The hydrophobic domains in the carboxyl-terminal signal for GPI modification and in the amino-terminal leader peptide have similar structural requirements

Structures of liganded glycosylphosphatidylinositol transamidase illuminate GPI-AP biogenesis

Many eukaryotic receptors and enzymes rely on glycosylphosphatidylinositol (GPI) anchors for membrane localization and function. The transmembrane complex GPI-T recognizes diverse proproteins at a signal peptide region that lacks consensus sequence and replaces it with GPI via a transamidation reaction. How GPI-T maintains broad specificity while preventing unintentional cleavage is unclear. Here, substrates- and products-bound human GPI-T structures identify subsite features that enable broad proprotein specificity, inform catalytic mechanism, and reveal a multilevel safeguard mechanism against its promiscuity. In the absence of proproteins, the catalytic site is invaded by a locally stabilized loop. Activation requires energetically unfavorable rearrangements that transform the autoinhibitory loop into crucial catalytic cleft elements. Enzyme-proprotein binding in the transmembrane and luminal domains respectively powers the conformational rearrangement and induces a competent cleft. GPI-T thus integrates various weak specificity regions to form strong selectivity and prevent accidental activation. These findings provide important mechanistic insights into GPI-anchored protein biogenesis.

Lynx Prototoxins: Roles of Endogenous Mammalian Neurotoxin-Like Proteins in Modulating Nicotinic Acetylcholine Receptor Function to Influence Complex Biological Processes

The cholinergic system modulates many biological functions, due to the widespread distribution of cholinergic neuronal terminals, and the diffuse release of its neurotransmitter, acetylcholine. Several layers of regulation help to refine and control the scope of this excitatory neurotransmitter system. One such regulatory mechanism is imparted through endogenous toxin-like proteins, prototoxins, which largely control the function of nicotinic receptors of the cholinergic system. Prototoxins and neurotoxins share the distinct three finger toxin fold, highly effective as a receptor binding protein, and the former are expressed in the mammalian brain, immune system, epithelium, etc. Prototoxins and elapid snake neurotoxins appear to be related through gene duplication and divergence from a common ancestral gene. Protein modulators can provide a graded response of the cholinergic system, and within the brain, stabilize neural circuitry through direct interaction with nicotinic receptors. Understanding the roles of each prototoxin (e.g., lynx1, lynx2/lypd1, PSCA, SLURP1, SLURP2, Lypd6, lypd6b, lypdg6e, PATE-M, PATE-B, etc.), their binding specificity and unique expression profile, has the potential to uncover many fascinating cholinergic-dependent mechanisms in the brain. Each family member can provide a spatially restricted level of control over nAChR function based on its expression in the brain. Due to the difficulty in the pharmacological targeting of nicotinic receptors in the brain as a result of widespread expression patterns and similarities in receptor sequences, unique interfaces between prototoxin and nicotinic receptor could provide more specific targeting than nicotinic receptors alone. As such, this family is intriguing from a long-term therapeutic perspective.

Folate-linked drugs for the treatment of cancer and inflammatory diseases

Folic acid, also known as vitamin B9 (Fig. 9.1), is an essential co-enzyme in one-carbon metabolism pathways, including the biosynthesis of nucleotides (i.e. purines, thymidine) and several amino acids. In general, two functionally different systems mediate the cellular uptake of folate: (1) the reduced folate carrier (RFC, Kd ∼ 10-6 M), an anion transporter that delivers folates across the plasma membrane in a bidirectional fashion, and (2) the folate receptor (FR, Kd ∼ 10-10 M), which internalizes folate through active receptor-mediated endocytosis. The RFC, a membrane-spanning anion transporter, is present in virtually all tissues and is responsible for the majority of folate transport in and out of cells. In contrast, FR expression is largely restricted to malignant cells, activated macrophages, and the proximal tubule cells of the kidneys. Because a variety of important diseases are caused by the former two cell types, interest in exploiting FR for drug targeting applications has rapidly increased. And achievement of this targeting objective, primarily through conjugation of drugs to folic acid is believed to enable (1) enhanced net drug uptake by pathologic cells, and more importantly (2) reduction in drug deposition into non-pathologic cells, thereby mitigating collateral toxicity to normal tissues.

