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Vikraman D, Krishnan R S, Satheesan R, Das AD, Mahendran KR. Electrostatic filtering of polypeptides through membrane protein pores. Chem Asian J 2022; 17:e202200891. [DOI: 10.1002/asia.202200891] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/29/2022] [Revised: 10/18/2022] [Indexed: 11/06/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Devika Vikraman
- Rajiv Gandhi Centre for Biotechnology Transdisciplinary Biology Trivandrum INDIA
| | | | - Remya Satheesan
- Rajiv Gandhi Centre for Biotechnology Transdisciplinary Biology INDIA
| | - Anjali Devi Das
- Rajiv Gandhi Centre for Biotechnology Transdisciplinary Biology INDIA
| | - Kozhinjampara R Mahendran
- Rajiv Gandhi Centre for Biotechnology Membrane Biology Thycaud PostPoojappura 695 014 Thiruvananthapuram INDIA
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Krishnan R S, Jana K, Shaji AH, Nair KS, Das AD, Vikraman D, Bajaj H, Kleinekathöfer U, Mahendran KR. Assembly of transmembrane pores from mirror-image peptides. Nat Commun 2022; 13:5377. [PMID: 36104348 PMCID: PMC9474448 DOI: 10.1038/s41467-022-33155-6] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/07/2021] [Accepted: 09/05/2022] [Indexed: 11/18/2022] Open
Abstract
Tailored transmembrane alpha-helical pores with desired structural and functional versatility have promising applications in nanobiotechnology. Herein, we present a transmembrane pore DpPorA, based on the natural pore PorACj, built from D-amino acid α-helical peptides. Using single-channel current recordings, we show that DpPorA peptides self-assemble into uniform cation-selective pores in lipid membranes and exhibit properties distinct from their L-amino acid counterparts. DpPorA shows resistance to protease and acts as a functional nanopore sensor to detect cyclic sugars, polypeptides, and polymers. Fluorescence imaging reveals that DpPorA forms well-defined pores in giant unilamellar vesicles facilitating the transport of hydrophilic molecules. A second D-amino acid peptide based on the polysaccharide transporter Wza forms transient pores confirming sequence specificity in stable, functional pore formation. Finally, molecular dynamics simulations reveal the specific alpha-helical packing and surface charge conformation of the D-pores consistent with experimental observations. Our findings will aid the design of sophisticated pores for single-molecule sensing related technologies. Alpha-helix nanopores have a range of potential applications and the inclusion of non-natural amino acids allows for modification. Here, the authors report on the creation of alpha-helix pores using D-amino acids and show the pores formed, have different properties to the L-counterparts and were resistant to proteases.
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Vikraman D, Satheesan R, Rajendran M, Kumar NA, Johnson JB, R SK, Mahendran KR. Selective Translocation of Cyclic Sugars through Dynamic Bacterial Transporter. ACS Sens 2022; 7:1766-1776. [PMID: 35671512 DOI: 10.1021/acssensors.2c00943] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/28/2022]
Abstract
The selective translocation of molecules through membrane pores is an integral process in cells. We present a bacterial sugar transporter, CymA of unusual structural conformation due to a dynamic N terminus segment in the pore, reducing its diameter. We quantified the translocation kinetics of various cyclic sugars of different charge, size, and symmetry across native and truncated CymA devoid of the N terminus using single-channel recordings. The chemically divergent cyclic hexasaccharides bind to the native and truncated pore with high affinity and translocate effectively. Specifically, these sugars bind and translocate rapidly through truncated CymA compared to native CymA. In contrast, larger cyclic heptasaccharides and octasaccharides do not translocate but bind to native and truncated CymA with distinct binding kinetics highlighting the importance of molecular charge, size and symmetry in translocation consistent with liposome assays. Based on the sugar-binding kinetics, we suggest that the N terminus most likely resides inside the native CymA barrel, regulating the transport rate of cyclic sugars. Finally, we present native CymA as a large nanopore sensor for the simultaneous single-molecule detection of various sugars at high resolution, establishing its functional versatility. This natural pore is expected to have several applications in nanobiotechnology and will help further our understanding of the fundamental mechanism of molecular transport.
