Phosphatidylcholine Cation-Tyrosine π Complexes: Motifs for Membrane Binding by a Bacterial Phospholipase C.

Phosphatidylinositol-specific phospholipase C (PI-PLC) enzymes are a virulence factor in many Gram-positive organisms. The specific activity of the Bacillus thuringiensis PI-PLC is significantly increased by adding phosphatidylcholine (PC) to vesicles composed of the substrate phosphatidylinositol, in part because the inclusion of PC reduces the apparent Kd for the vesicle binding by as much as 1000-fold when comparing PC-rich vesicles to PI vesicles. This review summarizes (i) the experimental work that localized a site on BtPI-PLC where PC is bound as a PC choline cation-Tyr-π complex and (ii) the computational work (including all-atom molecular dynamics simulations) that refined the original complex and found a second persistent PC cation-Tyr-π complex. Both complexes are critical for vesicle binding. These results have led to a model for PC functioning as an allosteric effector of the enzyme by altering the protein dynamics and stabilizing an 'open' active site conformation.

High Resolution 31P Field Cycling NMR Reveals Unsuspected Features of Enzyme-Substrate-Cofactor Dynamics.

The dynamic interactions of enzymes and substrates underpins catalysis, yet few techniques can interrogate the dynamics of protein-bound ligands. Here we describe the use of field cycling NMR relaxometry to measure the dynamics of enzyme-bound substrates and cofactors in catalytically competent complexes of GMP reductase. These studies reveal new binding modes unanticipated by x-ray crystal structures and reaction-specific dynamic networks. Importantly, this work demonstrates that distal interactions not usually considered part of the reaction coordinate can play an active role in catalysis. The commercialization of shuttling apparatus will make field cycling relaxometry more accessible and expand its use to additional nuclei, promising more intriguing findings to come.

Standard Binding Free Energy and Membrane Desorption Mechanism for a Phospholipase C.

Peripheral membrane proteins (PMPs) bind temporarily to cellular membranes and play important roles in signaling, lipid metabolism, and membrane trafficking. Obtaining accurate membrane-PMP affinities using experimental techniques is more challenging than for protein-ligand affinities in an aqueous solution. At the theoretical level, calculation of the standard protein-membrane binding free energy using molecular dynamics simulations remains a daunting challenge owing to the size of the biological objects at play, the slow lipid diffusion, and the large variation in configurational entropy that accompanies the binding process. To overcome these challenges, we used a computational framework relying on a series of potential-of-mean-force (PMF) calculations including a set of geometrical restraints on collective variables. This methodology allowed us to determine the standard binding free energy of a PMP to a phospholipid bilayer using an all-atom force field. Bacillus thuringiensis phosphatidylinositol-specific phospholipase C (BtPI-PLC) was chosen due to its importance as a virulence factor and owing to the host of experimental affinity data available. We computed a standard binding free energy of -8.2 ± 1.4 kcal/mol in reasonable agreement with the reported experimental values (-6.6 ± 0.2 kcal/mol). In light of the 2.3-µs separation PMF calculation, we investigated the mechanism whereby BtPI-PLC disengages from interactions with the lipid bilayer during separation. We describe how a short amphipathic helix engages in transitory interactions to ease the passage of its hydrophobes through the interfacial region upon desorption from the bilayer.

Phospholipids in Motion: High-Resolution 31P NMR Field Cycling Studies.

Diverse phospholipid motions are key to membrane function but can be quite difficult to untangle and quantify. High-resolution field cycling 31P NMR spin-lattice relaxometry, where the sample is excited at high field, shuttled in the magnet bore for low-field relaxation, then shuttled back to high field for readout of the residual magnetization, provides data on phospholipid dynamics and structure. This information is encoded in the field dependence of the 31P spin-lattice relaxation rate (R1). In the field range from 11.74 down to 0.003 T, three dipolar nuclear magnetic relaxation dispersions (NMRDs) and one due to 31P chemical shift anisotropy contribute to R1 of phospholipids. Extraction of correlation times and maximum relaxation amplitudes for these NMRDs provides (1) lateral diffusion constants for different phospholipids in the same bilayer, (2) estimates of how additives alter the motion of the phospholipid about its long axis, and (3) an average 31P-1H angle with respect to the bilayer normal, which reveals that polar headgroup motion is not restricted on a microsecond timescale. Relative motions within a phospholipid are also provided by comparing 31P NMRD profiles for specifically deuterated molecules as well as 13C and 1H field dependence profiles to that of 31P. Although this work has dealt exclusively with phospholipids in small unilamellar vesicles, these same NMRDs can be measured for phospholipids in micelles and nanodisks, making this technique useful for monitoring lipid behavior in a variety of structures and assessing how additives alter specific lipid motions.

