Role of charge and fluidity in the incorporation of cytochrome oxidase into liposomes

Compartmentalization and Transport in Synthetic Vesicles

Nanoscale vesicles have become a popular tool in life sciences. Besides liposomes that are generated from phospholipids of natural origin, polymersomes fabricated of synthetic block copolymers enjoy increasing popularity, as they represent more versatile membrane building blocks that can be selected based on their specific physicochemical properties, such as permeability, stability, or chemical reactivity. In this review, we focus on the application of simple and nested artificial vesicles in synthetic biology. First, we provide an introduction into the utilization of multicompartmented vesosomes as compartmentalized nanoscale bioreactors. In the bottom-up development of protocells from vesicular nanoreactors, the specific exchange of pathway intermediates across compartment boundaries represents a bottleneck for future studies. To date, most compartmented bioreactors rely on unspecific exchange of substrates and products. This is either based on changes in permeability of the coblock polymer shell by physicochemical triggers or by the incorporation of unspecific porin proteins into the vesicle membrane. Since the incorporation of membrane transport proteins into simple and nested artificial vesicles offers the potential for specific exchange of substances between subcompartments, it opens new vistas in the design of protocells. Therefore, we devote the main part of the review to summarize the technical advances in the use of phospholipids and block copolymers for the reconstitution of membrane proteins.

Effect of divalent cations on structure-function relationships of the antitumor protein alpha-sarcin

alpha-Sarcin binds one Zn(II) cation per protein molecule, with a Kd value of 0.9 mM, determined by equilibrium dialysis experiments. Ca(II), Mg(II), and Mn(II) do not bind to alpha-sarcin. Cd(II) and Co(II) also behave as Zn(II). The binding produces local modifications on the protein conformation affecting the microenvironment of tryptophan residues. The three cations modify the fluorescence emission of the protein. The near-u.v. circular dichroism spectrum of the protein is also altered. The binding of Zn(II) and related cations does not modify the secondary structure of the protein. The ribonucleolytic activity of alpha-sarcin is inhibited upon Zn(II) binding, but no alteration of the ability of the protein to aggregate phospholipid vesicles has been observed.

Variations on the "dilution" method for reconstituting cytochrome c oxidase into membrane vesicles

A method for the rapid incorporation of cytochrome c oxidase into membranes has been developed. This method essentially consists of obtaining a preparation of the enzyme in which it is isolated and then dissolving it in a medium containing 0.5% of the detergent Tween 20, which gives a final concentration of 0.0125% after reconstitution. These studies revealed an optimal ratio of 1 microgram of enzyme to 5 mg of phospholipids. A similar optimal ratio was found when the amount of protein was varied. The optimum temperature was found to be 30 degrees C. Without a peak value being reached, it was found that the best reconstitution was obtained at pH 7.0-8.0. When measurements were performed either with a fluorescent cyanine (DiSC3) or by the uptake of tetraphenylphosphonium, it was found that the enzyme, with cytochrome c added to the outside, was capable of generating a membrane potential that was negative inside. Using the same procedure, the enzyme could also be reconstituted into vesicles of yeast plasma membrane. The procedure, then, seems adequate for incorporating cytochrome c oxidase into different kinds of membrane vesicles.

Reconstitution of membrane proteins: catalysis by cholesterol of insertion of integral membrane proteins into preformed lipid bilayers