A network of cytosolic factors targets SRP-independent proteins to the endoplasmic reticulum

Translocation into the endoplasmic reticulum (ER) is an initial and crucial biogenesis step for all secreted and endomembrane proteins in eukaryotes. ER insertion can take place through the well-characterized signal recognition particle (SRP)-dependent pathway or the less-studied route of SRP-independent translocation. To better understand the prevalence of the SRP-independent pathway, we systematically defined the translocational dependence of the yeast secretome. By combining hydropathy-based analysis and microscopy, we uncovered that a previously unappreciated fraction of the yeast secretome translocates without the aid of the SRP. Furthermore, we validated a family of SRP-independent substrates-the glycosylphosphatidylinositol (GPI)-anchored proteins. Studying this family, we identified a determinant for ER targeting and uncovered a network of cytosolic proteins that facilitate SRP-independent targeting and translocation. These findings highlight the underappreciated complexity of SRP-independent translocation, which enables this pathway to efficiently cope with its extensive substrate flux.

Efficient glycosylphosphatidylinositol (GPI) modification of membrane proteins requires a C-terminal anchoring signal of marginal hydrophobicity

Many plasma membrane proteins are anchored to the membrane via a C-terminal glycosylphosphatidylinositol (GPI) moiety. The GPI anchor is attached to the protein in the endoplasmic reticulum by transamidation, a reaction in which a C-terminal GPI-attachment signal is cleaved off concomitantly with addition of the GPI moiety. GPI-attachment signals are poorly conserved on the sequence level but are all composed of a polar segment that includes the GPI-attachment site followed by a hydrophobic segment located at the very C terminus of the protein. Here, we show that efficient GPI modification requires that the hydrophobicity of the C-terminal segment is "marginal": less hydrophobic than type II transmembrane anchors and more hydrophobic than the most hydrophobic segments found in secreted proteins. We further show that the GPI-attachment signal can be modified by the transamidase irrespective of whether it is first released into the lumen of the endoplasmic reticulum or is retained in the endoplasmic reticulum membrane.

GPIHBP1 C89F neomutation and hydrophobic C-terminal domain G175R mutation in two pedigrees with severe hyperchylomicronemia

CONTEXT

GPIHBP1 is a new endothelial binding site for lipoprotein lipase (LPL), the key enzyme for intravascular lipolysis of triglyceride-rich lipoproteins (TGRL). We have identified two new missense mutations of the GPIHBP1 gene, C89F and G175R, by systematic sequencing in a cohort of 376 hyperchylomicronemic patients without mutations on the LPL, APOC2, or APOA5 gene.

OBJECTIVE

Phenotypic expression and functional consequences of these two mutations were studied.

DESIGN

We performed clinical and genotypic studies of probands and their families. GPIHBP1 functional alterations were studied in CHO pgsA-745 transfected cells.

RESULTS

Probands are an adult with a homozygous G175R mutation and a child with a hemizygous C89F neomutation and a deletion of the second allele. C89F mutation was associated with a C14F signal peptide polymorphism on the same haplotype. Both patients had resistant hyperchylomicronemia, low LPL activity, and history of acute pancreatitis. In CHO pgsA-745 cells, both G175R and C14F variants reduce the expression of GPIHBP1 at the cell surface. C89F mutation is responsible for a drastic LPL-binding defect to GPIHBP1. C14F may further potentiate C89F effect.

CONCLUSIONS

The emergence of hyperchylomicronemia in the generation after a neomutation further establishes a critical role for GPIHBP1 in TGRL physiopathology in humans. Our results highlight the crucial role of C65-C89 disulfide bond in LPL binding by GPIHBP1 Ly6 domain. Furthermore, we first report a mutation of the hydrophobic C-terminal domain that impairs GPIHBP1 membrane targeting.

Testisin, a Glycosyl-Phosphatidylinositol–Linked Serine Protease, Promotes Malignant Transformation In vitro and In vivo

Human testisin, a serine protease, is highly expressed in ovarian cancer and premeiotic spermatocytes with relatively little expression in other normal tissues. We first showed that testisin was localized on the surface of cultured tumor cells as a glycosyl-phosphatidylinositol–linked protein. We next explored the biological function of testisin in malignant transformation through manipulation of testisin expression in cell culture model systems. Small interfering RNA–mediated knockdown of endogenous testisin mRNA and protein expression in tumor cell lines led to increased apoptosis and diminished growth in soft agar. Conversely, overexpression of testisin in an epithelial cell line induced colony formation in soft agar as well as s.c. tumor growth in severe combined immunodeficient mice. A catalytic domain mutant was unable to induce soft-agar growth indicating that testisin protease activity is required for transformation. Ectopic expression of testisin in a human ovarian cancer cell line without endogenous testisin expression, led to the formation of larger tumors in severe combined immunodeficient mice. Data presented here provide the first demonstration that testisin can promote cellular processes that drive malignant transformation. Our functional data coupled with the restricted normal tissue distribution of testisin and its overexpression in a majority of ovarian cancers validates this cell surface protein as a target for therapeutic intervention.

