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Probing the spontaneous membrane insertion of a tail-anchored membrane protein by sum frequency generation spectroscopy.

ABSTRACT: In addition to providing a semipermeable barrier that protects a cell from harmful stimuli, lipid membranes occupy a central role in hosting a variety of biological processes, including cellular communications and membrane protein functions. Most importantly, protein-membrane interactions are implicated in a variety of diseases and therefore many analytical techniques were developed to study the basis of these interactions and their influence on the molecular architecture of the cell membrane. In this study, sum frequency generation (SFG) vibrational spectroscopy is used to investigate the spontaneous membrane insertion process of cytochrome b(5) and its mutants. Experimental results show a significant difference in the membrane insertion and orientation properties of these proteins, which can be correlated with their functional differences. In particular, our results correlate the nonfunctional property of a mutant cytochrome b(5) with its inability to insert into the lipid bilayer. The approach reported in this study could be used as a potential rapid screening tool in measuring the topology of membrane proteins as well as interactions of biomolecules with lipid bilayers in situ.

SUBMITTER: Nguyen KT

PROVIDER: S-EPMC2965819 | biostudies-literature | 2010 Nov

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Probing the spontaneous membrane insertion of a tail-anchored membrane protein by sum frequency generation spectroscopy.

Nguyen Khoi Tan KT Soong Ronald R Lm Sang-Choul SC Waskell Lucy L Ramamoorthy Ayyalusamy A Chen Zhan Z

Journal of the American Chemical Society 20101101 43

In addition to providing a semipermeable barrier that protects a cell from harmful stimuli, lipid membranes occupy a central role in hosting a variety of biological processes, including cellular communications and membrane protein functions. Most importantly, protein-membrane interactions are implicated in a variety of diseases and therefore many analytical techniques were developed to study the basis of these interactions and their influence on the molecular architecture of the cell membrane. I ...[more]

PMID: 20932011

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Project description:The ability to orient active proteins on surfaces is a critical aspect of many medical technologies. An important related challenge is characterizing protein orientation in these surface films. This study uses a combination of time-of-flight secondary ion mass spectrometry (ToF-SIMS), sum frequency generation (SFG) vibrational spectroscopy, and near-edge X-ray absorption fine structure (NEXAFS) spectroscopy to characterize the orientation of surface-immobilized Protein G B1, a rigid 6 kDa domain that binds the Fc fragment of IgG. Two Protein G B1 variants with a single cysteine introduced at either end were immobilized via the cysteine thiol onto maleimide-oligo(ethylene glycol)-functionalized gold and bare gold substrates. X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy was used to measure the amount of immobilized protein, and ToF-SIMS was used to measure the amino acid composition of the exposed surface of the protein films and to confirm covalent attachment of protein thiol to the substrate maleimide groups. SFG and NEXAFS were used to characterize the ordering and orientation of peptide or side chain bonds. On both substrates and for both cysteine positions, ToF-SIMS data showed enrichment of mass peaks from amino acids located at the end of the protein opposite to the cysteine surface position as compared with nonspecifically immobilized protein, indicating end-on protein orientations. Orientation on the maleimide substrate was enhanced by increasing pH (7.0-9.5) and salt concentration (0-1.5 M NaCl). SFG spectral peaks characteristic of ordered ?-helix and ?-sheet elements were observed for both variants but not for cysteine-free wild type protein on the maleimide surface. The phase of the ?-helix and ?-sheet peaks indicated a predominantly upright orientation for both variants, consistent with an end-on protein binding configuration. Polarization dependence of the NEXAFS signal from the N 1s to ?* transition of ?-sheet peptide bonds also indicated protein ordering, with an estimated tilt angle of inner ?-strands of 40-50° for both variants (one variant more tilted than the other), consistent with SFG results. The combined results demonstrate the power of using complementary techniques to probe protein orientation on surfaces.

Dataset Information

Probing the spontaneous membrane insertion of a tail-anchored membrane protein by sum frequency generation spectroscopy.

Publications

Probing the spontaneous membrane insertion of a tail-anchored membrane protein by sum frequency generation spectroscopy.

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