The presence of cholesterol in small unilamellar vesicles (ULV) of dimyristoylphosphatidylcholine (DMPC) catalyzes fusion of the vesicles at temperatures below the upper limit for the gel to liquid-crystalline phase transition of the DMPC. The extent to which ULV grow depends on the concentration of cholesterol in the vesicles and on temperature. Maximum growth occurs at 21 degrees C. It decreases as the temperature is lowered below 21 degrees C. Growth does not occur at temperatures above the phase transition. In addition, the presence of cholesterol in ULV of DMPC catalyzes the insertion of integral membrane proteins into the vesicles. Thus, bacteriorhodopsin from Halobacterium halobrium, UDPglucuronosyltransferase (EC 2.4.1.17) from pig liver microsomes, and cytochrome oxidase from beef heart mitochondria formed stable lipid-protein complexes spontaneously when added to ULV containing cholesterol at temperatures under which these vesicles would fuse. Incorporation of these proteins into the ULV of DMPC did not occur in the absence of cholesterol or in the presence of cholesterol when the temperature of the system was above that for the phase transition. It appears that cholesterol lowers the energy barrier for fusion of ULV of DMPC and for insertion of integral membrane proteins into these bilayers. Studies with bacteriorhodopsin suggest that the energy barrier for insertion of proteins into ULV containing cholesterol is smaller than the energy barrier for fusion of the ULV with each other.

Effect of trypsin on the kinetic properties of reconstituted beef heart cytochrome c oxidase

Isolated beef heart cytochrome c oxidase was reconstituted in liposomes by the cholate dialysis method with 85% of the binding site for cytochrome c oriented to the outside. Trypsin cleaved specifically subunit VIa and half of subunit IV from the reconstituted enzyme. The kinetic properties of the reconstituted enzyme were changed by trypsin treatment if measured by the spectrophotometric assay but not by the polarographic assay. It is concluded that subunit VIa and/or subunit IV participate in the electron transport activity of cytochrome c oxidase.

Oriented reconstitution of red cell membrane proteins and assessment of their transmembrane disposition by immunoquenching of fluorescence

The two major membrane glycoproteins of human red cells, glycophorin and band 3, the anion exchange protein, were isolated from cells exofacially labeled with fluorescein and reconstituted into vesicles with defined transmembrane disposition. Uniform orientation of polypeptides was accomplished by two procedures: Vesicles with single protein units were obtained by a one-step dilution of a protein/detergent suspension with a vast excess of phospholipid. Vesicles with uniform orientation of protein were selected by affinity chromatography on derivatized Sepharoses (organomercurial, wheat germ agglutinin, aminoethyl or diethylaminoethyl). Vesicles with multiple protein units with uniform orientation were generated by vectorial immobilization of detergent solubilized proteins on the above affinity matrices and in situ formation of proteoliposomes by detergent substitution for phospholipid. The proteoliposomes were released from the column by addition of excess free ligand. The orientation of band 3 and glycophorin in the reconstituted vesicles was first assessed by immunofluorescence quenching, using anti-fluorescein antibodies, to quantitatively quench fluorescein residues exposed on the outer surface of vesicles. Further assessment was achieved by chromatographing the vesicles through various affinity and ionic matrices. Vesicle populations of higher than 90% homogeneity in protein orientation (right-side-out or inside-out) were obtained with both procedures. The above methods provide a convenient experimental tool for the oriented reconstitution of proteins and the evaluation of their transmembrane disposition.

Topology of beef heart cytochrome c oxidase from studies on reconstituted membranes

The orientation of purified beef heart cytochrome c oxidase, incorporated into vesicles by the cholate dialysis procedure [Carroll, R.C., & Racker, E. (1977) J. Biol. Chem. 252, 6981], has been investigated by functional and structural approaches. The level of heme reduction obtained by using cytochrome c along with the membrane-impermeant electron donor ascorbate was 78 +/- 2% of that obtained with cytochrome c and the membrane-permeant reagent N,N,N',N'-tetramethyl-p-phenylenediamine. Electron transfer from cytochrome c is known to occur exclusively from the outer surface of the mitochondrial inner membrane (C side), implying that at least 78% of the oxidase molecules are oriented in the same way in these vesicles as in the intact mitochondria. Trypsin, which cleaves subunit IV near its N terminus, modifies only 5-7% of this subunit in intact vesicles. This removal of the N-terminal residues has been shown to occur only in mitochondrial membranes with their inner side (M side) exposed. Diazobenzene [35S]sulfonate [( 35S]DABS) likewise modifies subunit IV only in submitochondrial particles. Labeling of intact membranes with [35S]DABS resulted in incorporation of only 4-8% of the total counts that could be incorporated into this subunit in membranes made leaky to the reagent by addition of 2% Triton X-100. Therefore, both the functional and structural data show that at least 80% and probably more of the cytochrome c oxidase molecules are oriented with their C domain outermost and M domains in the lumen of vesicles prepared by the cholate dialysis method.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

