Project description:We show that salinixanthin, the light-harvesting carotenoid antenna of xanthorhodopsin, can be reconstituted into the retinal protein from Gloeobacter violaceus expressed in Escherichia coli. Reconstitution of gloeobacter rhodopsin with the carotenoid is accompanied by characteristic absorption changes and the appearance of CD bands similar to those observed for xanthorhodopsin that indicate immobilization and twist of the carotenoid in the binding site. As in xanthorhodopsin, the carotenoid functions as a light-harvesting antenna. The excitation spectrum for retinal fluorescence emission shows that ca. 36% of the energy absorbed by the carotenoid is transferred to the retinal. From excitation anisotropy, we calculate the angle between the two chromophores as being ca. 50 degrees , similar to that in xanthorhodopsin. The results indicate that gloeobacter rhodopsin binds salinixanthin in a manner similar to that of xanthorhodopsin and suggest that it might bind a carotenoid also in vivo. In the crystallographic structure of xanthorhodopsin, the conjugated chain of the carotenoid lies on the surface of helices E and F, and the 4-keto ring is immersed in the protein at van der Waals distance from the ionone ring of the retinal. The 4-keto ring is in the space occupied by a tryptophan in bacteriorhodopsin, which is replaced by the smaller glycine in xanthorhodopsin and gloeobacter rhodopsin. Specific binding of the carotenoid and its light-harvesting function are eliminated by a single mutation of the gloeobacter protein that replaces this glycine with a tryptophan. This indicates that the 4-keto ring is critically involved in carotenoid binding and suggests that a number of other recently identified retinal proteins, from a diverse group of organisms, could also contain carotenoid antenna since they carry the homologous glycine near the retinal.
Project description:Bupropion is an atypical antidepressant and smoking cessation drug that causes adverse effects such as insomnia, irritability, and anxiety. Bupropion inhibits dopamine and norepinephrine reuptake transporters and eukaryotic cation-conducting pentameric ligand-gated ion channels, such as nicotinic acetylcholine and serotonin type 3A receptors, at clinically relevant concentrations. Here, we demonstrate that bupropion also inhibits a prokaryotic homolog of pentameric ligand-gated ion channels, the Gloeobacter violaceus ligand-gated ion channel (GLIC). Using the GLIC as a model, we used molecular docking to predict binding sites for bupropion. Bupropion was found to bind to several sites within the transmembrane domain, with the predominant site being localized to the interface between transmembrane segments M1 and M3 of two adjacent subunits. Residues W213, T214, and W217 in the first transmembrane segment, M1, and F267 and I271 in the third transmembrane segment, M3, most frequently reside within a 4 Å distance from bupropion. We then used single amino acid substitutions at these positions and two-electrode voltage-clamp recordings to determine their impact on bupropion inhibitory effects. The substitution T214F alters bupropion potency by shifting the half-maximal inhibitory concentration to a 13-fold higher value compared to wild-type GLIC. Residue T214 is found within a previously identified binding pocket for neurosteroids and lipids in the GLIC. This intersubunit binding pocket is structurally conserved and almost identical to a binding pocket described for neurosteroids in γ-aminobutyric acid type A receptors. Our data thus suggest that the T214 that lines a previously identified lipophilic binding pocket in GLIC and γ-aminobutyric acid type A receptors is also a modulatory site for bupropion interaction with the GLIC.
Project description:Bupropion is an atypical antidepressant and smoking cessation drug which causes adverse effects such as insomnia, irritability, and anxiety. Bupropion inhibits dopamine and norepinephrine reuptake transporters and eukaryotic cation-conducting pentameric ligand-gated ion channels (pLGICs), such as nicotinic acetylcholine (nACh) and serotonin type 3A (5-HT3A) receptors, at clinically relevant concentrations. However, the binding sites and binding mechanisms of bupropion are still elusive. To further understand the inhibition of pLGICs by bupropion, in this work, using a prokaryotic homologue of pLGICs as a model, we examined the inhibitory potency of bupropion in Gloeobacter violaceus ligand-gated ion channel (GLIC), a proton-gated ion channel. Bupropion inhibited proton-induced currents in GLIC with an inhibitory potency of 14.9 ± 2.0 μM, comparable to clinically attainable concentrations previously shown to also modulate eukaryotic pLGICs. Using single amino acid substitutions in GLIC and two-electrode voltage-clamp recordings, we further determined a binding site for bupropion in the lower third of the first transmembrane segment M1 at residue T214. The sidechain of M1 T214 together with additional residues of M1 and also of M3 of the adjacent subunit have previously been shown to contribute to binding of other lipophilic molecules like allopregnanolone and pregnanolone.