Mutant prion protein-mediated aggregation of normal prion protein in the endoplasmic reticulum: implications for prion propagation and neurotoxicity

Familial prion disorders are believed to result from spontaneous conversion of mutant prion protein (PrPM) to the pathogenic isoform (PrPSc). While most familial cases are heterozygous and thus express the normal (PrPC) and mutant alleles of PrP, the role of PrPC in the pathogenic process is unclear. Plaques from affected cases reveal a heterogeneous picture; in some cases only PrPM is detected, whereas in others both PrPC and PrPM are transformed to PrPSc. To understand if the coaggregation of PrPC is governed by PrP mutations or is a consequence of the cellular compartment of PrPM aggregation, we coexpressed PrPM and PrPC in neuroblastoma cells, the latter tagged with green fluorescent protein (PrPC-GFP) for differentiation. Two PrPM forms (PrP231T, PrP217R/231T) that aggregate spontaneously in the endoplasmic reticulum (ER) were generated for this analysis. We report that PrPC-GFP aggregates when coexpressed with PrP231T or PrP217R/231T, regardless of sequence homology between the interacting forms. Furthermore, intracellular aggregates of PrP231T induce the accumulation of a C-terminal fragment of PrP, most likely derived from a potentially neurotoxic transmembrane form of PrP (CtmPrP) in the ER. These findings have implications for prion pathogenesis in familial prion disorders, especially in cases where transport of PrPM from the ER is blocked by the cellular quality control.

Structural requirements for the recruitment of Gaa1 into a functional glycosylphosphatidylinositol transamidase complex

Glycosylphosphatidylinositol (GPI)-anchored proteins are synthesized on membrane-bound ribosomes, translocated across the endoplasmic reticulum membrane, and GPI-anchored by GPI transamidase (GPIT). GPIT is a minimally heterotetrameric membrane protein complex composed of Gaa1, Gpi8, PIG-S and PIG-T. We describe structure-function analyses of Gaa1, the most hydrophobic of the GPIT subunits, with the aim of assigning a functional role to the different sequence domains of the protein. We generated epitope-tagged Gaa1 mutants and analyzed their membrane topology, subcellular distribution, complex-forming capability, and ability to restore GPIT activity in Gaa1-deficient cells. We show that (i) detergent-extracted, Gaa1-containing GPIT complexes sediment unexpectedly rapidly at approximately 17 S, (ii) Gaa1 is an endoplasmic reticulum-localized membrane glycoprotein with a cytoplasmically oriented N terminus and a lumenally oriented C terminus, (iii) elimination of C-terminal transmembrane segments allows Gaa1 to interact with other GPIT subunits but renders the resulting GPIT complex nonfunctional, (iv) interaction between Gaa1 and other GPIT subunits occurs via the large lumenal domain of Gaa1 located between the first and second transmembrane segments, and (v) the cytoplasmic N terminus of Gaa1 is not required for formation of a functional GPIT complex but may act as a membrane-sorting determinant directing Gaa1 and associated GPIT subunits to an endoplasmic reticulum membrane domain.

The Arabidopsis SKU5 gene encodes an extracellular glycosyl phosphatidylinositol-anchored glycoprotein involved in directional root growth

To investigate how roots respond to directional cues, we characterized a T-DNA-tagged Arabidopsis mutant named sku5 in which the roots skewed and looped away from the normal downward direction of growth on inclined agar surfaces. sku5 roots and etiolated hypocotyls were slightly shorter than normal and exhibited a counterclockwise (left-handed) axial rotation bias. The surface-dependent skewing phenotype disappeared when the roots penetrated the agar surface, but the axial rotation defect persisted, revealing that these two directional growth processes are separable. The SKU5 gene belongs to a 19-member gene family designated SKS (SKU5 Similar) that is related structurally to the multiple-copper oxidases ascorbate oxidase and laccase. However, the SKS proteins lack several of the conserved copper binding motifs characteristic of copper oxidases, and no enzymatic function could be assigned to the SKU5 protein. Analysis of plants expressing SKU5 reporter constructs and protein gel blot analysis showed that SKU5 was expressed most strongly in expanding tissues. SKU5 was glycosylated and modified by glycosyl phosphatidylinositol and localized to both the plasma membrane and the cell wall. Our observations suggest that SKU5 affects two directional growth processes, possibly by participating in cell wall expansion.