Enzyme-Substrate-Cofactor Dynamical Networks Revealed by High-Resolution Field Cycling Relaxometry.

The remarkable power and specificity of enzyme catalysis rely on the dynamic alignment of the enzyme, substrates, and cofactors, yet the role of dynamics has usually been approached from the perspective of the protein. We have been using an underappreciated NMR technique, subtesla high-resolution field cycling 31P NMR relaxometry, to investigate the dynamics of the enzyme-bound substrates and cofactor on guanosine-5'-monophosphate reductase (GMPR). GMPR forms two dead end, yet catalytically competent, complexes that mimic distinct steps in the catalytic cycle: E·IMP·NADP+ undergoes a partial hydride transfer reaction, while E·GMP·NADP+ undergoes a partial deamination reaction. A different cofactor conformation is required for each partial reaction. Here we report the effects of mutations designed to perturb cofactor conformation and ammonia binding with the goal of identifying the structural features that contribute to the distinct dynamic signatures of the hydride transfer and deamination complexes. These experiments suggest that Asp129 is a central cog in a dynamic network required for both hydride transfer and deamination. In contrast, Lys77 modulates the conformation and mobility of substrates and cofactors in a reaction-specific manner. Thr105 and Tyr318 are part of a deamination-specific dynamic network that includes the 2'-OH of GMP. These residues have comparatively little effect on the dynamic properties of the hydride transfer complex. These results further illustrate the potential of high-resolution field cycling NMR relaxometry for the investigation of ligand dynamics. In addition, exchange experiments indicate that NH3/NH4+ has a high affinity for the deamination complex but a low affinity for the hydride transfer complex, suggesting that the movement of ammonia may gate the cofactor conformational change. Collectively, these experiments reinforce the view that the enzyme, substrates, and cofactor are linked in intricate, reaction-specific, dynamic networks and demonstrate that distal portions of the substrates and cofactors are critical features in these networks.

Search and Subvert: Minimalist Bacterial Phosphatidylinositol-Specific Phospholipase C Enzymes.

Phosphatidylinositol-specific phospholipase C (PI-PLC) enzymes from Gram-positive bacteria are secreted virulence factors that aid in downregulating host immunity. These PI-PLCs are minimalist peripheral membrane enzymes with a distorted (ßα)8 TIM barrel fold offering a conserved and stable scaffold for the conserved catalytic amino acids while membrane recognition is achieved mostly through variable loops. Decades of experimental and computational research on these enzymes have revealed the subtle interplay between molecular mechanisms of catalysis and membrane binding, leading to a semiquantitative model for how they find, bind, and cleave their respective substrates on host cell membranes. Variations in sequence and structure of their membrane binding sites may correlate with how enzymes from different Gram-positive bacteria search for their particular targets on the membrane. Detailed molecular characterization of protein-lipid interactions have been aided by cutting-edge methods ranging from 31P field-cycling NMR relaxometry to monitor protein-induced changes in phospholipid dynamics to molecular dynamics simulations to elucidate the roles of electrostatic and cation-π interactions in lipid binding to single molecule fluorescence measurements of dynamic interactions between PI-PLCs and vesicles. This toolkit is readily applicable to other peripheral membrane proteins including orthologues in Gram-negative bacteria and more recently discovered eukaryotic minimalist PI-PLCs.

Dynamic Characteristics of Guanosine-5'-monophosphate Reductase Complexes Revealed by High-Resolution 31P Field-Cycling NMR Relaxometry.