Project description:Gloeobacter violaceus is a cyanobacteria species with a lack of thylakoids, while photosynthetic antennas, i.e., phycobilisomes (PBSs), photosystem II (PSII), and I (PSI), are located in the cytoplasmic membrane. We verified the hypothesis that blue-red (BR) light supplemented with a far-red (FR), ultraviolet A (UVA), and green (G) light can affect the photosynthetic electron transport chain in PSII and explain the differences in the growth of the G. violaceus culture. The cyanobacteria were cultured under different light conditions. The largest increase in G. violaceus biomass was observed only under BR + FR and BR + G light. Moreover, the shape of the G. violaceus cells was modified by the spectrum with the addition of G light. Furthermore, it was found that both the spectral composition of light and age of the cyanobacterial culture affect the different content of phycobiliproteins in the photosynthetic antennas (PBS). Most likely, in cells grown under light conditions with the addition of FR and G light, the average antenna size increased due to the inactivation of some reaction centers in PSII. Moreover, the role of PSI and gloeorhodopsin as supplementary sources of metabolic energy in the G. violaceus growth is discussed.
Project description:Cryoelectron microscopy and X-ray crystallography have recently been used to generate structural models that likely represent the unliganded closed-channel conformation and the fully liganded open-channel conformation of different members of the nicotinic-receptor superfamily. To characterize the structure of the closed-channel conformation in its liganded state, we identified a number of positions in the loop between transmembrane segments 2 (M2) and 3 (M3) of a proton-gated ortholog from the bacterium Gloeobacter violaceus (GLIC) where mutations to alanine reduce the liganded-gating equilibrium constant, and solved the crystal structures of two such mutants (T25'A and Y27'A) at pH ~4.0. At the level of backbone atoms, the liganded closed-channel model presented here differs from the liganded open-channel structure of GLIC in the pre-M1 linker, the M3-M4 loop, and much more prominently, in the extracellular half of the pore lining, where the more pronounced tilt of the closed-channel M2 ?-helices toward the pore's long axis narrows the permeation pathway. On the other hand, no differences between the liganded closed-channel and open-channel models could be detected at the level of the extracellular domain, where conformational changes are expected to underlie the low-to-high proton-affinity switch that drives gating of proton-bound channels. Thus, the liganded closed-channel model is nearly indistinguishable from the recently described "locally closed" structure. However, because cross-linking strategies (which could have stabilized unstable conformations) and mutations involving ionizable side chains (which could have affected proton-gated channel activation) were purposely avoided, we favor the notion that this structure represents one of the end states of liganded gating rather than an unstable intermediate.
Project description:Photosystem I (PSI) is a multi-subunit pigment-protein complex that functions in light-harvesting and photochemical charge-separation reactions, followed by reduction of NADP to NADPH required for CO2 fixation in photosynthetic organisms. PSI from different photosynthetic organisms has a variety of chlorophylls (Chls), some of which are at lower-energy levels than its reaction center P700, a special pair of Chls, and are called low-energy Chls. However, the sites of low-energy Chls are still under debate. Here, we solved a 2.04-Å resolution structure of a PSI trimer by cryo-electron microscopy from a primordial cyanobacterium Gloeobacter violaceus PCC 7421, which has no low-energy Chls. The structure shows the absence of some subunits commonly found in other cyanobacteria, confirming the primordial nature of this cyanobacterium. Comparison with the known structures of PSI from other cyanobacteria and eukaryotic organisms reveals that one dimeric and one trimeric Chls are lacking in the Gloeobacter PSI. The dimeric and trimeric Chls are named Low1 and Low2, respectively. Low2 is missing in some cyanobacterial and eukaryotic PSIs, whereas Low1 is absent only in Gloeobacter. These findings provide insights into not only the identity of low-energy Chls in PSI, but also the evolutionary changes of low-energy Chls in oxyphototrophs.