The phospholipids associated with cytochrome c oxidase isolated from beef, dogfish and cod heart

Beef (Bos taurus), dogfish (Squalus acanthias) and cod (Gadus morhua) heart submitochondrial particles and cytochrome c oxidase (EC 1.9.3.1) were prepared. The head groups and side chains of the phospholipids associated with these samples were analysed quantitatively. The fish phospholipids contained a higher proportion of long chain poly-unsaturated fatty acids than was found in the beef samples. The enzyme fraction showed no head group or fatty acyl chain preference when compared with the composition of the whole tissue, implying no special lipid requirement for enzyme activity other than membrane fluidity. No cardiolipin was associated with the dogfish oxidase. The cod oxidase was inseparable from a CO-binding "b-type" cytochrome.

Arrangement of subunit IV in beef heart cytochrome c oxidase probed by chemical labeling and protease digestion experiments

The arrangement of subunit IV in beef heart cytochrome c oxidase has been explored by chemical labeling and protease digestion studies. This subunit has been purified from four samples of cytochrome c oxidase that had been reacted with N-(4-azido-2-nitrophenyl)-2-aminoethyl[35S]-sulfonate (NAP-taurine), diazobenzene[35S]sulfonate, 1-myristoyl-2-[12-[(4-azido-2-nitrophenyl)amino]lauroyl]-sn-glycero-3- [14C]phosphocholine (I), and 1-palmitoyl-2-(2-azido-4-nitrobenzoyl)-sn-glycero-3-[3H]phosphocholine (II), respectively. The labeled polypeptide was then fragmented by cyanogen bromide, at arginyl side chains with trypsin (after maleylation), and the distribution of the labeling within the sequence was analyzed. The N-terminal part of subunit IV (residues 1-71) was shown to be heavily labeled by water-soluble, lipid-insoluble reagents but not by the phospholipid derivatives. These latter reagents labeled only in the region of residues 62-122, containing the long hydrophobic and putative membrane-spanning stretch. Trypsin cleavage of native cytochrome c oxidase complex at pH 8.2 was shown to clip the first seven amino acids from subunit IV. This cleavage was found to occur in submitochondrial particles but not in mitochondria or mitoplasts. These results are interpreted to show that subunit IV is oriented with its N terminus on the matrix side of the mitochondrial inner membrane and spans the membrane with the extended sequence of hydrophobic lipid residues 79-98 buried in the bilayer.

The location of redox centers in biological membranes determined by resonance x-ray diffraction. II. Analysis of the resonance diffraction data

In the preceding paper (Stamatoff, J., Eisenberger, P., Blasie, J.K., Pachence, J.M., Tavormina, A., Erecinska, M., Dutton P.L. and Brown, G. (1982) Biochim. Biophys. Acta 679, 177-187), we described the observation of resonance X-ray scattering effects from intrinsic metal atoms associated with redox centers in membrane proteins on the lamellar X-ray diffraction from oriented multilayers of reconstituted membranes. In this paper, we discuss the possible methods of analysis of such data and present the results of our model refinement analysis concerning (a) the location of the cytochrome c heme iron atom in the profile structure of a reconstituted membrane containing a photosynthetic reaction center-cytochrome c complex and (b) the location of the heme a and a3 iron atoms in the profile structure of a reconstituted membrane containing cytochrome oxidase. The former results are of special importance because they provide a test of the validity of the resonance diffraction data and the methods of analysis, since the location of cytochrome c in the reaction center-cytochrome c membrane profile is known independently of the resonance diffraction experiments.

