP hydrolysis and Ca²⁺ transport. Protein-protein interactions seem to have a modulatory effect on enzyme activity and to stabilize the enzyme against inactivation.Phospholipids (Part III) are not essential for the expression of enzyme activity which only requires the presence of flexible hydrocarbon chains that can be provided e.g. by polyoxyethylene glycol detergents. Perturbation of the lipid bilayer by the insertion of membrane protein leads to some immobilization of the lipid hydrocarbon chains, but not to the extent envisaged by the annulus hypothesis. Strong immobilization, whenever it occurs, may arise from steric hindrance due to protein-protein contacts. Recent studies suggest that breaks in Arrhenius plots of enzyme activity primarily reflect intrinsic properties of the protein rather than changes in the character of lipid motion as a function of temperature.     

Effect of chemical modification on the crystallization of Ca2+-ATPase in sarcoplasmic reticulum

The influence of chemical modification on the morphology of crystalline ATPase aggregates was analyzed in sarcoplasmic reticulum (SR) vesicles. The Ca²⁺-ATPase forms monomer-type (P1) type crystals in the E₁ and dimer-type (P2) crystals in the E₂ conformation. The P1 type crystals are induced by Ca²⁺ or lanthanides; P2 type crystals are observed in Ca²⁺-free media in the presence of vanadate or inorganic phosphate. P1- and P2-type Ca²⁺-ATPase crystals do not coexist in significant amounts in native sarcoplasmic reticulum membrane. The crystallization of Ca²⁺-ATPase in the E₂ conformation is inhibited by guanidino-group reagents (2,3-butanedione and phenylglyoxal), SH-group reagents, phospholipases C or A₂, and detergents, together with inhibition of ATPase activity. Amino-group reagents (fluorescein 5′-isothiocyanate, pyridoxal phosphate and fluorescamine) inhibit ATPase activity but do not interfere with the crystallization of Ca²⁺-ATPase induced by vanadate. In fluorescamine-treated sarcoplasmic reticulum the vanadate-induced crystals contain significant P1-type regions in addition to the dominant P2 form.     

Heterologous expression of sarcoplasmic reticulum Ca2+-ATPase

In recent years, expression of rabbit sarcoplasmic reticulum (SR) Ca²⁺-ATPase in heterologous systems has been a widely used strategy to study altered enzymes generated by site-directed mutagenesis. Various eukaryotic expression systems have been tested, all of them yielding comparable amounts of recombinant protein. However, the relatively low yield of recombinant protein obtained so far suggests that novel purification techniques will be required to allow further characterization of this enzyme based on direct ligand-binding measurements.     

Freeze-fracture study of water-soluble, standard proteins and of detergent-solubilized forms of sarcoplasmic reticulum Ca2+-ATPase

Conventional freeze-fracturing electron microscopy was used to study water-soluble proteins and different forms of Ca2+-ATPase-detergent complexes. Freeze-fracture images of solutions containing proteins larger than myoglobin showed the presence of distinct, randomly dispersed particles on smooth fracture surfaces. The distribution of sizes of these particles was closely to Gaussian, with a mean size which was correlated to the Stokes diameter. Monomeric Ca2+-ATPase from sarcoplasmic reticulum, solubilized by deoxycholate or a non-ionic detergent, showed a bimodal distribution of particle sizes. Even more complex distributions were found for dimeric and trimeric preparations of Ca2+-ATPase. The results can be interpreted on the assumption that the Ca2+-ATPase molecule is elongated, with an overall length of about 110 A and a width in its largest part of about 75 A. It is concluded on the basis of the presented results that freeze-fracture electron microscopy can be successfully used for morphological studies of protein molecules in solution.     

Retention of enzyme activity by detergent-solubilized sarcoplasmic Ca2+ -ATPase.

The Ca2+ -activated ATPase of sarcoplasmic reticulum can exist in true solution in the presence of some nonionic detergents, with retention of enzymatic activity for several days. The soluble active particles retain about 30 mol of phospholipid per mol of polypeptide chain even in the presence of a large excess of detergent, indicating the existence of relatively strong attractive forces between protein and lipid, as previous work from other laboratories has already suggested. Deoxycholate is much more effective than nonionic detergents in removing protein-bound lipid and, when used at solubilizing concentrations, completely delipidates and inactivates the ATPase. Preliminary molecular weight measurements indicate that the Ca2+ -ATPase exists as an oligomer in the native membrane: fully active enzyme in Tween 80 has a minimal protein molecular weight of about 400 000, corresponding to a trimer or tetramer of the ATPase polypeptide chain, and even the inactive enzyme in deoxycholate contains a substantial fraction of dimeric protein.     