Project description:General anesthetics exert their effects on the central nervous system by acting on ion channels, most notably pentameric ligand-gated ion channels. Although numerous studies have focused on pentameric ligand-gated ion channels, the details of anesthetic binding and channel modulation are still debated. A better understanding of the anesthetic mechanism of action is necessary for the development of safer and more efficacious drugs. Herein, we present a computational study identifying two anesthetic binding sites in the transmembrane domain of the Gloeobacter violaceus ligand-gated ion channel (GLIC) channel, characterize the putative binding pathway, and observe structural changes associated with channel function. Molecular simulations of desflurane reveal a binding pathway to GLIC via a membrane-embedded tunnel using an intrasubunit protein lumen as the conduit, an observation that explains the Meyer-Overton hypothesis, or why the lipophilicity of an anesthetic and its potency are generally proportional. Moreover, employing high concentrations of ligand led to the identification of a second transmembrane site (TM2) that inhibits dissociation of anesthetic from the TM1 site and is consistent with the high concentrations of anesthetics required to achieve clinical effects. Finally, asymmetric binding patterns of anesthetic to the channel were found to promote an iris-like conformational change that constricts and dehydrates the ion pore, creating a 13.5 kcal/mol barrier to ion translocation. Together with previous studies, the simulations presented herein demonstrate a novel anesthetic binding site in GLIC that is accessed through a membrane-embedded tunnel and interacts with a previously known site, resulting in conformational changes that produce a non-conductive state of the channel.
Project description:Gloeobacter violaceus ligand-gated ion channel (GLIC) has served as a valuable structural and functional model for the eukaryotic Cys-loop receptor superfamily. In Cys-loop and other receptors, we have previously demonstrated the crucial roles played by several conserved prolines. Here we explore the role of prolines in the gating transitions of GLIC. As conventional substitutions at some positions resulted in nonfunctional proteins, we used in vivo non-canonical amino acid mutagenesis to determine the specific structural requirements at these sites. Receptors were expressed heterologously in Xenopus laevis oocytes, and whole-cell electrophysiology was used to monitor channel activity. Pro-119 in the Cys-loop, Pro-198 and Pro-203 in the M1 helix, and Pro-299 in the M4 helix were sensitive to substitution, and distinct roles in receptor activity were revealed for each. In the context of the available structural data for GLIC, the behaviors of Pro-119, Pro-203, and Pro-299 mutants are consistent with earlier proline mutagenesis work. However, the Pro-198 site displays a unique phenotype that gives evidence of the importance of the region surrounding this residue for the correct functioning of GLIC.
Project description:GLIC is a homopentameric proton-gated, prokaryotic homologue of the Cys loop receptor family of neurotransmitter-gated ion channels. Recently, crystal structures of GLIC hypothesized to represent an open channel state were published. To explore the channel structure in functional GLIC channels, we tested the ability of p-chloromercuribenzenesulfonate to react with 30 individual cysteine substitution mutants in and flanking the M2 channel-lining segment in the closed state (pH 7.5) and in a submaximally activated state (pH 5.0). Nine mutants did not tolerate cysteine substitution and were not functional. From positions 10' to 27', p-chloromercuribenzenesulfonate significantly modified the currents at pH 7.5 and 5.0 in all mutants except H234C (11'), I235C (12'), V241C (18'), T243C (20'), L245C (22'), and Y250C (27'), which were not functional, except for 12'. Currents for P246C (23') and K247C (24') were only significantly altered at pH 5.0. The reaction rates were all >1000 m(-1) s(-1). The reactive residues were more accessible in the activated than in the resting state. We infer that M2 is tightly associated with the adjacent transmembrane helices at the intracellular end but is more loosely packed from 10' to the extracellular end than the x-ray structures suggest. We infer that the charge selectivity filter is in the cytoplasmic half of the channel. We also show that below pH 5.0, GLIC desensitizes on a time scale of minutes and infer that the crystal structures may represent a desensitized state.