Homo- and hetero-complexes of exchangeable apolipoproteins in solution and in lipid-bound form

Role of ApoE in conformation-prone diseases and atherosclerosis

Three isoforms of human plasma apolipoprotein E (apoE) are ligands to lipoprotein receptors and influence in different manner the synthesis and catabolism of pro-atherogenic triglyceride-rich lipoproteins. Among three isoforms, the apoE4 isoform is associated with increased frequency of atherosclerosis and Alzheimer's disease (AD). The conformational transitions of beta-amyloid (Abeta) influenced by apoE and serum amyloid P (SAP) component are key events in AD development, the accumulation of intermediate diffusible and soluble oligomers of Abeta being of particular significance. SAP and apoE, in a different manner for the three isoforms, serve as "pathological" chaperones during the aggregation of Abeta considered as a conformation-prone process. In turn, apoE consisting of two domains self-associates in solution and intermediate structures differently populated for the three isoforms exist. The different structures of the three isoforms determine their different distribution among various plasma lipoproteins. The structural and metabolic consideration of the common apoE pathway(s) in two pathologies assumes four molecular targets for AD correction: (i) inhibition of the accumulation of diffusible soluble Abeta oligomers; (ii) inhibition of apoE synthesis and secretion by astrocytes, in particular, under lipid-lowering therapy; (iii) inhibition of the binding of apoE and/or SAP to Abeta; (iv) stimulation of the expression of cholesterol transporter ABCA1.

The structure of human apolipoprotein E2, E3 and E4 in solution. 2. Multidomain organization correlates with the stability of apoE structure

The stabilities toward thermal and chemical denaturation of three recombinant isoforms of human apolipoprotein E (r-apoE2, r-apoE3 and r-apoE4), human plasma apoE3, the recombinant amino-terminal (NT) and the carboxyl-terminal (CT) domains of plasma apoE3 at pH 7 were studied using near and far ultraviolet circular dichroism (UV CD), fluorescence and size-exclusion chromatography. By far UV CD, thermal unfolding was irreversible for the intact apoE isoforms and consisted of a single transition. The r-apoE3 was found to be less stable as compared to the plasma protein and the stability of recombinant isoforms was r-apoE4<r-apoE3<r-apoE2. The thermal denaturation of the isolated NT- and CT-domains of apoE3 was largely reversible and included two transitions. The NT-domain was more resistant to heating than the CT-domain, both of which were more resistant than the intact protein. By near UV CD, the thermal unfolding was biphasic. When compared, thermal unfolding of the secondary and tertiary structures appeared to occur concurrently in r-apoE2 whereas heating affected the tertiary structure, initially, in r-apoE3 and r-apoE4. Denaturation with guanidine hydrochloride did not follow a two-state transition. A three-state treatment of the denaturation curves revealed the order of stability as r-apoE4<r-apoE3<r-apoE2 for the whole proteins as well as that for the NT-domains, as established by fluorescence and far UV CD spectroscopy, whereas the CT-domains had roughly similar stabilities. There are isoform-specific differences in the stability and in the state of association and the unfolding of both the NT- and CT-domains may be more complex than a two-state transition.

The structure of human apolipoprotein E2, E3 and E4 in solution 1. Tertiary and quaternary structure

Three recombinant apoE isoforms fused with an amino-terminal extension of 43 amino acids were produced in a heterologous expression system in E. coli. Their state of association in aqueous phase was analyzed by size-exclusion liquid chromatography, sedimentation velocity and sedimentation equilibrium experiments. By liquid chromatography, all three isoforms consisted of three major species with Stokes radii of 4.0, 5.0 and 6.6 nm. Sedimentation velocity confirmed the presence of monomers, dimers and tetramers as major species of each isoform. The association schemes established by sedimentation equilibrium experiments corresponded to monomer-dimer-tetramer-octamer for apoE2, monomer-dimer-tetramer for apoE3 and monomer-dimer-tetramer-octamer for apoE4. Each of the three isoforms exhibits a distinct self-association pattern. The apolipoprotein multi-domain structure was mapped by limited proteolysis with trypsin, chymotrypsin, elastase, subtilisin and Staphylococcus aureus V8 protease. All five enzymes produced stable intermediates during the degradation of the three apoE isoforms, as described for plasma apoE3. The recombinant apoE isoforms, thus, consist of N- and C-terminal domains. The presence of the fusion peptide did not appear to alter the apolipoprotein tertiary organization. However, a 30 kDa amino-terminal fragment appeared during the degradation of the recombinant apoE isoforms resulting from cleavage in the 273-278 region. This region, not accessible in plasma apoE3, results from a different conformation of the C-terminal domain in the recombinant isoforms. A specific pattern for the apoE4 C-terminal domain was observed during the proteolysis. The region 230-260 in apoE4, in contrast to that of apoE3 and apoE2, was not accessible to proteases, probably due to the existence of a longer helix in this region of apoE4 stabilized by an interdomain interaction.