The ability of enzymes to modulate the dynamics of bound substrates and cofactors is a critical feature of catalysis, but the role of dynamics has largely been approached from the perspective of the protein. Here, we use an underappreciated NMR technique, subtesla high-resolution field-cycling 31P NMR relaxometry, to interrogate the dynamics of enzyme bound substrates and cofactors in guanosine-5'-monophosphate reductase (GMPR). These experiments reveal distinct binding modes and dynamic profiles associated with the 31P nuclei in the Michaelis complexes for the deamination and hydride transfer steps of the catalytic cycle. Importantly, the substrate is constrained and the cofactor is more dynamic in the deamination complex E·GMP·NADP+, whereas the substrate is more dynamic and the cofactor is constrained in the hydride transfer complex E·IMP·NADP+. The presence of D2O perturbed the relaxation of the 31P nuclei in E·IMP·NADP+ but not in E·GMP·NADP+, providing further evidence of distinct binding modes with different dynamic properties. dIMP and dGMP are poor substrates, and the dynamics of the cofactor complexes of dGMP/dIMP are disregulated relative to GMP/IMP. The substrate 2'-OH interacts with Asp219, and mutation of Asp219 to Ala decreases the value of Vmax by a factor of 30. Counterintuitively, loss of Asp219 makes both substrates and cofactors less dynamic. These observations suggest that the interactions between the substrate 2'-OH and Asp219 coordinate the dynamic properties of the Michaelis complexes, and these dynamics are important for progression through the catalytic cycle.

Morphologic Patterns Formed by the Anomalous Fibers Occurring Along the Anterior Capsule of the Crystalline Lens in People With the Long Anterior Zonule Trait.

People with the long anterior zonule (LAZ) trait, which may have prevalence near 2%, have zonular fibers that extend more central than usual along the anterior capsule of the crystalline lens. The anomalous fibers can be observed in vivo with clinical slit lamp biomicroscopy after pharmacologic pupil dilation, and although minimally studied, the LAZ trait may have importance to glaucoma, retinal degeneration, and cataract surgery. To further characterize LAZ morphology, a custom computer program was used to trace LAZ fibers seen on retro-illumination photos acquired during previous study at an academic, urban eye care facility in Chicago, IL. There were 59 African-Americans (54 female; median age = 70 years, 53-91 years) included in the analysis. After initial review of the zonule tracings, we identified three basic LAZ patterns. We called one pattern (47% of right eyes) a "non-segmental LAZ pattern," which was predominated by fibers that could be visually traced to the dilated pupil border where they became obscured by the iris. Another pattern (35% of right eyes), the "segmental LAZ pattern," was predominated by fibers that appeared to terminate abruptly without detectable extension to the pupil border. The third pattern (18% of right eyes), the "mixed LAZ pattern," had a more equivalent mixture of the other two fiber morphologies. Compared to the "non-segmental" group, the "segmental" LAZ eyes had smaller central zonule-free zones (P < 0.0001), and they tended to exhibit fewer LAZ fibers (P = 0.07). These data improve understanding of LAZ clinical anatomy and may be helpful to future investigation. Anat Rec, 300:1336-1347, 2017. © 2017 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Defining a Viral Membrane-Remodeling Complex on an Atomic Level.

The Aichi RNA virus remodels host membranes by conscripting two host proteins, PI4KIIIß (to generate PI4P in the remodeled vesicle) and ACBD3 (that tightly binds PI4KIIIß), and localizing them on target membranes via Aichi protein 3A. In this issue of Structure, McPhail et al. (2017) reveal structural glimpses of the interfaces involved in this protein threesome using HDX-MS.

d-3-Deoxy-dioctanoylphosphatidylinositol induces cytotoxicity in human MCF-7 breast cancer cells via a mechanism that involves downregulation of the D-type cyclin-retinoblastoma pathway.

Phosphatidylinositol analogs (PIAs) were originally designed to bind competitively to the Akt PH domain and prevent membrane translocation and activation. d-3-Deoxy-dioctanoylphosphatidylinositol (d-3-deoxy-diC8PI), but not compounds with altered inositol stereochemistry (e.g., l-3-deoxy-diC8PI and l-3,5-dideoxy-diC8PI), is cytotoxic. However, high resolution NMR field cycling relaxometry shows that both cytotoxic and non-toxic PIAs bind to the Akt1 PH domain at the site occupied by the cytotoxic alkylphospholipid perifosine. This suggests that another mechanism for cytotoxicity must account for the difference in efficacy of the synthetic short-chain PIAs. In MCF-7 breast cancer cells, with little constitutively active Akt, d-3-deoxy-diC8PI (but not l-compounds) decreases viability concomitant with increased cleavage of PARP and caspase 9, indicative of apoptosis. d-3-Deoxy-diC8PI also induces a decrease in endogenous levels of cyclins D1 and D3 and blocks downstream retinoblastoma protein phosphorylation. siRNA-mediated depletion of cyclin D1, but not cyclin D3, reduces MCF-7 cell proliferation. Thus, growth arrest and cytotoxicity induced by the soluble d-3-deoxy-diC8PI occur by a mechanism that involves downregulation of the D-type cyclin-pRb pathway independent of its interaction with Akt. This ability to downregulate D-type cyclins contributes, at least in part, to the anti-proliferative activity of d-3-deoxy-diC8PI and may be a common feature of other cytotoxic phospholipids.

