Basic amino-acid side chains regulate transmembrane integrin signalling.
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ABSTRACT: Side chains of Lys/Arg near transmembrane domain (TMD) membrane-water interfaces can 'snorkel', placing their positive charge near negatively charged phospholipid head groups; however, snorkelling's functional effects are obscure. Integrin ? TMDs have such conserved basic amino acids. Here we use NMR spectroscopy to show that integrin ?(3)(Lys?716) helps determine ?(3) TMD topography. The ?(??b)?(3) TMD structure indicates that precise ?(3) TMD crossing angles enable the assembly of outer and inner membrane 'clasps' that hold the ?? TMD together to limit transmembrane signalling. Mutation of ?(3)(Lys?716) caused dissociation of ?(??b)?(3) TMDs and integrin activation. To confirm that altered topography of ?(3)(Lys?716) mutants activated ?(??b)?(3), we used directed evolution of ?(3)(K716A) to identify substitutions restoring default state. Introduction of Pro(711) at the midpoint of ?(3) TMD (A711P) increased ?(??b)?(3) TMD association and inactivated integrin ?(??b)?(3)(A711P,K716A). ?(3)(Pro?711) introduced a TMD kink of 30?±?1° precisely at the border of the outer and inner membrane clasps, thereby decoupling the tilt between these segments. Thus, widely occurring snorkelling residues in TMDs can help maintain TMD topography and membrane-embedding, thereby regulating transmembrane signalling.
SUBMITTER: Kim C
PROVIDER: S-EPMC3257387 | biostudies-literature | 2011 Dec
REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature
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