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Affiliation(s)
- Devika Vikraman
- Membrane Biology Laboratory, Transdisciplinary Research Program, Rajiv Gandhi Centre for Biotechnology, Thiruvananthapuram 695014, India.,Manipal Academy of Higher Education, Manipal, Karnataka 576104, India
| | - Remya Satheesan
- Membrane Biology Laboratory, Transdisciplinary Research Program, Rajiv Gandhi Centre for Biotechnology, Thiruvananthapuram 695014, India.,Manipal Academy of Higher Education, Manipal, Karnataka 576104, India
| | - Mangaiyarkarasi Rajendran
- Membrane Biology Laboratory, Transdisciplinary Research Program, Rajiv Gandhi Centre for Biotechnology, Thiruvananthapuram 695014, India
| | - Nisha Asok Kumar
- Manipal Academy of Higher Education, Manipal, Karnataka 576104, India.,Pathogen Biology, Virology, Rajiv Gandhi Centre for Biotechnology, Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala 695014, India
| | - John Bernet Johnson
- Pathogen Biology, Virology, Rajiv Gandhi Centre for Biotechnology, Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala 695014, India
| | - Smrithi Krishnan R
- Membrane Biology Laboratory, Transdisciplinary Research Program, Rajiv Gandhi Centre for Biotechnology, Thiruvananthapuram 695014, India.,Manipal Academy of Higher Education, Manipal, Karnataka 576104, India
| | - Kozhinjampara R Mahendran
- Membrane Biology Laboratory, Transdisciplinary Research Program, Rajiv Gandhi Centre for Biotechnology, Thiruvananthapuram 695014, India
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Puthumadathil N, Krishnan R S, Nair GS, Mahendran KR. Assembly of alpha-helical transmembrane pores through an intermediate state. Nanoscale 2022; 14:6507-6517. [PMID: 35420118 DOI: 10.1039/d2nr00556e] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/14/2023]
Abstract
Pore-forming alpha-helical proteins are well known for their dynamic assembly mechanism and it has been challenging to delineate the pore-forming structures in membranes. Previously, attempts have been made to elucidate their assembly mechanism and there is a large gap due to complex pathways by which these membrane-active pores impart their effect. Here we demonstrate a multi-step structural assembly pathway of alpha-helical peptide pores formed by a 37 amino acid synthetic peptide, pPorU, based on the natural porin from Corynebacterium urealyticum using single-channel electrical recordings. More specifically, we report detectable intermediate states during the membrane insertion and pore formation of pPorU. The fully assembled pore exhibited unusually large stable conductance, voltage-dependent gating, and functional blockage by cyclic sugars generally applicable to a range of transmembrane pores. Furthermore, we used rationally designed mutants to understand the role of specific amino acids in the assembly of these peptide pores. Mutant peptides that differ from wild-type peptides produced noisy and unstable intermediate states and low conductance pores, demonstrating sequence specificity in the pore-formation process supported by molecular dynamics simulations. We suggest that our study contributes to understanding the mechanism of action of naturally occurring alpha-helical pore-forming proteins and should be of broad interest to build peptide-based nanopore sensors.
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Affiliation(s)
- Neethu Puthumadathil
- Membrane Biology Laboratory, Transdisciplinary Research Program, Rajiv Gandhi Centre for Biotechnology, Thiruvananthapuram 695014, India.
- Manipal Academy of Higher Education, Manipal, Karnataka, 576104, India
| | - Smrithi Krishnan R
- Membrane Biology Laboratory, Transdisciplinary Research Program, Rajiv Gandhi Centre for Biotechnology, Thiruvananthapuram 695014, India.
- Manipal Academy of Higher Education, Manipal, Karnataka, 576104, India
| | - Greeshma S Nair
- Membrane Biology Laboratory, Transdisciplinary Research Program, Rajiv Gandhi Centre for Biotechnology, Thiruvananthapuram 695014, India.
| | - Kozhinjampara R Mahendran
- Membrane Biology Laboratory, Transdisciplinary Research Program, Rajiv Gandhi Centre for Biotechnology, Thiruvananthapuram 695014, India.
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R SK, Puthumadathil N, Shaji AH, Santhosh Kumar K, Mohan G, Mahendran KR. Designed alpha-helical barrels for charge-selective peptide translocation. Chem Sci 2020; 12:639-649. [PMID: 34163795 PMCID: PMC8178987 DOI: 10.1039/d0sc04856a] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/03/2020] [Accepted: 11/04/2020] [Indexed: 11/21/2022] Open
Abstract
Synthetic alpha-helix based pores for selective sensing of peptides have not been characterized previously. Here, we report large transmembrane pores, pPorA formed from short synthetic alpha-helical peptides of tunable conductance and selectivity for single-molecule sensing of peptides. We quantified the selective translocation kinetics of differently charged cationic and anionic peptides through these synthetic pores at single-molecule resolution. The charged peptides are electrophoretically pulled into the pores resulting in an increase in the dissociation rate with the voltage indicating successful translocation of peptides. More specifically, we elucidated the charge pattern lining the pore lumen and the orientation of the pores in the membrane based on the asymmetry in the peptide-binding kinetics. The salt and pH-dependent measurements confirm the electrostatic dominance and charge selectivity in controlling target peptide interaction with the pores. Remarkably, we tuned the selectivity of the pores to charged peptides by modifying the charge composition of the pores, thus establishing the molecular and electrostatic basis of peptide translocation. We suggest that these synthetic pores that selectively conduct specific ions and biomolecules are advantageous for nanopore proteomics analysis and synthetic nanobiotechnology applications.
