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Molecular dynamics simulations suggest a mechanism for translocation of the HIV-1 TAT peptide across lipid membranes.

ABSTRACT: The recombinant HIV-1 Tat protein contains a small region corresponding to residues (47)YGRKKRRQRR(57)R, which is capable of translocating cargoes of different molecular sizes, such as proteins, DNA, RNA, or drugs, across the cell membrane in an apparently energy-independent manner. The pathway that these peptides follow for entry into the cell has been the subject of strong controversy for the last decade. This peptide is highly basic and hydrophilic. Therefore, a central question that any candidate mechanism has to answer is how this highly hydrophilic peptide is able to cross the hydrophobic barrier imposed by the cell membrane. We propose a mechanism for the spontaneous translocation of the Tat peptides across a lipid membrane. This mechanism involves strong interactions between the Tat peptides and the phosphate groups on both sides of the lipid bilayer, the insertion of charged side chains that nucleate the formation of a transient pore, followed by the translocation of the Tat peptides by diffusing on the pore surface. This mechanism explains how key ingredients, such as the cooperativity among the peptides, the large positive charge, and specifically the arginine amino acids, contribute to the uptake. The proposed mechanism also illustrates the importance of membrane fluctuations. Indeed, mechanisms that involve large fluctuations of the membrane structure, such as transient pores and the insertion of charged amino acid side chains, may be common and perhaps central to the functions of many membrane protein functions.

SUBMITTER: Herce HD

PROVIDER: S-EPMC2409222 | biostudies-literature |

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Project description:The processive cycle of the bacterial cellulose synthase (Bcs) includes the addition of a single glucose moiety to the end of a growing cellulose chain followed by the translocation of the nascent chain across the plasma membrane. The mechanism of this translocation and its precise location within the processive cycle are not well understood. In particular, the molecular details of how a polymer (cellulose) whose basic structural unit is a dimer (cellobiose) can be constructed by adding one monomer (glucose) at a time are yet to be elucidated. Here, we have utilized molecular dynamics simulations and free energy calculations to the shed light on these questions. We find that translocation forward by one glucose unit is quite favorable energetically, giving a free energy stabilization of greater than 10 kcal/mol. In addition, there is only a small barrier to translocation, implying that translocation is not rate limiting within the Bcs processive cycle (given experimental rates for cellulose synthesis in vitro). Perhaps most significantly, our results also indicate that steric constraints at the transmembrane tunnel entrance regulate the dimeric structure of cellulose. Namely, when a glucose molecule is added to the cellulose chain in the same orientation as the acceptor glucose, the terminal glucose freely rotates upon forward motion, thus suggesting a regulatory mechanism for the dimeric structure of cellulose. We characterize both the conserved and non-conserved enzyme-polysaccharide interactions that drive translocation, and find that 20 of the 25 residues that strongly interact with the translocating cellulose chain in the simulations are well conserved, mostly with polar or aromatic side chains. Our results also allow for a dynamical analysis of the role of the so-called `finger helix' in cellulose translocation that has been observed structurally. Taken together, these findings aid in the elucidation of the translocation steps of the Bcs processive cycle and may be widely relevant to polysaccharide synthesizing or degrading enzymes that couple catalysis with chain translocation.

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Molecular dynamics simulations suggest a mechanism for translocation of the HIV-1 TAT peptide across lipid membranes.

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