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Cholesterol-Mediated Clustering of the HIV Fusion Protein gp41 in Lipid Bilayers.
Tran, N, Oh, Y, Sutherland, M, Cui, Q, Hong, M
Journal of molecular biology. 2022;(2):167345
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Abstract
The envelope glycoprotein (Env) of the human immunodeficient virus (HIV-1) is known to cluster on the viral membrane surface to attach to target cells and cause membrane fusion for HIV-1 infection. However, the molecular structural mechanisms that drive Env clustering remain opaque. Here, we use solid-state NMR spectroscopy and molecular dynamics (MD) simulations to investigate nanometer-scale clustering of the membrane-proximal external region (MPER) and transmembrane domain (TMD) of gp41, the fusion protein component of Env. Using 19F solid-state NMR experiments of mixed fluorinated peptides, we show that MPER-TMD trimers form clusters with interdigitated MPER helices in cholesterol-containing membranes. Inter-trimer 19F-19F cross peaks, which are indicative of spatial contacts within ∼2 nm, are observed in cholesterol-rich virus-mimetic membranes but are suppressed in cholesterol-free model membranes. Water-peptide and lipid-peptide cross peaks in 2D 1H-19F correlation spectra indicate that the MPER is well embedded in model phosphocholine membranes but is more exposed to the surface of the virus-mimetic membrane. These experimental results are reproduced in coarse-grained and atomistic molecular dynamics simulations, which suggest that the effects of cholesterol on gp41 clustering is likely via indirect modulation of the MPER orientation. Cholesterol binding to the helix-turn-helix region of the MPER-TMD causes a parallel orientation of the MPER with the membrane surface, thus allowing MPERs of neighboring trimers to interact with each other to cause clustering. These solid-state NMR data and molecular dynamics simulations suggest that MPER and cholesterol cooperatively govern the clustering of gp41 trimers during virus-cell membrane fusion.
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Structure and dynamics of the drug-bound bacterial transporter EmrE in lipid bilayers.
Shcherbakov, AA, Hisao, G, Mandala, VS, Thomas, NE, Soltani, M, Salter, EA, Davis, JH, Henzler-Wildman, KA, Hong, M
Nature communications. 2021;(1):172
Abstract
The dimeric transporter, EmrE, effluxes polyaromatic cationic drugs in a proton-coupled manner to confer multidrug resistance in bacteria. Although the protein is known to adopt an antiparallel asymmetric topology, its high-resolution drug-bound structure is so far unknown, limiting our understanding of the molecular basis of promiscuous transport. Here we report an experimental structure of drug-bound EmrE in phospholipid bilayers, determined using 19F and 1H solid-state NMR and a fluorinated substrate, tetra(4-fluorophenyl) phosphonium (F4-TPP+). The drug-binding site, constrained by 214 protein-substrate distances, is dominated by aromatic residues such as W63 and Y60, but is sufficiently spacious for the tetrahedral drug to reorient at physiological temperature. F4-TPP+ lies closer to the proton-binding residue E14 in subunit A than in subunit B, explaining the asymmetric protonation of the protein. The structure gives insight into the molecular mechanism of multidrug recognition by EmrE and establishes the basis for future design of substrate inhibitors to combat antibiotic resistance.
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Functional Group Distributions, Partition Coefficients, and Resistance Factors in Lipid Bilayers Using Site Identification by Ligand Competitive Saturation.
Lind, C, Pandey, P, Pastor, RW, MacKerell, AD
Journal of chemical theory and computation. 2021;(5):3188-3202
Abstract
Small molecules such as metabolites and drugs must pass through the membrane of the cell, a barrier primarily comprising phospholipid bilayers and embedded proteins. To better understand the process of passive diffusion, knowledge of the ability of various functional groups to partition across bilayers and the associated energetics would be of utility. In the present study, the site identification by ligand competitive saturation (SILCS) methodology has been applied to sample the distributions of a diverse set of chemical solutes representing the functional groups of small molecules across phospholipid bilayers composed of 0.9:0.1 1-palmitoyl-2-oleoyl-sn-glycero-3-phosphocholine/cholesterol and a mixture of 0.52:0.18:0.3 1,2-dioleoyl-sn-glycero-3-phospho-l-serine/1,2-dioleoyl-sn-glycero-3-phosphocholine/cholesterol used in parallel artificial membrane permeability assay experiments. A combination of oscillating chemical potential grand canonical Monte Carlo and molecular dynamics in the SILCS simulations was applied to achieve solute sampling through the bilayers and surrounding aqueous environment from which the distribution of solutes and the functional groups they represent were obtained. Results show differential distribution of aliphatic versus aromatic groups with the former having increased sampling in the center of the bilayers versus in the region of the glycerol linker for the latter. Variations in the distribution of different polar groups are evident, with large differences between negative acetate and positive methylammonium with accumulation of the polar-neutral and acetate solutes above the bilayer head groups. Conversion of the distributions to absolute free energies allows for a detailed understanding of energetics of functional groups in different regions of the bilayers and for calculation of absolute free-energy profiles of multifunctional drug-like molecules across the bilayers from which partition coefficients and resistance factors suitable for insertion into the homogenous solubility-diffusion equation for calculation of permeability were obtained. Comparisons of the calculated bilayer/solution partition coefficients with 1-octanol/water experimental data for both drug-like molecules and the solutes show overall good agreement, validating the calculated distributions and associated absolute free-energy profiles.