Occlusion of Ca2+ in soluble monomeric sarcoplasmic reticulum Ca2+-ATPase

Sarcoplasmic reticulum Ca2+-ATPase solubilized in monomeric form by nonionic detergent was reacted with CrATP in the presence of 45Ca2+. A Ca2+-occluded complex formed, which was stable during high performance liquid chromatography in the presence of excess non-radioactive Ca2+. The elution position corresponded to monomeric Ca2+-ATPase. It is concluded that a single Ca2+-ATPase polypeptide chain provides the full structural basis for Ca2+ occlusion.     

Vectorially oriented monolayers of detergent-solubilized Ca(2+) -ATPase from sarcoplasmic reticulum.

A method for tethering proteins to solid surfaces has been utilized to form vectorially oriented monolayers of the detergent-solubilized integral membrane protein Ca(2+) -ATPase from the sarcoplasmic reticulum (SR). Bifunctional, organic self-assembled monolayers (SAMs) possessing "headgroup" binding specificity for the substrate and "endgroup" binding specificity for the enzyme were utilized to tether the enzyme to the substrate. Specifically, an amine-terminated 11-siloxyundecaneamine SAM was found to bind the Ca(2+)-ATPase primarily electrostatically. The Ca(2+)-ATPase was labeled with the fluorescent probe 5-(2-[(iodoacetyl)amino]ethyl)aminonaphthalene-1-sulfonic acid before monolayer formation. Consequently, fluorescence measurements performed on amine-terminated SAM/enzyme monolayers formed on quartz substrates served to establish the nature of protein binding. Formation of the monolayers on inorganic multilayer substrates fabricated by molecular beam epitaxy made it possible to use x-ray interferometry to determine the profile structure for the system, which was proved correct by x-ray holography. The profile structures established the vectorial orientation of the Ca(2+)-ATPase within these monolayers, to a spatial resolution of approximately 12 A. Such vectorially oriented monolayers of detergent-solubilized Ca(2+)-ATPase from SR make possible a wide variety of correlative structure/function studies, which would serve to elucidate the mechanism of Ca(2+) transport by this enzyme.     

Interaction of amphipols with sarcoplasmic reticulum Ca2+-ATPase

Amphipols are short-chain amphipathic polymers designed to keep membrane proteins soluble in aqueous solutions. We have evaluated the effects of the interaction of amphipols with sarcoplasmic reticulum Ca(2+)-ATPase either in a membrane-bound or a soluble form. If the addition of amphipols to detergent-solubilized ATPase was followed by removal of detergent, soluble complexes formed, but these complexes retained poor ATPase activity, were not very stable upon long incubation periods, and at high concentrations they experienced aggregation. Nevertheless, adding excess detergent to diluted detergent-free ATPase-amphipol complexes incubated for short periods immediately restored full activity to these complexes, showing that amphipols had protected solubilized ATPase from the rapid and irreversible inactivation that otherwise follows detergent removal. Amphipols also protected solubilized ATPase from the rapid and irreversible inactivation observed in detergent solutions if the ATPase Ca(2+) binding sites remain vacant. Moreover, in the presence of Ca(2+), amphipol/detergent mixtures stabilized concentrated ATPase against inactivation and aggregation, whether in the presence or absence of lipids, for much longer periods of time (days) than detergent alone. Our observations suggest that mixtures of amphipols and detergents are promising media for handling solubilized Ca(2+)-ATPase under conditions that would otherwise lead to its irreversible denaturation and/or aggregation.     

Inhibition of sarcoplasmic reticulum Ca2+-ATPase by miconazole

The inhibition of sarcoplasmic reticulumCa²⁺-ATPase activity by miconazole was dependent on theconcentration of ATP and membrane protein. Half-maximal inhibition wasobserved at 12 µM miconazole when the ATP concentration was 50 µMand the membrane protein was 0.05 mg/ml. When ATP was 1 mM, a lowmicromolar concentration of miconazole activated the enzyme, whereashigher concentrations inhibited it. A qualitatively similar responsewas observed when Ca²⁺ transport was measured. Likewise,the half-maximal inhibition value was higher when the membraneconcentration was raised. Phosphorylation studies carried out aftersample preequilibration in different experimental settings shed lighton key partial reactions such as Ca²⁺ binding and ATPphosphorylation. The miconazole effect on Ca²⁺-ATPaseactivity can be attributed to stabilization of theCa²⁺-free enzyme conformation giving rise to a decrease inthe rate of the Ca²⁺ binding transition. The phosphoryltransfer reaction was not affected by miconazole.