Orientation and mode of lipid-binding interaction of human apolipoprotein E C-terminal domain

ApoE (apolipoprotein E) is an anti-atherogenic lipid transport protein that plays an integral role in lipoprotein metabolism and cholesterol homoeostasis. Lipid association educes critical functional features of apoE, mediating reduction in plasma and cellular cholesterol levels. The 10-kDa CT (C-terminal) domain of apoE facilitates helix-helix interactions in lipid-free state to promote apoE self-association and helix-lipid interactions during binding with lipoproteins, although the mode of lipid-binding interaction is not well understood. We investigated the mode of lipid-binding interaction and orientation of apoE CT domain on reconstituted lipoproteins. Isolated recombinant human apoE CT domain (residues 201-299) possesses a strong ability to interact with phospholipid vesicles, yielding lipoprotein particles with an apparent molecular mass of approximately 600 kDa, while retaining the overall alpha-helical content. Electron microscopy and non-denaturing PAGE analysis of DMPC (dimyristoylphosphatidylcholine)--apoE CT domain lipoprotein complexes revealed discoidal complexes with a diameter of approx. 17 nm. Cross-linking apoE CT domain on discoidal particles yielded dimeric species as the major product. Attenuated total reflectance Fourier transform IR spectroscopy of phospholipid-apoE CT domain complexes reveals that the helical axis is oriented perpendicular to fatty acyl chains of the phospholipid. Fluorescence quenching analysis of DMPC-apoE CT domain discoidal complexes by spin-labelled stearic acid indicated a relatively superficial location of the native tryptophan residues with respect to the plane of the phospholipid bilayer. Taken together, we propose that apoE CT domain interacts with phospholipid vesicles, forming a long extended helix that circumscribes the discoidal bilayer lipoprotein complex.

The composition, structural properties and binding of very-low-density and low-density lipoproteins to the LDL receptor in normo- and hypertriglyceridemia: relation to the apolipoprotein E phenotype

The composition, apolipoprotein structure and lipoprotein binding to the LDL receptor were studied for very-low-density (VLDL) and low-density lipoprotein (LDL) particles isolated from subjects with apoE phenotype E3/3 (E3), E2/2 or E2/3 (E2+) and E3/4 or E4/4 (E4+) and a wide range of plasma triglyceride (TG) contents. The data combined for all three phenotype groups can be summarized as follows. (i) A decrease in accessibility of VLDL tryptophan residues to I- anions with a decrease in tryptophan surface density, concomitant with an increase in VLDL dimensions, reflects the increased efficiency of protein-protein interactions. (ii) A gradual increase in the quenching constant for LDL apoB fluorescence with an increase in TG/cholesterol (Chol) ratio reflects the 'freezing' effect of Chol molecules on apoB dynamics. (iii) Different mechanisms specific for a particular lipoprotein from E3/3 or E2/3 subjects are responsible for apoE-mediated VLDL binding and apoB-mediated LDL binding to the LDL receptor in a solid-phase binding assay. (iv) The 'spacing' effect of apoC-III molecules on apoE-mediated VLDL binding results in a decrease in the number of binding sites. (v) The maximum of the dependence of the LDL binding affinity constant on relative tryptophan density corresponds to LDL intermediate size. VLDL particles from hypertriglyceridemic E2/3 heterozygotic individuals had remnant-like properties (increased cholesterol, apoE and decreased apoC-III content) while their binding efficiency was unchanged. Based on the affinity constant value and LDL-Chol content, increased competition between VLDL and LDL for the binding to the LDL receptor upon increase in plasma TG is suggested, and LDL from hypertriglyceridemic E3/3 homozygotic individuals is the most efficient competitor.

Inter-molecular coiled-coil formation in human apolipoprotein E C-terminal domain

Human apolipoprotein E (apoE) is composed of an N-terminal (NT) domain (residues 1-191) that bears low-density lipoprotein receptor-binding sites, and a C-terminal (CT) domain (residues 210-299), which houses lipoprotein binding and apoE self-association sites. The NT domain is comprised of a four-helix bundle, while the structural organization of the CT domain is not known. Secondary structural algorithms predict that the apoE CT domain adopts an amphipathic alpha-helical conformation. On the basis of further sequence predictions, we identified a segment (residues 218-266) in the apoE CT domain that bears a high propensity to form a coiled-coil helix, which coincides with the putative lipoprotein-binding surface. An apoE construct bearing residues 201-299 that encompasses the entire CT domain was designed, expressed in Escherichia coli and purified by affinity chromatography. Circular dichroism (CD) spectroscopy of the apoE CT domain reveals spectra characteristic of coiled-coil helices, with the ratio of molar ellipticities at 222 nm and 208 nm ([theta](222)/[theta](208)) of 1.03. Trifluoroethanol (TFE) stabilized the secondary structure of the apoE CT domain and disrupted coiled-coil helix formation as determined by CD and tryptophan fluorescence analysis. Analytical ultracentrifugation and lysine-specific cross-linking analysis of the apoE CT domain revealed predominant formation of dimeric and tetrameric species in aqueous buffers, and monomeric forms in 50% TFE. Guanidine hydrochloride-induced denaturation studies reveal that, at low concentrations of denaturant, the apoE CT domain maintains the [theta](222)/[theta](208) ratio at approximately 1.0 and elicits an altered tertiary environment with a shift in oligomeric state towards a dimer, indicative of the role of coiled-coil helix formation in inter molecular interactions. Further, coiled-coil formation is disrupted by protonation below pH 6.0, with a corresponding decrease in Trp fluorescence emission intensity, demonstrating that salt-bridge interactions play a critical role in maintaining the structural integrity of the apoE CT domain. The data support the concept that inter molecular coiled-coil helix formation is an essential structural feature of the apoE CT domain, which likely plays a role in clustering heparin-binding sites and/or sequestering the lipid-binding surface in lipid-free states.