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Affiliation(s)
- Smrithi Krishnan R
- Membrane Biology Laboratory, Transdisciplinary Research Program, Rajiv Gandhi Centre for Biotechnology Thiruvananthapuram 695014 India
- Manipal Academy of Higher Education Manipal Karnataka India-576104
| | - Neethu Puthumadathil
- Membrane Biology Laboratory, Transdisciplinary Research Program, Rajiv Gandhi Centre for Biotechnology Thiruvananthapuram 695014 India
- Manipal Academy of Higher Education Manipal Karnataka India-576104
| | - Amina H Shaji
- Membrane Biology Laboratory, Transdisciplinary Research Program, Rajiv Gandhi Centre for Biotechnology Thiruvananthapuram 695014 India
| | - K Santhosh Kumar
- Membrane Biology Laboratory, Transdisciplinary Research Program, Rajiv Gandhi Centre for Biotechnology Thiruvananthapuram 695014 India
| | - Gayathri Mohan
- Membrane Biology Laboratory, Transdisciplinary Research Program, Rajiv Gandhi Centre for Biotechnology Thiruvananthapuram 695014 India
| | - Kozhinjampara R Mahendran
- Membrane Biology Laboratory, Transdisciplinary Research Program, Rajiv Gandhi Centre for Biotechnology Thiruvananthapuram 695014 India
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Krishnan R S, Satheesan R, Puthumadathil N, Kumar KS, Jayasree P, Mahendran KR. Autonomously Assembled Synthetic Transmembrane Peptide Pore. J Am Chem Soc 2019; 141:2949-2959. [DOI: 10.1021/jacs.8b09973] [Citation(s) in RCA: 23] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/22/2023]
Affiliation(s)
- Smrithi Krishnan R
- Membrane Biology Laboratory, Interdisciplinary Research Program, Rajiv Gandhi Centre for Biotechnology, Thiruvananthapuram 695014, India
| | - Remya Satheesan
- Membrane Biology Laboratory, Interdisciplinary Research Program, Rajiv Gandhi Centre for Biotechnology, Thiruvananthapuram 695014, India
| | - Neethu Puthumadathil
- Membrane Biology Laboratory, Interdisciplinary Research Program, Rajiv Gandhi Centre for Biotechnology, Thiruvananthapuram 695014, India
| | - K. Santhosh Kumar
- Membrane Biology Laboratory, Interdisciplinary Research Program, Rajiv Gandhi Centre for Biotechnology, Thiruvananthapuram 695014, India
| | - Poornendhu Jayasree
- Membrane Biology Laboratory, Interdisciplinary Research Program, Rajiv Gandhi Centre for Biotechnology, Thiruvananthapuram 695014, India
| | - Kozhinjampara R. Mahendran
- Membrane Biology Laboratory, Interdisciplinary Research Program, Rajiv Gandhi Centre for Biotechnology, Thiruvananthapuram 695014, India
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Satheesan R, R SK, Mahendran KR. Controlling Interactions of Cyclic Oligosaccharides with Hetero-Oligomeric Nanopores: Kinetics of Binding and Release at the Single-Molecule Level. Small 2018; 14:e1801192. [PMID: 30009552 DOI: 10.1002/smll.201801192] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/28/2018] [Revised: 05/14/2018] [Indexed: 06/08/2023]
Abstract
Controlling the molecular interactions through protein nanopores is crucial for effectively detecting single molecules. Here, the development of a hetero-oligomeric nanopore derived from Nocardia farcinica porin AB (NfpAB) is discussed for single-molecule sensing of biopolymers. Using single-channel recording, the interaction of cyclic oligosaccharides such as cationic cyclodextrins (CDs) of different symmetries and charges with NfpAB is measured. Studies of the transport kinetics of CDs reveal asymmetric geometry and charge distribution of NfpAB. The applied potential promotes the attachment of the cationic CDs to the negatively charged pore surface due to electrostatic interaction. Further, the attached CDs are released from the pore by reversing the applied potential in time-resolved blockages. Release of CDs from the pore depends on its charge, size, and magnitude of the applied potential. The kinetics of CD attachment and release is controlled by fine-tuning the applied potential demonstrating the successful molecular transport across these nanopores. It is suggested that such controlled molecular interactions with protein nanopores using organic templates can be useful for several applications in nanopore technology and single-molecule chemistry.
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Affiliation(s)
- Remya Satheesan
- Membrane Biology Laboratory, Interdisciplinary Research Program, Rajiv Gandhi Centre for Biotechnology, Thiruvananthapuram, 695014, India
| | - Smrithi Krishnan R
- Membrane Biology Laboratory, Interdisciplinary Research Program, Rajiv Gandhi Centre for Biotechnology, Thiruvananthapuram, 695014, India
| | - Kozhinjampara R Mahendran
- Membrane Biology Laboratory, Interdisciplinary Research Program, Rajiv Gandhi Centre for Biotechnology, Thiruvananthapuram, 695014, India
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