Coupling factor 1 from Escherichia coli lacking subunits delta and epsilon: preparation and specific binding to depleted membranes, mediated by subunits delta or epsilon

A procedure for the preparation of coupling factor 1 (F1) from Escherichia coli lacking subunits delta and epsilon is described. Using chloroform and dimethyl sulfoxide, we can isolate F1 containing only subunits alpha, beta, and gamma [F1(alpha beta gamma)] directly from membrane vesicles in 10-mg quantities. Pure and active subunits delta and epsilon were prepared from five-subunit F1 by sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis. After addition of these subunits, F1(alpha beta gamma) is as active in reconstituting ATP-dependent transhydrogenase as five-subunit F1. The ATPase activity of F1 (alpha beta gamma) is inhibited by subunit epsilon in a 1:1 stoichiometry to the same extent (approximately equal to 90%) and with the same affinity (Ki = 0.2-0.8 nM) as reported earlier [Dunn, S.D. (1982) J. Biol. Chem. 257, 7354-7359]. In the presence of either delta or epsilon, F1(alpha beta gamma) binds to F1-depleted membrane vesicles and to liposomes containing the membrane sector (F0) of the ATP synthase to an extent commensurate with the F0 content. The binding ratios epsilon/F1 (alpha beta gamma) and probably also delta/F1 (alpha beta gamma) are close to unity. The specific, delta- or epsilon-deficient F1.F0 complexes presumably formed show ATPase activities sensitive to subunit epsilon but not to dicyclohexylcarbodiimide, and no energy-transfer capabilities. Binding studies at different pH values suggest that F1-F0 interactions in the presence of both subunits delta and epsilon are similar to a combination of those mediated by delta or epsilon alone.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)     

F1-ATPase from Micrococcus sp. ATCC 398. Purification by ion-exchange chromatography and further characterization. (Auto)proteolysis and dissociative effects.

The preparation of highly purified F1-ATPase from Micrococcus sp. ATCC 398 by application of DEAE-Sepharose CL-6B chromatography as final step is described. This enzyme consists of five subunits of different molecular weight: alpha (65000), beta (55000),gamma (35000), delta (20000), and epsilon (17000). Disc electrophoresis on 5% polyacrylamide gels removes the epsilon-polypeptide yielding an active ATPase complex with four different subunits: alpha, beta, gamma, delta. Additionally, by variation of the ionic strength delta can (partly) removed allowing the isolation by disc electrophoresis of an active ATPase complex which consists only of three different subunits alpha, beta, and gamma. If the DEAE-Sepharose chromatography is carried out in the absence of diisopropyl phosphofluoridate (auto)proteolysis yields both an active ATPase with the subunits alpha+ (mol. wt 61000), beta, gamma, and delta and an inactive protein complex with the subunits alpha+, beta, gamma, delta, and two additional polypeptides a (mol. wt 38000) and b (mol. wt 23000). The latter two polypeptides are supposedly fragments of alpha+-chains which have become partially cleaved by (auto)proteolysis.     

ATPase of Escherichia coli: purification, dissociation, and reconstitution of the active complex from the isolated subunits.

A simple procedure for the purification of Mg2+-stimulated ATPase of Escherichia coli by fractionation with poly(ethylene glycols) and gel filtration is described. The enzyme restores ATPase-linked reactions to membrane preparations lacking these activities. Five different polypeptides (alpha, beta, gamma, delta, epsilon) are observed in sodium dodecyl sulfate electrophoresis. Freezing in salt solutions splits the enzyme complex into subunits which do not possess any catalytic activity. The presence of different subunits is confirmed by electrophoretic and immunological methods. The active enzyme complex can be reconstituted by decreasing the ionic strength in the dissociated sample. Temperature, pH, protein concentration, and the presence of substrate are each important determinants of the rate and extent of reconstitution. The dissociated enzyme has been separated by ion-exchange chromatography into two major fragments. Fragment IA has a molecular weight of about 100000 and contains the alpha, gamma, and epsilon polypeptides. The minor fragment, IB, has about the same molecular weight but contains, besides alpha, gamma, and epsilon, the delta polypeptide. Fragment II, with a molecular weight of about 52000, appears to be identical with the beta polypeptide. ATPase activity can be reconstituted from fragments IA and II, whereas the capacity of the ATPase to drive energy-dependent processes in depleted membrane vesicles is only restored after incubation of these two fractions with fraction IB, which contains the delta subunit.     

