Protein secretion in the absence of ATP: the autotransporter,two-partner secretion and chaperone/usher pathways of Gram-negative bacteria (Review)

Bacteria secrete a wide variety of proteins, many of which play important roles in virulence. In Gram-negative bacteria, these proteins must cross the cytoplasmic or inner membrane, periplasm, and outer membrane to reach the cell surface. Gram-negative bacteria have evolved multiple pathways to allow protein secretion across their complex envelope. ATP is not available in the periplasm and many of these secretion pathways encode components that harness energy available at the inner membrane to drive secretion across the outer membrane. In contrast, the autotransporter, two-partner secretion and chaperone/usher pathways are comparatively simple systems that allow secretion across the outer membrane without the need for input of energy from the inner membrane. This review will present overviews of these ‘self-sufficient’ pathways, focusing on recent advances and secretion mechanisms. Similarities among the pathways and with other protein translocation mechanisms will be highlighted.     

Protein secretion in the absence of ATP: the autotransporter, two-partner secretion and chaperone/usher pathways of gram-negative bacteria (review)

Bacteria secrete a wide variety of proteins, many of which play important roles in virulence. In gram-negative bacteria, these proteins must cross the cytoplasmic or inner membrane, periplasm, and outer membrane to reach the cell surface. Gram-negative bacteria have evolved multiple pathways to allow protein secretion across their complex envelope. ATP is not available in the periplasm and many of these secretion pathways encode components that harness energy available at the inner membrane to drive secretion across the outer membrane. In contrast, the autotransporter, two-partner secretion and chaperone/usher pathways are comparatively simple systems that allow secretion across the outer membrane without the need for input of energy from the inner membrane. This review will present overviews of these 'self-sufficient' pathways, focusing on recent advances and secretion mechanisms. Similarities among the pathways and with other protein translocation mechanisms will be highlighted.     

The Role of the Membrane in Transporter Folding and Activity

The synthesis, folding, and function of membrane transport proteins are critical factors for defining cellular physiology. Since the stability of these proteins evolved amidst the lipid bilayer, it is no surprise that we are finding that many of these membrane proteins demonstrate coupling of their structure or activity in some way to the membrane. More and more transporter structures are being determined with some information about the surrounding membrane, and computational modeling is providing further molecular details about these solvation structures. Thus, the field is moving towards identifying which molecular mechanisms - lipid interactions, membrane perturbations, differential solvation, and bulk membrane effects - are involved in linking membrane energetics to transporter stability and function. In this review, we present an overview of these mechanisms and the growing evidence that the lipid bilayer is a major determinant of the fold, form, and function of membrane transport proteins in membranes.     

Membrane traffic and cytokinesis

Cytokinesis, the last step in cell division, is a process common to all eukaryotic life forms. The many mechanisms cells use to divide one parent cell into two progeny reflect the diversity of eukaryotic life. Despite the varied mechanisms cells use, increasing evidence demonstrates that many different cells use 'classical' membrane trafficking proteins for cytokinesis. This review highlights recent evidence for roles for membrane trafficking proteins in cytokinesis.     

Membrane Proteases in the Bacterial Protein Secretion and Quality Control Pathway

Summary: Proteolytic cleavage of proteins that are permanently or transiently associated with the cytoplasmic membrane is crucially important for a wide range of essential processes in bacteria. This applies in particular to the secretion of proteins and to membrane protein quality control. Major progress has been made in elucidating the structure-function relationships of many of the responsible membrane proteases, including signal peptidases, signal peptide hydrolases, FtsH, the rhomboid protease GlpG, and the site 1 protease DegS. These enzymes employ very different mechanisms to cleave substrates at the cytoplasmic and extracytoplasmic membrane surfaces or within the plane of the membrane. This review highlights the different ways that bacterial membrane proteases degrade their substrates, with special emphasis on catalytic mechanisms and substrate delivery to the respective active sites.     

Cooperative properties of hormone receptors in cell membranes

The binding of many polypeptide hormones to cell surface receptors does not appear to follow the law of mass action. While steady–state binding data are consistent in many cases with either heterogeneous populations of binding sites or interactions of the type known as negative cooperativity, study of the kinetics of dissociation of the hormone receptor complex allows an unambiguous demonstration of cooperative interactions. Negative cooperativity, which seems to be wide-spread among hormone receptors, provides exquisite sensitivity of the cell at low hormone concentrations while buffering against acutely elevated hormone levels. The molecular mechanisms underlying the cooperativity are still largely unknown. Cooperativity may stem from a conformational transition in individual receptors or involve receptor aggregation in the fluid membrane (clustering) or more extensive membrane phenomena. Thus, new models of hormone action must be considered which integrate the progress in our knowledge of both the complex mechanisms regulating hormone binding to their surface receptors, and the dynamic properties of the cell membrane.     