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A certain proportion of docosahexaenoic acid tends to revert structural and dynamical effects of cholesterol on lipid membranes.
Pedroni, VI, Sierra, MB, Alarcón, LM, Verde, AR, Appignanesi, GA, Morini, MA
Biochimica et biophysica acta. Biomembranes. 2021;(6):183584
Abstract
This work investigates how docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) modifies the effect of Cholesterol (Chol) on the structural and dynamical properties of dipalmitoylphosphatidylcholine (DPPC) membrane. We employ low-cost and non-invasive methods: zeta potential (ZP), conductivity, density, and ultrasound velocity, complemented by molecular dynamics simulations. Our studies reveal that 30% of DHA added to the DPPC-Chol system tends to revert Chol action on a model lipid bilayer. Results obtained in this work shed light on the effect of polyunsaturated fatty acids - particularly DHA - on lipid membranes, with potential preventive applications in many diseases, e.g. neuronal as, Alzheimer's disease, and viral, as Covid-19.
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The Transporter-Mediated Cellular Uptake and Efflux of Pharmaceutical Drugs and Biotechnology Products: How and Why Phospholipid Bilayer Transport Is Negligible in Real Biomembranes.
Kell, DB
Molecules (Basel, Switzerland). 2021;(18)
Abstract
Over the years, my colleagues and I have come to realise that the likelihood of pharmaceutical drugs being able to diffuse through whatever unhindered phospholipid bilayer may exist in intact biological membranes in vivo is vanishingly low. This is because (i) most real biomembranes are mostly protein, not lipid, (ii) unlike purely lipid bilayers that can form transient aqueous channels, the high concentrations of proteins serve to stop such activity, (iii) natural evolution long ago selected against transport methods that just let any undesirable products enter a cell, (iv) transporters have now been identified for all kinds of molecules (even water) that were once thought not to require them, (v) many experiments show a massive variation in the uptake of drugs between different cells, tissues, and organisms, that cannot be explained if lipid bilayer transport is significant or if efflux were the only differentiator, and (vi) many experiments that manipulate the expression level of individual transporters as an independent variable demonstrate their role in drug and nutrient uptake (including in cytotoxicity or adverse drug reactions). This makes such transporters valuable both as a means of targeting drugs (not least anti-infectives) to selected cells or tissues and also as drug targets. The same considerations apply to the exploitation of substrate uptake and product efflux transporters in biotechnology. We are also beginning to recognise that transporters are more promiscuous, and antiporter activity is much more widespread, than had been realised, and that such processes are adaptive (i.e., were selected by natural evolution). The purpose of the present review is to summarise the above, and to rehearse and update readers on recent developments. These developments lead us to retain and indeed to strengthen our contention that for transmembrane pharmaceutical drug transport "phospholipid bilayer transport is negligible".
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Extension of the CAVS model to the simulation of helical peptides in a membrane environment.
Shen, H, Wu, Z, Lu, C
Physical chemistry chemical physics : PCCP. 2021;(22):12850-12863
Abstract
Considering the effect of peptide insertion on the dipole potential of the lipid membrane, we extend the CAVS coarse-grained (CG) model to the simulation of helical peptides in a membrane environment. In this approach, the CG scheme for a peptide backbone is similar to the treatment in the united-atom model, while we treated the side chain of an amino acid by grouping 1-3 heavy atoms into a CG unit. The CAVS CG force field for peptides is optimized by reproducing the experimental results for the backbone (φ, ψ) distribution and predicting the PMF profiles of transferring organic molecules in a lipid bilayer membrane obtained from all-atom simulations. The CAVS simulation of a helical peptide in a phosphatidylcholine (PC) lipid bilayer revealed that the insertion of a peptide increases the dipole potential of the PC lipid bilayer, in which the peptide and its neutralized ions make a significant contribution. Finally, we carried out the CAVS simulation for five different helical peptides in the PC lipid bilayer to explore the behavior of peptide tilt, showing excellent agreement with the all-atom simulations. Our work suggests that the peptide tilt should relieve the deformation stress from the lipid bilayer, and the peptide aggregation could reduce the peptide tilt by resisting the deformation stress from the surrounding lipids.
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Single-molecule fluorescence vistas of how lipids regulate membrane proteins.