The epsilon subunit of Escherichia coli coupling factor 1 is required for its binding to the cytoplasmic membrane.

The coupling factor, F1-ATPase of Escherichia coli (ECF1) contains five different subunits, alpha, beta, gamma, delta, and epsilon. Properties of delta-deficient ECF1 have previously been described. F1-ATPase containing only the alpha, beta, and gamma subunits was prepared from E. coli by passage of delta-deficient ECF1 through an affinity column containing immobilized antibodies to the epsilon subunit. The delta, epsilon-deficient enzyme has normal ATPase activity but cannot bind to ECF1-depleted membrane vesicles. Both the delta and epsilon subunits are required for the binding of delta, epsilon-deficient ECF1 to membranes and the restoration of oxidative phosphorylation. Either delta or epsilon will bind to the deficient enzyme to form a four-subunit complex. Neither four-subunit enzyme binds to depleted membranes. The epsilon subunit, does, however, slightly improve the binding affinity between delta and delta-deficient enzyme suggesting a possible interaction between the two subunits. Neither subunit binds to trypsin-treated ECF1, which contains only the alpha and beta subunits. A role for gamma in the binding of epsilon to F1 is suggested. epsilon does not bind to ECF1-depleted membranes. Therefore, the in vitro reconstitution of depleted membranes requires an initial complex formation between epsilon and the rest of ECF1 prior to membrane attachment. Reconstitution experiments indicate that only one epsilon is required per functional ECF1 molecule.     

Monoclonal antibodies to Escherichia coli F1-ATPase. Correlation of binding site location with interspecies cross-reactivity and effects on enzyme activity

Twenty-one hybridoma cell lines which secret antibodies to the subunits of the Escherichia coli F1-ATPase were produced. Included within the set are four antibodies which are specific for alpha, six for beta, three for gamma, four for delta and four for epsilon. The antibodies were divided into binding competition subgroups. Two such competition subgroups are represented for the alpha, beta, and epsilon subunits, one for delta and three for gamma. The ability to bind intact F1-ATPase was demonstrated for some of the antibodies to alpha and beta, and for all of those to delta, while the antibodies to gamma and epsilon gave unclear results. All of the antibodies to alpha and beta which bound ATPase were found to have effects on the ATPase activity of purified E. coli F1-ATPase. One of those to alpha inhibited activity by about 30%. Another anti-alpha was mildly stimulatory. The four antibodies to beta which bound ATPase inhibited activity by 90%. In contrast, membrane-bound ATPase was hardly affected by the antibodies to alpha, but was inhibited by 40-60% by the antibodies to beta. The other antibodies to alpha and beta bound only free subunits, or partially dissociated ATPase, suggesting that their epitopes are buried between subunits in ATPase. These antibodies had no effects on activity. The ability of the antibodies to recognize ATPase subunits present in crude extracts from mitochondria, chloroplasts, and a variety of bacteria was tested using nitrocellulose blots of sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gels. One anti-beta specifically recognized proteins in the range of 50,000-60,000 daltons in each of the extracts, although the reaction with mitochondrial beta was weak. Some of the other antibodies had limited cross-reaction, but most were specific for the E. coli protein. In some species, those proteins which were recognized by the anti-beta ran with a higher apparent molecular weight than proteins which were recognized by an anti-alpha. All antibodies which exhibited cross-reactivity were found to recognize sites which were not exposed in intact ATPase, implying that the surfaces which lie between subunits are most highly conserved.     

Reconstitution of adenosine triphosphatase of thermophilic bacterium from purified individual subunits.