Identification of novel proteins and phosphorylation sites in a tonoplast enriched membrane fraction of Arabidopsis thaliana

Plant vacuoles play essential roles in many physiological processes, particularly in mineral nutrition, turgor provision and cellular signalling. The vacuolar membrane, the tonoplast, contains many membrane transporters that are critical in the execution of these processes. However, although increasing knowledge is available about the identity of proteins involved in these processes very little is known about the regulation of tonoplast transporters. By studying the phosphoproteome of tonoplast-enriched membranes, we identified 66 phosphorylation sites on 58 membrane proteins. Amongst these, 31 sites were identified in 28 membrane transporters of various families including tonoplast anion transporters of the CLC family, potassium transporters of the KUP family, tonoplast sugar transporters and ABC transporters. In a number of cases, the detected sites were well conserved across isoforms of one family pointing to common mechanisms of regulation. In other cases, isoform-unique sites were present, suggesting regulatory mechanisms tailored to the function of individual proteins. These results provide the basis for future studies to elucidate the mechanistic regulation of tonoplast membrane transporters.     

抗菌肽对细菌杀伤作用的分子机制

抗菌肽是一类新型的抗菌物质,从最低等的生物病毒、细菌到高等的动植物都有广泛分布. 以往的研究主要集中于抗菌肽对细菌细胞膜的作用机制,已经构建了三种作用模式. 但近几年的研究表明,很多抗菌肽都能有效地穿过细菌的细胞膜,直接与胞内分子相互作用,并不引起膜的破裂. 抗菌肽根据其结构特点有着多种杀菌穿膜的机制,其后分别与胞内的靶分子如核酸,蛋白质,信号转导通路等互相作用,最终实现对细菌的杀伤作用.     

Probing intracellular vesicle trafficking and membrane remodelling by cryo-EM

Protein transport between the membranous compartments of the eukaryotic cells is mediated by the constant fission and fusion of the membrane-bounded vesicles from a donor to an acceptor membrane. While there are many membrane remodelling complexes in eukaryotes, COPII, COPI, and clathrin-coated vesicles are the three principal classes of coat protein complexes that participate in vesicle trafficking in the endocytic and secretory pathways. These vesicle-coat proteins perform two key functions: deforming lipid bilayers into vesicles and encasing selective cargoes. The three trafficking complexes share some commonalities in their structural features but differ in their coat structures, mechanisms of cargo sorting, vesicle formation, and scission. While the structures of many of the proteins involved in vesicle formation have been determined in isolation by X-ray crystallography, elucidating the proteins' structures together with the membrane is better suited for cryogenic electron microscopy (cryo-EM). In recent years, advances in cryo-EM have led to solving the structures and mechanisms of several vesicle trafficking complexes and associated proteins.     

Protein transport across the endoplasmic reticulum membrane

A decisive step in the biosynthesis of many eukaryotic proteins is their partial or complete translocation across the endoplasmic reticulum membrane. A similar process occurs in prokaryotes, except that proteins are transported across or are integrated into the plasma membrane. In both cases, translocation occurs through a protein-conducting channel that is formed from a conserved, heterotrimeric membrane protein complex, the Sec61 or SecY complex. Structural and biochemical data suggest mechanisms that enable the channel to function with different partners, to open across the membrane and to release laterally hydrophobic segments of membrane proteins into lipid.     

Regulation of Bcl-2 proteins and of the permeability of the outer mitochondrial membrane

In many apoptotic responses, pro-apoptotic members of the Bcl-2 family trigger the permeabilization of the outer mitochondrial membrane, thereby allowing the release of mitochondrial apoptogenic factors that contribute to caspase activation in the cytosol. The mechanisms that lead to the activation of pro-apoptotic Bcl-2 family members and to the permeabilization of the outer mitochondrial membrane are not yet completely understood. Here, we attempt to summarize our current view of the mechanisms that lead to these events, regarding both additional proteins that were recently suggested to be involved, and the roles of lipids.     

Mitochondria as the central control point of apoptosis

Mitochondria play a major role in apoptosis triggered by many stimuli. They integrate death signals through Bcl-2 family members and coordinate caspase activation through the release of cytochrome c as a result of the outer mitochondrial membrane becoming permeable. The mechanisms that lead to this permeability are not yet completely understood. Here, we attempt to summarize our current view of the mechanisms that lead to the efflux of many proteins from mitochondria during apoptosis and the role played by Bcl-2 family proteins in the control of this event.     

Clathrin-independent endocytosis: from nonexisting to an extreme degree of complexity

Today it is generally accepted that there are several endocytic mechanisms, both the clathrin-dependent one and mechanisms which operate without clathrin and with different requirements when it comes to dynamin, small GTP-binding proteins of the Rho family and specific lipids. It should be noted that clathrin-independent endocytosis can occur even when the cholesterol level in the membrane has been reduced to so low levels that caveolae are gone and clathrin-coated membrane areas are flat. Although new investigators in the field take it for granted that there is a multitude of entry mechanisms, it has taken a long time for this to become accepted. However, more work needs to be done, because one can still ask the question: How many endocytic mechanisms does a cell have, what are their function, and how are they regulated? This article describes some of the history of endocytosis research and attempts to give an overview of the complexity of the mechanisms and their regulation.     