     

Inhibition of sarcoplasmic reticulum Ca2+-ATPase by 2-mercaptoethanol

The Ca²⁺-dependent ATPase activity of sarcoplasmic reticulum was inhibited when membrane vesicles were incubated at 0°C in presence of thiols. 2-mercaptoethanol was the most effective inhibitor from the thiols tested. The effect of 2-mercaptoethanol on the ATPase activity was biphasic; enzyme inhibition originally increased and then decreased with increasing thiol concentration. The inhibitory action of this thiol was significantly higher at low membrane concentrations and the rate of inactivation at 22°C was considerably lower than that at 0°C. Ca²⁺-ATPase previously inhibited by 2-mercaptoethanol was partially reactivated by incubation with periodate.     

Ca2+-ATPase from sarcoplasmic reticulum: acylphosphatase activity

Fractionation of sarcoplasmic reticulum vesicles from rabbit skeletal muscle was performed by solubilization of the vesicles in the presence of deoxycholate, followed by sucrose density gradient centrifugation and gel filtration chromatography. This procedure permitted the isolation of essentially pure Ca²⁺-ATPase; this enzyme showed ATPase as well as acylphosphatase activity, both activities being clearly enhanced by deoxycholate. The acylphosphatase activity of the purified Ca²⁺-ATPase was characterized with regard to some kinetic properties, such as pH, Mg²⁺, Ca²⁺, and deoxycholate dependence, and substrate affinity, determined in the presence of acetylphosphate, succinylphosphate, carbamylphosphate, and benzoylphosphate; in addition, the stability of both activities was checked in time-course experiments. The main similarities between the two activities, such as the Mg²⁺ requirement, the deoxycholate activation, and the pH dependence, together with the competitive inhibition of the benzoylphosphatase activity by ATP, the inhibition of both activities by tris(bathophenanthroline)-Fe²⁺, and the relief of this inhibitory effect by carbonylcyanide-4-trifluoromethoxyphenyl hydrazone support the hypothesis that acylphosphatase and ATPase activities of sarcoplasmic reticulum vesicles reside in the same active site of the enzyme. With regard to possible relationships between acylphosphatase activity of the purified Ca²⁺-ATPase and “soluble” acylphosphatase present in the 100,000g supernatant fraction, comparison of some kinetic and structural parameters indicate that these two activities are supported by quite different enzymes.     

Phosphoenzyme decomposition in dog cardiac sarcoplasmic reticulum Ca2+-ATPase

A five-syringe quench-flow apparatus was used in the transient-state kinetic study of intermediary phosphoenzyme (EP) decomposition in a Triton X-100 purified dog cardiac sarcoplasmic reticulum (SR) Ca2+-ATPase at 20 degrees C. Phosphorylation of the enzyme by ATP in the presence of 100 mM K+ for 116 ms gave 32% ADP-sensitive E1P, 52% ADP- and K+-reactive E2P, and 16% unreactive residual EPr. The EP underwent a monomeric, sequential E1P 17 s-1----E2P 10.5 s-1----E2 + Pi transformation and decomposition in the ethylene glycol bis(beta-aminoethyl ether)-N,N,N',N'-tetraacetic acid quenched Ca2+-devoid medium. The calculated rate constant for the total EP (i.e., E1P + E2P) dephosphorylation was 7.8 s-1. The E1P had an affinity for ADP with an apparent Kd congruent to 100 microM. When the EP was formed in the absence of K+ for 116 ms, no appreciable amount of the ADP-sensitive E1P was detected. The EP comprised about 80% ADP- and K+-reactive E2P and 20% residual EPr, suggesting a rapid E1P----E2P transformation. Both the E2P's formed in the presence and absence of K+ decomposed with a rate constant of about 19.5 s-1 in the presence of 80 mM K+ and 2 mM ADP, showing an ADP enhancement of the E2P decomposition. The results demonstrate mechanistic differences in monomeric EP transformation and decomposition between the Triton X-100 purified cardiac SR Ca2+-ATPase and deoxycholate-purified skeletal enzyme [Wang, T. (1986) J. Biol. Chem. 261, 6307-6319].     