1. Five subunits (alpha, beta, gamma, delta, and epsilon) of an ATPase from a thermophilic bacterium PS3 were purified in the presence of 8 M urea by ion exchange chromatography. Then the ATPase activity was reconstituted by mixing the subunit solutions and incubating them at 20-45 degrees, at pH 6.3 to 7.0. 2. Mixtures containing beta + gamma or alpha + beta + delta regained ATP-hydrolyzing activity, but mixtures of alpha + beta and beta + delta did not. Combinations not including beta were all inactive. 3. The ATPase activity reconstituted from alpha + beta + delta was thermolabile and insensitive to NaN3, whereas the activities obtained from mixtures containing beta and gamma were thermostable and sensitive to NaN3, like the native ATPase. 4. The assemblies containing both beta and gamma subunits had the same mobility as the native ATPase molecule on gel electrophoresis, those without the gamma subunit moved more rapidly toward the anode. 5. Subunits epsilon and delta did not inhibit the ATPase activity of either the assembly (alpha + beta + gamma) or the native ATPase.     

Mitochondrial F1-ATPase moiety from Phycomyces blakesleeanus: purification, characterization, and kinetic studies.

Mitochondrial F1-ATPase was purified from the mycelium of Phycomyces blakesleeanus NRRL 1555(-) and its kinetic characteristics were studied. Sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis of the enzyme reveals five bands (alpha, beta, gamma, delta, and epsilon) characteristic of the F1 portion with apparent molecular weights of 60,000, 53,000, 31,000, 25,000, and 21,000, respectively. The molecular weight of the native F1-ATPase from Phycomyces blakesleeanus was in agreement with the stoichiometry alpha 3 beta 3 gamma delta epsilon. The MgATP complex is the true substrate for ATPase activity which has a Km value of 0.15 mM. High concentrations of free ATP or free Mg2+ ions inhibit the ATPase activity. ADP appears to act as a negative allosteric effector with regard to MgATP hydrolysis, with the apparent Vmax remaining unchanged.     

Structure-function relationships of the Escherichia coli ATP synthase probed by trypsin digestion

Trypsin cleavage has been used to probe structure-function relationships of the Escherichia coli ATP synthase (ECF1F0). Trypsin cleaved all five subunits, alpha, beta, gamma, delta, and epsilon, in isolated ECF1. Cleavage of the alpha subunit involved the removal of the N-terminal 15 residues, the beta subunit was cleaved near the C-terminus, the gamma subunit was cleaved near Ser202, and the delta and epsilon subunits appeared to be cleaved at several sites to yield small peptide fragments. Trypsin cleavage of ECF1 enhanced the ATPase activity between 6- and 8-fold in different preparations, in a time course that followed the cleavage of the epsilon subunit. This removal of the epsilon subunit increased multisite ATPase activity but not unisite ATPase activity, showing that the inhibitory role of the epsilon subunit is due to an effect on cooperativity. The detergent lauryldimethylamine oxide was found to increase multisite catalysis and also increase unisite catalysis more than 2-fold. Prolonged trypsin cleavage left a highly active ATPase containing only the alpha and beta subunits along with two fragments of the gamma subunit. All of the subunits of ECF1 were cleaved by trypsin in preparations of ECF1F0 at the same sites as in isolated ECF1. Two subunits, the beta and epsilon subunits, were cleaved at the same rate in ECF1F0 as in ECF1 alone. The alpha, gamma, and delta subunits were cleaved significantly more slowly in ECF1F0.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)     

Proton ATPase of rat liver mitochondria: A rapid procedure for purification of a stable, reconstitutively active F1 preparation using a modified chloroform method

A method is described for the purification of rat liver F1-ATPase by a modification of the chloroform extraction procedure originally described by Beechey et al. (Biochem. J. (1975) 148, 533). Purified liver membrane vesicles are extracted with chloroform in the presence of ATP and EDTA. The procedure yields pure F1 in only 2-3 h without the necessity of ion-exchange chromatography. The enzyme exhibits the alpha, beta, gamma, delta, and epsilon bands characteristic of F1-ATPase. It has a high ATPase specific activity, and is reconstitutively active, catalyzing high rates of ATP synthesis. Significantly, it can be readily crystallized. If desired, the enzyme can be passed over a gel filtration column to place it in a stabilizing phosphate-EDTA buffer, lyophilized and stored indefinitely at -20 degrees C.     

Assembly of a functional F0 of the proton-translocating ATPase of Escherichia coli

We have investigated both structural and functional assembly of the F0 portion of the Escherichia coli proton-translocating ATPase in vivo. Fractionation of E. coli minicells containing plasmids which code for parts of the unc operon shows that each of the F0 peptides a, b, and c insert into the cytoplasmic membrane independent of each other and without the polypeptides which form the F1 portion of the complex alpha, beta, gamma, delta, and epsilon. Assays of membrane energization indicate that, while formation of a functional proton channel requires the presence of all three F0 polypeptides a, b and c, they are not sufficient. Synthesis of both the alpha and beta subunits of the F1 are required for formation of a functional proton channel.     