Early events in glycosylphosphatidylinositol anchor addition. substrate proteins associate with the transamidase subunit gpi8p

The addition of glycosylphosphatidylinositol (GPI) anchors to proteins occurs by a transamidase-catalyzed reaction mechanism soon after completion of polypeptide synthesis and translocation. We show that placental alkaline phosphatase becomes efficiently GPI-anchored when translated in the presence of semipermeabilized K562 cells but is not GPI-anchored in cell lines defective in the transamidase subunit hGpi8p. By studying the synthesis of placental alkaline phosphatase, we demonstrate that folding of the protein is not influenced by the addition of a GPI anchor and conversely that GPI anchor addition does not require protein folding. These results demonstrate that folding of the ectodomain and GPI addition are two distinct processes and can be mutually exclusive. When GPI addition is prevented, either by synthesis of the protein in the presence of cell lines defective in GPI addition or by mutation of the GPI carboxyl-terminal signal sequence cleavage site, the substrate forms a prolonged association with the transamidase subunit hGpi8p. The ability of the transamidase to recognize and associate with GPI anchor signal sequences provides an explanation for the retention of GPI-anchored protein within the ER in the absence of GPI anchor addition.

Endoplasmic reticulum proteins involved in glycosylphosphatidylinositol-anchor attachment: photocrosslinking studies in a cell-free system

Assembly of glycosylphosphatidylinositol (GPtdIns)-anchored proteins requires translocation of the nascent polypeptide chain across the endoplasmic reticulum (ER) membrane and replacement of the C-terminal signal sequence with a GPtdIns moiety. The anchoring reaction is carried out by an ER enzyme, GPtdIns transamidase. Genetic studies with yeast indicate that the transamidase consists of a dynamic complex of at least two subunits, Gaa1p and Gpi8p. To study the GPtdIns-anchoring reaction, we used a small reporter protein that becomes GPtdIns-anchored when the corresponding mRNA is translated in the presence of microsomes, in conjunction with site-specific photocrosslinking to identify ER membrane components that are proximal to the reporter during its conversion to a GPtdIns-anchored protein. We generated variants of the reporter protein such that upon in vitro translation in the presence of Nepsilon-(5-azido-2-nitrobenzoyl)-lysyl-tRNA, photoreactive lysine residues would be incorporated in the protein specifically near the GPtdIns-attachment site. We analyzed photoadducts resulting from UV irradiation of the samples. We show that proproteins can be crosslinked to the transamidase subunit Gpi8p, as well as to ER proteins of molecular mass approximately 60 kDa, approximately 70 kDa, and approximately 120 kDa. The identification of a photoadduct between a proprotein and Gpi8p provides the first direct evidence of an interaction between a proprotein substrate and one of the genetically identified transamidase subunits. The approximately 70-kDa protein that we identified may correspond to the other subunit Gaa1p, while the other proteins possibly represent additional, hitherto unidentified subunits of the mammalian GPtdIns transamidase complex.

Gaa1p and gpi8p are components of a glycosylphosphatidylinositol (GPI) transamidase that mediates attachment of GPI to proteins

Many eukaryotic cell surface proteins are anchored to the membrane via glycosylphosphatidylinositol (GPI). The GPI is attached to proteins that have a GPI attachment signal peptide at the carboxyl terminus. The GPI attachment signal peptide is replaced by a preassembled GPI in the endoplasmic reticulum by a transamidation reaction through the formation of a carbonyl intermediate. GPI transamidase is a key enzyme of this posttranslational modification. Here we report that Gaa1p and Gpi8p are components of a GPI transamidase. To determine a role of Gaa1p we disrupted a GAA1/GPAA1 gene in mouse F9 cells by homologous recombination. GAA1 knockout cells were defective in the formation of carbonyl intermediates between precursor proteins and transamidase as determined by an in vitro GPI-anchoring assay. We also show that cysteine and histidine residues of Gpi8p, which are conserved in members of a cysteine protease family, are essential for generation of a carbonyl intermediate. This result suggests that Gpi8p is a catalytic component that cleaves the GPI attachment signal peptide. Moreover, Gaa1p and Gpi8p are associated with each other. Therefore, Gaa1p and Gpi8p constitute a GPI transamidase and cooperate in generating a carbonyl intermediate, a prerequisite for GPI attachment.