Ward, AE, Ye, Y, Schuster, JA, Wei, S, Barrera, FN
Biochemical Society transactions. 2021;(4):1685-1694
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Abstract
The study of membrane proteins is undergoing a golden era, and we are gaining unprecedented knowledge on how this key group of proteins works. However, we still have only a basic understanding of how the chemical composition and the physical properties of lipid bilayers control the activity of membrane proteins. Single-molecule (SM) fluorescence methods can resolve sample heterogeneity, allowing to discriminate between the different molecular populations that biological systems often adopt. This short review highlights relevant examples of how SM fluorescence methodologies can illuminate the different ways in which lipids regulate the activity of membrane proteins. These studies are not limited to lipid molecules acting as ligands, but also consider how the physical properties of the bilayer can be determining factors on how membrane proteins function.
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Free Energy Calculations on the Water-Chain-Assisted and the Dehydration Mechanisms of Transmembrane Ion Permeation.
Guan, X, Wei, DQ, Hu, D
Journal of chemical theory and computation. 2020;(1):700-710
Abstract
Two permeation mechanisms, namely the water-chain-assisted mechanism and the dehydration mechanism, have been proposed for ions through lipid membranes. In previous studies, multiple reaction coordinates and potential of mean force calculations have been applied in studying such complex transmembrane processes of ions. To reduce the expensive computational cost, we develop two new reaction coordinates in our recent work and in this work to study the two permeation mechanisms. An intrinsically one-dimensional free energy calculation method developed in our recent work is successfully employed in these studies: First, one-dimensional umbrella samplings are performed using the two reaction coordinates. Then, bin segmentations are performed along the transition paths in multidimensional phase spaces. Finally, the weighted least-square analysis method (Welsam) is used for free energy analysis. Based on the new reaction coordinates and the one-dimensional free energy calculation method, we systematically study the two transmembrane permeation mechanisms of sodium ion and chloride ion through lipid bilayers with different thicknesses. Our results suggest that the water-chain-assisted mechanism is dominant for cations, whereas the dehydration mechanism is competitive for anions through thick membranes, which is consistent with previous experimental results.
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The energetics of protein-lipid interactions as viewed by molecular simulations.
Corey, RA, Stansfeld, PJ, Sansom, MSP
Biochemical Society transactions. 2020;(1):25-37
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Abstract
Membranes are formed from a bilayer containing diverse lipid species with which membrane proteins interact. Integral, membrane proteins are embedded in this bilayer, where they interact with lipids from their surroundings, whilst peripheral membrane proteins bind to lipids at the surface of membranes. Lipid interactions can influence the function of membrane proteins, either directly or allosterically. Both experimental (structural) and computational approaches can reveal lipid binding sites on membrane proteins. It is, therefore, important to understand the free energies of these interactions. This affords a more complete view of the engagement of a particular protein with the biological membrane surrounding it. Here, we describe many computational approaches currently in use for this purpose, including recent advances using both free energy and unbiased simulation methods. In particular, we focus on interactions of integral membrane proteins with cholesterol, and with anionic lipids such as phosphatidylinositol 4,5-bis-phosphate and cardiolipin. Peripheral membrane proteins are exemplified via interactions of PH domains with phosphoinositide-containing membranes. We summarise the current state of the field and provide an outlook on likely future directions of investigation.
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Heterodimer and pore formation of magainin 2 and PGLa: The anchoring and tilting of peptides in lipid bilayers.
Lee, H
Biochimica et biophysica acta. Biomembranes. 2020;(7):183305
Abstract
Mixtures of Magainin 2 and PGLa are simulated with 94 nm-sized bilayers composed of phospholipids and lyso-phospholipids for 3 μs using coarse-grained force fields. Calculation of the bilayer bending modulus shows that bilayers become more flexible in the presence of lyso-lipids or peptides, in agreement with experiments. Starting with the initial configuration of peptides randomly distributed on the bilayer surface, peptides aggregate, insert to the bilayer, and form pores. Aggregated peptides do not retain side-by-side heterodimeric structure but instead show the anchoring between C-terminal groups of magainin 2 and PGLa, which allows the deeper insertion of PGLa into the bilayer. In particular, due to the anchoring of magainin 2 and PGLa, the deeply inserted PGLa pull magainin 2 into contact with the edge of the opposite leaflet of the bilayer, which stabilizes the pore. In addition to these biophysical insights, anionic unsaturated-phospholipid bilayers are also simulated to mimic bacterial cell membranes, showing less extent of PGLa insertion and no pore formation. These simulation findings indicate that these synergistic heterodimers have the anchoring structure rather than the side-by-side structure, which supports the experimental observations suggesting the deeper insertion of PGLa and pore formation via the anchoring between anionic C-terminus of magainin 2 and cationic C-terminus of PGLa.