Monoclonal antibody modification of the ATPase activity of Escherichia coli F1 ATPase

Monoclonal antibodies (mAbs) have been made against each of the five subunits of ECF1 (alpha, beta, gamma, delta, and epsilon), and these have been used in topology studies and for examination of the role of individual subunits in the functioning of the enzyme. All of the mAbs obtained reacted with ECF1, while several failed to react with ECF1F0, including three mAbs against the gamma subunit (gamma II, gamma III, and gamma IV), one mAb against delta, and two mAbs against epsilon (epsilon I and epsilon II). These topology data are consistent with the gamma, delta, and epsilon subunits being located at the interface between the F1 and F0 parts of the complex. Two forms of ECF1 were used to study the effects of mAbs on the ATPase activity of the enzyme: ECF1 with the epsilon subunit tightly bound and acting to inhibit activity and ECF1* in which the delta and epsilon subunits had been removed by organic solvent treatment. ECF1* had an ATPase activity under standard conditions of 93 mumol of ATP hydrolyzed min-1 mg-1, cf. an activity of 7.5 units mg-1 for our standard ECF1 preparation and 64 units mg-1 for enzyme in which the epsilon subunit had been removed by trypsin treatment. The protease digestion of ECF1* reduced activity to 64 units mg-1 in a complicated process involving an inhibition of activity by cleavage of the alpha subunit, activation by cleavage of gamma, and inhibition with cleavage of the beta subunit. mAbs to the gamma subunit, gamma II and gamma III, activated ECF1 by 4.4- and 2.4-fold, respectively, by changing the affinity of the enzyme for the epsilon subunit, as evidenced by density gradient centrifugation experiments. The gamma-subunit mAbs did not alter the ATPase activity of ECF1*- or trypsin-treated enzyme. The alpha-subunit mAb (alpha I) activated ECF1 by a factor of 2.5-fold and ECF1F0 by 1.3-fold, but inhibited the ATPase activity of ECF1* by 30%.     

Isolation and properties of anion-sensitive adenosine triphosphatase from erythrocyte membranes

Using the non-ionic detergent Triton X-100 and gel-chromatography, an anion-sensitive ATPase was isolated from rat and rabbit erythrocyte membranes. The ATPase preparations possess no Na, K- or Mg, Ca-ATPase activities. ATPase from rat erythrocyte membranes is made up of five subunits with molecular weights of 58 000 (alpha), 50 000 (beta), 36 000 (gamma), 25 000 (delta) and 12 000 (epsilon) and can be represented by the formula alpha 3 beta 3 gamma delta epsilon.     

Activation and inhibition of the Escherichia coli F1-ATPase by monoclonal antibodies which recognize the epsilon subunit

The properties of two monoclonal antibodies which recognize the epsilon subunit of Escherichia coli F1-ATPase were studied in detail. The epsilon subunit is a tightly bound but dissociable inhibitor of the ATPase activity of soluble F1-ATPase. Antibody epsilon-1 binds free epsilon with a dissociation constant of 2.4 nM but cannot bind epsilon when it is associated with F1-ATPase. Likewise epsilon cannot associate with F1-ATPase in the presence of high concentrations of epsilon-1. Thus epsilon-1 activates F1-ATPase which contains the epsilon subunit, and prevents added epsilon from inhibiting the enzyme. Epsilon-1 cannot bind to membrane-bound F1-ATPase. The epsilon-4 antibody binds free epsilon with a dissociation constant of 26 nM. Epsilon-4 can bind to the F1-ATPase complex, but, like epsilon-1, it reverses the inhibition of F1-ATPase by the epsilon subunit. The epsilon subunit remains crosslinkable to both the beta and gamma subunits in the presence of epsilon-4, indicating that it is not grossly displaced from its normal position by the antibody. Presumably the activation arises from more subtle conformational effects. Antibodies epsilon-4 and delta-2, which recognizes the delta subunit, both bind to F1F0 in E. coli membrane vesicles, indicating that these subunits are substantially exposed in the membrane-bound complex. Epsilon-4 inhibits the ATPase activity of the membrane-bound enzyme by about 50%, and Fab prepared from epsilon-4 inhibits by about 40%. This inhibition is not associated with any substantial change in the major apparent Km for ATP. These results suggest that inhibition of membrane-bound F1-ATPase arises from steric effects of the antibody.     