Membrane protein assembly: Rules of the game

Integral membrane proteins are found in all cellular membranes and fulfil many of the functions that are central to life. A critical step in the biosynthesis of membrane proteins is their insertion into the lipid bilayer. The mechanisms of membrane protein insertion and folding are becoming increasingly better understood, and efficient methods for the ab initio prediction of three-dimensional protein structure from the primary amino acid sequence may be within reach. Already, the basic tools needed for engineering and de novo design of integral membrane proteins seem to be at hand.     

Molecular regulations governing TREK and TRAAK channel functions

K+ channels with two-pore domain (K2p) form a large family of hyperpolarizing channels. They produce background currents that oppose membrane depolarization and cell excitability. They are involved in cellular mechanisms of apoptosis, vasodilatation, anesthesia, pain, neuroprotection and depression. This review focuses on TREK-1, TREK-2 and TRAAK channels subfamily and on the mechanisms that contribute to their molecular heterogeneity and functional regulations. Their molecular diversity is determined not only by the number of genes but also by alternative splicing and alternative initiation of translation. These channels are sensitive to a wide array of biophysical parameters that affect their activity such as unsaturated fatty acids, intra- and extracellular pH, membrane stretch, temperature, and intracellular signaling pathways. They interact with partner proteins that influence their activity and their plasma membrane expression. Molecular heterogeneity, regulatory mechanisms and protein partners are all expected to contribute to cell specific functions of TREK currents in many tissues.     

SDS-聚丙烯酰氨凝胶电泳与液质联用技术分离和鉴定小鼠巨噬细胞膜蛋白

用膜蛋白分离试剂盒提取巨噬细胞膜蛋白,然后用SDS-聚丙烯酰氨凝胶电泳进行分离。将每个泳道平均切成8份,合并两个泳道同样位置的胶条,分别进行胶内酶解。酶解得到的多肽经脱盐后进入毛细管反相柱进行反相分离,分离后的肽段直接进入电喷离子源质谱仪进行一级和二级质谱分析。质谱数据用SEQUEST软件对小鼠IPI蛋白数据库进行检索,得到一个含有1000多种蛋白的名单,其中包括458种经GOA注释的膜蛋白。对膜蛋白部分进一步分析发现,其中包括CD11b、TNF-a、F4/80、CD14、CD18、CD86、CD44、CD16、Toll样受体等已知表达在巨噬细胞表面的蛋白分子,还包括另外13种CD分子和18种Ras相关GTPase,除了这些已知蛋白之外,还鉴定出若干新蛋白分子,为进一步深入研究巨噬细胞生物学功能提供了目标分子。     

Mechanisms of protein import and routing in chloroplasts

The vast majority of the approximately 3000 different proteins required to build a fully functional chloroplast are encoded by the nuclear genome and translated on cytosolic ribosomes. As chloroplasts are each surrounded by a double-membrane system, or envelope, sophisticated mechanisms are necessary to mediate the import of these nucleus-encoded proteins into chloroplasts. Once inside the organelle, many chloroplast proteins engage one of four additional protein sorting mechanisms that direct targeting to the internal thylakoid membrane system.     

昆虫离子通道及其抗药性研究进展

昆虫细胞膜离子通道是多种杀虫剂的作用靶标,通道功能特性的变异等与害虫抗药性密切相关.电压钳及膜片钳等电生理技术在离子通道功能研究中具有独特优势,在杀虫剂作用机理及害虫抗性机理研究中越来越受到重视.昆虫细胞膜离子通道主要包括配体门控通道和电压门控通道两大类.配体门控通道主要包括乙酰胆碱受体、GABA和谷氨酸受体通道等.电压门控通道主要有钠、钾和钙通道等,其中钠通道研究成果较多,与害虫抗性关系密切.由于钙离子的重要生理功能,随着研究深入,钙通道将成为研究重点.     

A simple guide to biochemical approaches for analyzing protein-lipid interactions

Eukaryotic cells contain many different membrane compartments with characteristic shapes, lipid compositions, and dynamics. A large fraction of cytoplasmic proteins associate with these membrane compartments. Such protein-lipid interactions, which regulate the subcellular localizations and activities of peripheral membrane proteins, are fundamentally important for a variety of cell biological processes ranging from cytoskeletal dynamics and membrane trafficking to intracellular signaling. Reciprocally, many membrane-associated proteins can modulate the shape, lipid composition, and dynamics of cellular membranes. Determining the exact mechanisms by which these proteins interact with membranes will be essential to understanding their biological functions. In this Technical Perspective, we provide a brief introduction to selected biochemical methods that can be applied to study protein-lipid interactions. We also discuss how important it is to choose proper lipid composition, type of model membrane, and biochemical assay to obtain reliable and informative data from the lipid-interaction mechanism of a protein of interest.     

抗菌肽抑菌机制研究进展

抗菌肽是由各种无脊椎动物、植物和哺乳动物的组织、细胞产生的丰富且分子多样性的一类物质。它们的氨基酸组成、两亲性、阳离子电荷和它们的大小使它们能够粘附或插入到细胞膜中形成孔洞,也就形成所谓的＂木桶式＂、＂地毯式＂和＂环孔式＂的机制。主要介绍几种不同的诱导细菌孔洞形成、细胞死亡的模型及耐药机制。