The location of redox centers in biological membranes determined by resonance x-ray diffraction. I. Observation of the resonance effect

We have developed resonance X-ray diffraction methods to locate for the first time intrinsic metal atoms associated with redox centers within biological membrane systems. The study of membranes containing dilute concentrations of resonant scatterers has been made possible by the development of synchrotron radiation sources of X-rays. The technique permits altering the scattering power of a particular atom relative to others by varying the incident X-ray energy. Thus, this method may be used to locate a metal atom within a complex integral protein without chemical modification of the membrane. We present resonance diffraction data taken with synchroton radiation for two different membrane systems: cytochrome oxidase incorporated into lipid vesicles and a photosynthetic reaction center-cytochrome c complex also reincorporated into lipid vesicles.

Studies on the transmembrane orientation of cytochrome c oxidase in phospholipid vesicles

We report investigations into the direction of orientation of cytochrome c oxidase in reconstituted vesicles and the factors determining this. Measurement of the enzyme orientation employed two independent techniques: monitoring of the level of haem reduction by membrane-permeant and membrane-impermeant reagents and a kinetic analysis of the reduction of a spin label covalently bound to the oxidase surface. The method of preparation of the oxidase vesicles had a pronounced effect on the enzyme orientation and the two measurement techniques agreed in indicating that the proportion of mitochondrially oriented enzyme was approximately 85% and 50% for vesicles prepared by cholate dialysis and sonication respectively. Our results show that the membrane orientation of the oxidase is determined by interactions between the phospholipid bilayer and the portion of the enzyme embedded therein, as opposed to gross physical constraints. In particular, we demonstrate that the orientation of the oxidase is affected by the fluidity and surface charge of the membrane.

Assembly of proteins into membranes

Two pathways for protein assembly into biological membranes have been proposed. The "signal hypothesis" emphasizes the role of specific membrane proteins in binding the growing polypeptide and conducting it into the bilayer during its synthesis. The "membrane-triggered folding" hypothesis emphasizes self-assembly and the role of changing protein conformation during transfer from an aqueous compartment into a membrane. These ideas provide a framework for reviewing recent data on the biogenesis of membrane proteins.

Incorporation of hydrophilic protein modified with hydrophobic agent into liposome membrane

The hydrophilic protein-enzyme, alpha-chymotrypsin, can be bound to the liposomal membrane after the preliminary increase in hydrophobicity induced by acylation of protein amino groups with palmitic chloroanhydride. The efficacy of binding depends on the degree of modification. The bound enzyme almost completely preserves its catalytic properties and the ability to interact with a high molecular weight inhibitor. Binding can be performed during both the process of liposome formation and the incubation of a modified enzyme with preformed liposomes. According to ESR and fluorescence spectroscopy, the hydrophobic tail of the modified enzyme is incorporated into the membrane and the protein globule is located on the surface of the membrane. Protein incorportation causes an increase in the amorphous nature of the membrane, and the bound protein is not as mobile as the free protein. The approach discussed can be useful in binding soluble hydrophilic proteins to artificial membranes.

Salt-dependent changes of 9-aminoacridine fluorescence as a measure of charge densities of membrane surfaces

1. When negatively-charged membranes or particles are added to a solution containing 9-aminoacridine and only low concentrations of salts, fluorescence from the dye molecules is decreased. The quenching mechanism is a result of an increase in concentration of the positively charged dye molecule at the surface (Searle, G.F.W. and Barber, J. (1978) Biochim. Biophys. Acta 502, 309-320). 2. Fluorescence quenching is released on adding salts, the effectiveness being generally dependent on the valency of the action used: C3+ > C2+ > C+, in line with a decrease in the surface potential. 3. The differential effect of cations is analyzed according to the Gouy-Chapman theory to obtain estimates for sigma, the net charge per unit area on a number of different surfaces. 4. It was found that in some cases the estimated value of sigma was not constant for a particular membrane system, but increased with salt concentration. The variation was much diminished, though not eliminated, when more rigid surfaces were examined. 5. An alternative method based on the distribution of a divalent cation (methyl viologen) in the diffuse part of the double layer was also used to estimate the overall charge density. This technique gave values lower than those obtained from 9-aminoacridine fluorescence changes. 6. It is argued that 9-aminoacridine cations distribute near localized, charged areas of surfaces, and that the salt-dependent estimates of sigma partly reflect charge redistribution accompanying changes in electrostatic screening by cations. It appears that 9-aminoacridine is a convenient probe to monitor changes in the heterogeneity of charged membranes.

