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C(alpha)-trace model of the transmembrane domain of human copper transporter 1, motion and functional implications.

ABSTRACT: The trimeric human copper transporter 1 (hCTR1) is essential for copper uptake and is implicated in sensitivity to chemotherapy drugs. Using the cryoelectron microscopy (cryoEM) map of hCTR1 and evolutionary data, we constructed a Calpha-trace model of the membrane region. The model structure, supported by mutagenesis data, was used to investigate global dynamics through elastic network models. Identified as dominant hinge regions, hCTR1's MxxxM and GxxxG motifs were shown to have significant roles in functional movements characterized by the two slowest modes of motion. Both modes predicted significant changes at the wide cytoplasmic pore region; the slowest mode introduced a rotational motion around the pore central axis, whereas in the following mode the cytoplasmic parts of the helices approached and moved away from the pore center. In the most cooperative mode, the MxxxM motif in the extracellular narrow region remained static. The second mode of motion, however, predicted a cooperative rotational motion of this copper-binding motif, possibly reflecting activation at the pore's extracellular entrance. We suggest a molecular mechanism of copper transport in which this motif serves both as a gate and as a selectivity filter. We also suggest residues that are responsible for pH activation.

SUBMITTER: Schushan M

PROVIDER: S-EPMC2890728 | biostudies-literature | 2010 Jun

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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C(alpha)-trace model of the transmembrane domain of human copper transporter 1, motion and functional implications.

Schushan Maya M Barkan Yariv Y Haliloglu Turkan T Ben-Tal Nir N

Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America 20100601 24

The trimeric human copper transporter 1 (hCTR1) is essential for copper uptake and is implicated in sensitivity to chemotherapy drugs. Using the cryoelectron microscopy (cryoEM) map of hCTR1 and evolutionary data, we constructed a Calpha-trace model of the membrane region. The model structure, supported by mutagenesis data, was used to investigate global dynamics through elastic network models. Identified as dominant hinge regions, hCTR1's MxxxM and GxxxG motifs were shown to have significant ro ...[more]

PMID: 20534491

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Project description:Divalent-metal transporter 1 (DMT1) is involved in the intestinal iron absorption and in iron transport in the transferrin cycle. It transports metal ions at low pH ( approximately 5.5), but not at high pH (7.4), and the transport is a proton-coupled process. Previously it has been shown that transmembrane domain 4 (TM4) is crucial for the function of this protein. Here we provide the first direct experimental evidence for secondary-structural features and membrane insertions of a 24-residue peptide, corresponding to TM4 of DMT1 (DMTI-TM4), in various membrane-mimicking environments by the combined use of CD and NMR spectroscopies. The peptide mainly adopts an alpha-helical structure in trifluoroethanol, SDS and dodecylphosphocholine micelles, and dimyristoyl phosphatidylcholine and dimyristoyl phosphatidylglycerol small unilamellar vesicles. It has been demonstrated from both Halpha secondary shifts and nuclear-Overhauser-enhancement (NOE) connectivities that the peptide is well folded into an alpha-helix from Val(8) to Lys(23) in SDS micelles at pH 4.0, whereas the N-terminus is highly flexible. The alpha-helical content estimated from NMR data is in agreement with that extracted from CD simulations. The highest helicity was observed in the anionic phospholipids [1,2-dimyristoyl- sn -glycero-3-[phospho-rac -(1-glycerol)]], indicating that electrostatic attraction is important for peptide binding and insertion into the membranes. The secondary-structural transition of the peptide occurred at pH 4.3 in the 2,2,2-trifluoroethanol (TFE) water mixed solvent, whereas at a higher pH value (5.6) in SDS micelles, DMT1-TM4 exhibited a more stable structure in SDS micelles than that in TFE in terms of changing the pH and temperature. PAGE did not show high-molecular-mass aggregates in SDS micelles. The position of the peptide relative to SDS micelles was probed by the effects of 5- and 16-doxylstearic acids on the intensities of the peptide proton resonances. The results showed that the majority of the peptide is inserted into the hydrophobic interior of SDS micelles, whereas the C-terminal residues are surface-exposed. The ability of DMT1-TM4 to assume transmembrane features may be crucial for its biological function in vivo.

Dataset Information

C(alpha)-trace model of the transmembrane domain of human copper transporter 1, motion and functional implications.

Publications

C(alpha)-trace model of the transmembrane domain of human copper transporter 1, motion and functional implications.

Similar Datasets

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