Partial purification of active delta and epsilon subunits of the membrane ATPase from escherichia coli

We have partially purified active delta and epsilon subunits of the E. coli membranebound Mg²⁺ -ATPase (ECF₁). Treating purified ECF₁ with 50% pyridine precipitates the major subunits (α, β, and γ) of the enzyme, but the two minor subunits (δ and ϵ), which are present in relatively small amounts, remain in solution. The delta and epsilon subunits were then resolved from one another by anion exchange chromatography. The partially purified epsilon strongly inhibits the hydrolytic activity of ECF₁. The epsilon fraction inhibits both the highly purified five-subunit ATPase and the enzyme deficient in the δ subunit. The latter result indicates that the delta subunit is not required for inhibition by epsilon. By contrast, two-subunit enzyme, consisting chiefly of the α and β subunits, was insensitive to the ATPase inhibitor, suggesting that the γ subunit may be required for inhibition by epsilon. The partially purified delta subunit restored the capacity of ATPase deficient in delta to recombine with ATPase-depleted membranes and to reconstitute ATP-dependent transhydrogenase. Previously we reported (Biochem. Biophys. Res. Commun. 62:764 [1975]) that a fraction containing both the delta and epsilon subunits of ECF₁ restored the capacity of ATPase missing delta to recombine with depleted membranes and to function as a coupling factor in oxidative phosphorylation and for the energized transhydrogenase. These reconstitution experiments using isolated subunits provide rather substantial evidence that the delta subunit is essential for attaching the ATPase to the membrane and that the epsilon subunit has a regulatory function as an inhibitor of the ATPase activity of ECF₁.     

Role of the subunits of the energy-transducing adenosine triphosphatase from Micrococcus lysodeikticus membranes studied by proteolytic digestion and immunological approaches.

An energy-transducing adenosine triphosphatase (ATPase, EC 3.6.1.3) that contains an extra polypeptide (delta) as well as three intrinsic subunits (alpha, beta, gamma) was purified from Micrococcus lysodeikticus membranes. The apparent subunit stoichiometry of this soluble ATPase complex is alpha 3 beta 3 gamma delta. The functional role of the subunits was studied by correlating subunit sensitivity to trypsin and effect of antibodies raised against holo-ATPase and its alpha, beta and gamma subunits with changes in ATPase activity and ATPase rebinding to membranes. A form of the ATPase with the subunit proportions 1.67(alpha):3.00(beta:0.17(gamma) was isolated after trypsin treatment of purified ATPase. This form has more than twice the specific activity of native enzyme. Other forms with less relative proportion of alpha subunits and absence of gamma subunit are not active. Of the antisera to subunits, only anti-(beta-subunit) serum shows a slight inhibitory effect on ATPase activity, but its combination with either anti-(alpha-subunit) or anti-(gamma-subunit) serum increases the effect. The results suggest that beta subunit is required for full ATPase activity, although a minor proportion of alpha and perhaps gamma subunit(s) is also required, probably to impart an active conformation to the protein. The additional polypeptide not hitherto described in Micrococcus lysodeikticus ATPase had a molecular weight of 20 000 and was found to be involved in ATPase binding to membranes. This 20 000-dalton component can be equated with the delta subunit of other energy-transducing ATPases and its association with the (alpha, beta, gamma) M. lysodeikticus ATPase complex appears to be dependent on bivalent cations. The present results do not preclude the possibility that the gamma subunit also plays a role in ATPase binding, in which, however, the major subunits do not seem to play a role.     