Incorporation of purified components of the rabbit liver microsomal hydroxylase system into phospholipid vesicles

Methods are described for incorporation of purified forms of rabbit liver microsomal NADPH-cytochrome P-450 reductase and cytochrome P-450LM2, P-450LM3 and P-450LM4 (LM, liver microsomes) into phospholipid vesicles. It was found that each cytochrome could individually be incorporated into preformed phospholipid vesicles in the absence of cholate. However, NADPH-cytochrome P-450 reductase prevented incorporation of P-450 by this method, a phenomenon possibly inherent in the formation of complexes between P-450 and the reductase in solution. Using the cholate-gel filtration technique it was possible to prepare monolamellar phosphatidylcholine vesicles containing any of the cytochromes and P-450 reductase in good yields. It was found that P-450LM3-containing vesicles had a mean diameter of 47 nm, whereas vesicles formed under the same conditions but containing P-450LM4 were much smaller (mean diameter 33 nm). Vesicles formed with P-450LM2 were homogeneous in density (1.04 g/cm3) according to isopycnic centrifugation in Ficoll but not in size (44-72 nm). These findings, taken together with results obtained from treatment of the cytochromes in soluble form and in reconstituted vesicles with the non-penetrating reagent, p-diazobenzene sulphonate, indicate a unidirectional, relatively peripheral orientation of P-450LM4 with the major part localized on the outside of the vesicles. Experiments with trypsin and cytochrome c-reduction demonstrated a unidirectional orientation of P-450 reductase towards the outside of the vesicles.

Cadmium increases tissue factor (coagulation factor III) activity by facilitating its reassociation with lipids

The coagulant activity of partially purified and delipidated tissue factor (TF) (coagulation Factor III) has previously been recovered by dialysis of the apoprotein after addition of mixed brain lipids and deoxycholate. Inclusion of cadmium chloride in the relipidation mixture greatly increases the recovered activity of highly purified TF from human placenta by promoting incorporation of TF into phospholipid vesicles; TF that had not been incorporated into vesicles showed no coagulant activity. Thus, TF must be present in a lipid bilayer for expression of coagulant activity. In vitro, cadmium induces fusion of lipid vesicles and may contribute to the incorporation of proteins in membranes.

Fluorescent probe study of temperature-induced conformational changes in cytochrome oxidase in lecithin vesicle and solubilized systems

A protein-bound label, N-(1-anilinonaphthyl-4)-maleimide (ANM), was used to investigate conformational changes in bovine heart cytochrome oxidase. The fluidity of cytochrome oxidase vesicles was monitored by a lipophilic probe, 1,6-diphenyl-1,3,5-hexatriene. The fluroescence intensity and emission anisotropy of these probes were examined between 4 and 60 degrees C in enzyme--dipalmitoyllecithin vesicles, in enzyme--dimyristoyllecithin vesicles, in enzyme--dioleoyllecithin vesicles, and in the soluble enzyme. The temperature-dependent changes in these quantities indicated that there were two types of conformational changes in oxidized cytochrome oxidase: one was attributed to an intrinsic enzyme conformation change which occurred around 20 degrees C, and the other was attributed to a conformational change induced by the lipid phase transition. Although ANM-reactive subunits of cytochrome oxidase in these four lecithin vesicle and solubilized systems were different from each other, subunit I always reacted with ANM in preference to other subunits.