Occluded calcium sites in soluble sarcoplasmic reticulum Ca2+-ATPase

Rabbit muscle sarcoplasmic reticulum Ca2+-ATPase has been shown to bind gadolinium ion (Gd3+) at two high affinity Ca2+ sites (Stephens, E. M., and Grisham, C. M. (1979) Biochemistry 18, 4876-4885). Gd3+ bound at these sites exhibits an unusually long electron spin relaxation time, consistent with occlusion of these sites and reduced contact with solvent H2O. In this report, the nature of the Gd3+ sites was examined in preparations of the enzyme solubilized with the detergent C12E8. The frequency dependence of water proton relaxation in solutions containing the solubilized Ca2+-ATPase yields dipolar correlation times, tau c, for the 1H-Gd3+ interaction of 1.04 X 10(-9) s for Gd3+ bound at site 1 and 1.98 X 10(-9) s for Gd3+ bound at site 2. The correlation time itself is frequency dependent below 30 MHz, indicating that the correlation time is dominated by the electron spin relaxation time of bound Gd3+. The long values of the correlation time found in the present study are consistent with a poor accessibility of these Gd3+ sites (particularly site 2) to solvent water molecules. Analytical ultracentrifugation and molecular sieve high performance liquid chromatography indicated that the active fraction of the soluble Ca2+-ATPase was monomeric. Thus occlusion of the Ca2+ sites in this enzyme is largely dependent on the tertiary structure of the monomeric ATPase and does not appear to depend on multimeric membrane structures.     

Stabilization of detergent-solubilized Ca2+-ATPase by poly(ethylene glycol)

The (Ca2+ + Mg2+)-ATPase from sarcoplasmic reticulum (SR) has been solubilized with 1-alkanoyl propanediol-3-phosphorylcholines with chainlengths ranging between 8 and 12 C atoms. A marked dependence of the ATPase activity upon the chainlength was found, indicating that alkyl chainlengths with 12 C atoms are necessary for retention of activity. Addition of poly(ethylene glycol) to the eluting buffers used for gel filtration of the ATPase-detergent micelles was found to increase the activity and the long-term stability significantly. In the presence of Ca2+, the elution volume indicated an ATPase dimer, whereas in the absence of Ca2+ the elution volume indicated a monomeric solution. The purity of the preparations after gel filtration was improved by subsequent chromatography with a hydroxyapatite column.     

The structure of the Ca2+-ATPase of sarcoplasmic reticulum

In this article the morphology of sarcoplasmic reticulum, classification of Ca(2+)-ATPase (SERCA) isoenzymes presented in this membrane system, as well as their topology will be reviewed. The focus is on the structure and interactions of Ca(2+)-ATPase determined by electron and X-ray crystallography, lamellar X-ray and neutron diffraction analysis of the profile structure of Ca(2+)-ATPase in sarcoplasmic reticulum multilayers. In addition, targeting of the Ca(2+)-ATPase to the sarcoplasmic reticulum is discussed.     

Tryptophan phosphorescence of the Ca2+-ATPase of sarcoplasmic reticulum

Phosphorescence of protein tryptophan was analyzed in sarcoplasmic reticulum vesicles, and in the purified Ca2+ transport ATPase in deoxygenated aqueous solutions at room temperature. Upon excitation with light of 295 nm wavelength, the emission maxima of fluorescence and phosphorescence were at 330 nm and at 445 nm, respectively. The phosphorescence decay was multiexponential; the lifetime of the long-lived component of phosphorescence was approximately equal to 22 ms. ATP and vandate significantly reduced the phosphorescence in the presence of either Ca2+ or EGTA; ADP was less effective, while AMP was without effect. The quenching by ATP showed saturation consistent with the idea that the ATP-enzyme complex had a lower phosphorescence yield. Upon exhaustion of ATP, the phosphorescence returned to starting level. Significant quenching of phosphorescence with a decrease in phosphorescence lifetime was also caused by NaNO2, methylvinyl ketone and trichloroacetate, without effect on ATPase activity; this quenching did not show saturation and was therefore probably collisional in nature.