Prediction of potential GPI-modification sites in proprotein sequences

Glycosylphosphatidylinositol (GPI) lipid anchoring is a common posttranslational modification known mainly from extracellular eukaryotic proteins. Attachment of the GPI moiety to the carboxyl terminus (omega-site) of the polypeptide follows after proteolytic cleavage of a C-terminal propeptide. For the first time, a new prediction technique locating potential GPI-modification sites in precursor sequences has been applied for large-scale protein sequence database searches. The composite prediction function (with separate parametrisation for metazoan and protozoan proteins) consists of terms evaluating both amino acid type preferences at sequence positions near a supposed omega-site as well as the concordance with general physical properties encoded in multi-residue correlation within the motif sequence. The latter terms are especially successful in rejecting non-appropriate sequences from consideration. The algorithm has been validated with a self-consistency and two jack-knife tests for the learning set of fully annotated sequences from the SWISS-PROT database as well as with a newly created database "big-Pi" (more than 300 GPI-motif mutations extracted from original literature sources). The accuracy of predicting the effect of mutations in the GPI sequence motif was above 83 %. Lists of potential precursor proteins which are non-annotated in SWISS-PROT and SPTrEMBL are presented on the WWW-page http://www.embl-heidelberg.de/beisenha/gpi/gpi_p rediction. html The algorithm has been implemented in the prototype software "big-Pi predictor" which may find application as a genome annotation and target selection tool.

Structural and phylogenetic characterization of human SLURP-1, the first secreted mammalian member of the Ly-6/uPAR protein superfamily

Members of the Ly-6/uPAR protein family share one or several repeat units of the Ly-6/uPAR domain that is defined by a distinct disulfide bonding pattern between 8 or 10 cysteine residues. The Ly-6/uPAR protein family can be divided into two subfamilies. One comprises GPI-anchored glycoprotein receptors with 10 cysteine residues. The other subfamily includes the secreted single-domain snake and frog cytotoxins, and differs significantly in that its members generally possess only eight cysteines and no GPI-anchoring signal sequence. We report the purification and structural characterization of human SLURP-1 (secreted mammalian Ly-6/uPAR related protein 1) from blood and urine peptide libraries. SLURP-1 is encoded by the ARS (component B)-81/s locus, and appears to be the first mammalian member of the Ly-6/uPAR family lacking a GPI-anchoring signal sequence. A phylogenetic analysis based on the SLURP-1 primary protein structure revealed a closer relationship to the subfamily of cytotoxins. Since the SLURP-1 gene maps to the same chromosomal region as several members of the Ly-6/uPAR subfamily of glycoprotein receptors, it is suggested that both biologically distinct subfamilies might have co-evolved from local chromosomal duplication events.

Recognition of the carboxyl-terminal signal for GPI modification requires translocation of its hydrophobic domain across the ER membrane

A carboxyl-terminal hydrophobic domain is an essential component of the processed signal for attachment of the glycosyl-phosphatidylinositol (GPI) membrane anchor to proteins and it is linked to the site (omega) of GPI modification by a spacer domain. This study was designed to test the hypothesis that the hydrophobic domain interacts with the lipid bilayer of the endoplasmic reticulum (ER) membrane to optimally position the omega site for GPI modification. The hydrophobic domain of the GPI signal in the human folate receptor (FR) type alpha was substituted with the carboxyl-terminal segment of the low-density lipoprotein receptor (LDLR), including its membrane spanning region, without altering either the spacer or the omega site. The FR-alpha/LDLR chimera was not GPI modified but was attached to the plasma membrane by a polypeptide anchor. When the carboxyl-terminal half of the hydrophobic transmembrane polypeptide in the FR-alpha/LDLR chimera was altered by introduction of negatively charged (Asp) residues, or when the cytosolic domain in the chimera was deleted, the mutated proteins became GPI-anchored. On the other hand, attachment of a carboxyl-terminal segment of LDLR including the entire cytosolic domain to FR-alpha converted it into a transmembrane protein. The results indicate that in the FR-alpha/LDLR chimera the inability of the cellular machinery for GPI modification to recognize the hydrophobic domain is not due to the intrinsic nature of the peptide, but is rather due to the retention of the peptide within the lipid bilayer. It follows that the hydrophobic domain in the signal for GPI modification must traverse the ER membrane prior to recognition of the omega site by the GPI-protein transamidase. The results thus establish a critical topographical requirement for recognition of the GPI signal in the ER.