Dataset Information

The Origin of Coupled Chloride and Proton Transport in a Cl-/H+ Antiporter.

ABSTRACT: The ClC family of transmembrane proteins functions throughout nature to control the transport of Cl- ions across biological membranes. ClC-ec1 from Escherichia coli is an antiporter, coupling the transport of Cl- and H+ ions in opposite directions and driven by the concentration gradients of the ions. Despite keen interest in this protein, the molecular mechanism of the Cl-/H+ coupling has not been fully elucidated. Here, we have used multiscale simulation to help identify the essential mechanism of the Cl-/H+ coupling. We find that the highest barrier for proton transport (PT) from the intra- to extracellular solution is attributable to a chemical reaction, the deprotonation of glutamic acid 148 (E148). This barrier is significantly reduced by the binding of Cl- in the "central" site (Cl-cen), which displaces E148 and thereby facilitates its deprotonation. Conversely, in the absence of Cl-cen E148 favors the "down" conformation, which results in a much higher cumulative rotation and deprotonation barrier that effectively blocks PT to the extracellular solution. Thus, the rotation of E148 plays a critical role in defining the Cl-/H+ coupling. As a control, we have also simulated PT in the ClC-ec1 E148A mutant to further understand the role of this residue. Replacement with a non-protonatable residue greatly increases the free energy barrier for PT from E203 to the extracellular solution, explaining the experimental result that PT in E148A is blocked whether or not Cl-cen is present. The results presented here suggest both how a chemical reaction can control the rate of PT and also how it can provide a mechanism for a coupling of the two ion transport processes.

SUBMITTER: Lee S

PROVIDER: S-EPMC5114699 | biostudies-literature | 2016 Nov

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Publications

The Origin of Coupled Chloride and Proton Transport in a Cl-/H+ Antiporter.

Lee Sangyun S Mayes Heather B HB Swanson Jessica M J JM Voth Gregory A GA

Journal of the American Chemical Society 20161108 45

The ClC family of transmembrane proteins functions throughout nature to control the transport of Cl- ions across biological membranes. ClC-ec1 from Escherichia coli is an antiporter, coupling the transport of Cl- and H+ ions in opposite directions and driven by the concentration gradients of the ions. Despite keen interest in this protein, the molecular mechanism of the Cl-/H+ coupling has not been fully elucidated. Here, we have used multis ...[more]

PMID: 27783900

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Project description:We performed steered molecular dynamics (SMD) and umbrella sampling simulations of Cl- ion migration through the transmembrane domain of a prototypical E. coli CLC Cl-/H+ antiporter by employing combined quantum-mechanical (QM) and molecular-mechanical (MM) calculations. The SMD simulations revealed interesting conformational changes of the protein. While no large-amplitude motions of the protein were observed during pore opening, the side chain rotation of the protonated external gating residue Glu148 was found to be critical for full access of the channel entrance by Cl-. Moving the anion into the external binding site (Sext) induced small-amplitude shifting of the protein backbone at the N-terminal end of helix F. As Cl- traveled through the pore, rigid-body swinging motions of helix R separated it from helix D. Helix R returned to its original position once Cl- exited the channel. Population analysis based on polarized wavefunction from QM/MM calculations discovered significant (up to 20%) charge loss for Cl- along the ion translocation pathway inside the pore. The delocalized charge was redistributed onto the pore residues, especially the functional groups containing π bonds (e.g., the Tyr445 side chain), while the charges of the H atoms coordinating Cl- changed almost negligibly. Potentials of mean force computed from umbrella sampling at the QM/MM and MM levels both displayed barriers at the same locations near the pore entrance and exit. However, the QM/MM PMF showed higher barriers (~10 kcal/mol) than the MM PMF (~2 kcal/mol). Binding energy calculations indicated that the interactions between Cl- and certain pore residues were overestimated by the semi-empirical PM3 Hamiltonian and underestimated by the CHARMM36 force fields, both of which were employed in the umbrella sampling simulations. In particular, CHARMM36 underestimated binding interactions for the functional groups containing π bonds, missing the stabilizations of the Cl- ion due to electron delocalization. The results suggested that it is important to explore these quantum effects for accurate descriptions of the Cl- transport.

Dataset Information

The Origin of Coupled Chloride and Proton Transport in a Cl-/H+ Antiporter.

Publications

The Origin of Coupled Chloride and Proton Transport in a Cl<sup>-</sup>/H<sup>+</sup> Antiporter.

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