The membrane ATPase of alkalophilic Bacillus firmus RAB is an F1-type ATPase

At the optimal pH for growth (pH 10.5), alkalophilic Bacillus firmus RAB, an obligate aerobe, exhibits normal rates of oxidative phosphorylation despite the low transmembrane proton electrochemical gradient, about -60 mV (delta psi = -180 mV and delta pH = +120 mV). This bioenergetic problem might be resolved by use of an Na+ coupled ATP synthase; otherwise an F1F0-ATPase must be able to utilize low driving forces in this organism. The ATPase activity was extracted from everted membrane vesicles by low ionic strength treatment and purified to homogeneity by hydrophobic interaction chromatography and sucrose density gradient centrifugation. The ATPase preparation had the characteristic F1-ATPase subunit structure, with Mr values of 51,500 (alpha), 48,900 (beta), 34,400 (gamma), 23,300 (delta), and 14,500 (epsilon); the identity of the alpha and beta subunits was confirmed by immunoblotting with anti-beta of Escherichia coli and anti-B. firmus RAB F1. Methanol and octyl glucoside, agents that stimulated the low basal membrane ATPase activity 10- to 12-fold, dramatically elevated the MgATPase activity of the purified F1, more than 150-fold, to 50 mumol min-1 mg protein-1. Anti-F1 inhibited membrane ATPase activity greater than or equal to 80%. The membranes exhibited no Na+-stimulated or vanadate-sensitive ATPase activity when prepared in the absence or presence of Na+ or ATP. These findings, which are consistent with previous studies, establish that in alkalophilic bacteria, ATP hydrolysis, and presumably ATP synthesis is catalyzed by an F1F0-ATPase rather than a Na+ ATPase.     

Complementation in vitro of mutant and wild-type ATPase of Escherichia coli using isolated subunits.

1. The inactive ATPases of four different mutant strains of Escherichia coli have been purified to homogeneity. 2. Molecular weights, subunit patterns in sodium dodecylsulfate electrophoresis and immunological properties of mutant and wild-type proteins are identical. The mutant enzymes compete with the wild-type enzyme for the binding sites on the membrane. 3. On freezing and thawing in salt solutions, the ATPase is split into subunits IA (alpha, gamma, epsilon), IB (delta; alpha, gamma, epsilon), and II (beta). By complementation in vitro of the isolated subunits, it is shown that subcomplex IA (alpha, gamma, epsilon) is altered in the mutant strains described here.     

Effect of disulfide cross-linking between alpha and delta subunits on the properties of the F1 adenosine triphosphatase of Escherichia coli

Under very mild oxidizing conditions the delta subunit of the F1-ATPase of Escherichia coli can be crosslinked by a disulfide linkage to one of the alpha subunits of the enzyme. The cross-linked ATPase resembles the native enzyme in the following properties: specific activity; activation by lauryldimethylamine N-oxide (LDAO); binding of aurovertin D and ADP; cross-linking products with 3,3'-dithiobis(succinimidyl propionate); binding to ATPase-stripped everted membrane vesicles and the N,N'-dicyclohexylcarbodiimide sensitivity of the rebound enzyme. However, the rebound crosslinked ATPase differed from the native enzyme in lacking the ability to restore NADH oxidation - and ATP hydrolysis-dependent quenching of the fluorescence of quinacrine to ATPase-stripped membrane vesicles. It is proposed that the delta subunit is involved in the proton pathway of the ATPase, and that this pathway is affected in the alpha delta-cross-linked enzyme. The mechanism for activation of the ATPase by LDAO was examined. Evidence against the proposal of L?tscher, H.-R., De Jong, C. and Capaldi, R.A. (Biochemistry (1984) 23, 4140-4143) that activation involves displacement of the epsilon subunit from an active site on a beta subunit was obtained.     

Assembly of a functional F1 of the proton-translocating ATPase of Escherichia coli

Assembly of the F1 portion of the proton-translocating ATPase of Escherichia coli was examined in vivo. Analysis of strains lacking genes which specify the Fo polypeptides a, b, and c showed that the F1 subunits were able to assemble into a complex in the absence of the Fo subunits. In addition we have investigated the effects of mutations in the individual genes which specify the F1 polypeptides on the assembly process. Mutations of the uncA(alpha), uncG(gamma), or uncD(beta) genes result in a defective assembly of the F1 complex. In contrast, mutations in the uncH(delta) or uncC(epsilon) genes did not prevent assembly of the core alpha beta gamma complex. In these cases, however, the partial F1 complexes were incapable of restoring energy-linked functions to F1-depleted membranes.