Substrate and Cofactor Dynamics on Guanosine Monophosphate Reductase Probed by High Resolution Field Cycling 31P NMR Relaxometry.

Guanosine-5'-monophosphate reductase (GMPR) catalyzes the reduction of GMP to IMP and ammonia with concomitant oxidation of NADPH. Here we investigated the structure and dynamics of enzyme-bound substrates and cofactors by measuring 31P relaxation rates over a large magnetic field range using high resolution field cycling NMR relaxometry. Surprisingly, these experiments reveal differences in the low field relaxation profiles for the monophosphate of GMP compared with IMP in their respective NADP+ complexes. These complexes undergo partial reactions that mimic different steps in the overall catalytic cycle. The relaxation profiles indicate that the substrate monophosphates have distinct interactions in E·IMP·NADP+ and E·GMP·NADP+ complexes. These findings were not anticipated by x-ray crystal structures, which show identical interactions for the monophosphates of GMP and IMP in several inert complexes. In addition, the motion of the cofactor is enhanced in the E·GMP·NADP+ complex. Last, the motions of the substrate and cofactor are coordinately regulated; the cofactor has faster local motions than GMP in the deamination complex but is more constrained than IMP in that complex, leading to hydride transfer. These results show that field cycling can be used to investigate the dynamics of protein-bound ligands and provide new insights into how portions of the substrate remote from the site of chemical transformation promote catalysis.

Recombinant broad-range phospholipase C from Listeria monocytogenes exhibits optimal activity at acidic pH.

The broad-range phospholipase C (PLC) from Listeria monocytogenes has been expressed using an intein expression system and characterized. This zinc metalloenzyme, similar to the homologous enzyme from Bacillus cereus, targets a wide range of lipid substrates. With monomeric substrates, the length of the hydrophobic acyl chain has significant impact on enzyme efficiency by affecting substrate affinity (Km). Based on a homology model of the enzyme to the B. cereus protein, several active site residue mutations were generated. While this PLC shares many of the mechanistic characteristics of the B. cereus PLC, a major difference is that the L. monocytogenes enzyme displays an acidic pH optimum regardless of substrate status (monomer, micelle, or vesicle). This unusual behavior might be advantageous for its role in the pathogenicity of L. monocytogenes.

A Role for Weak Electrostatic Interactions in Peripheral Membrane Protein Binding.

Bacillus thuringiensis phosphatidylinositol-specific phospholipase C (BtPI-PLC) is a secreted virulence factor that binds specifically to phosphatidylcholine (PC) bilayers containing negatively charged phospholipids. BtPI-PLC carries a negative net charge and its interfacial binding site has no obvious cluster of basic residues. Continuum electrostatic calculations show that, as expected, nonspecific electrostatic interactions between BtPI-PLC and membranes vary as a function of the fraction of anionic lipids present in the bilayers. Yet they are strikingly weak, with a calculated ΔGel below 1 kcal/mol, largely due to a single lysine (K44). When K44 is mutated to alanine, the equilibrium dissociation constant for small unilamellar vesicles increases more than 50 times (∼2.4 kcal/mol), suggesting that interactions between K44 and lipids are not merely electrostatic. Comparisons of molecular-dynamics simulations performed using different lipid compositions reveal that the bilayer composition does not affect either hydrogen bonds or hydrophobic contacts between the protein interfacial binding site and bilayers. However, the occupancies of cation-π interactions between PC choline headgroups and protein tyrosines vary as a function of PC content. The overall contribution of basic residues to binding affinity is also context dependent and cannot be approximated by a rule-of-thumb value because these residues can contribute to both nonspecific electrostatic and short-range protein-lipid interactions. Additionally, statistics on the distribution of basic amino acids in a data set of membrane-binding domains reveal that weak electrostatics, as observed for BtPI-PLC, might be a less unusual mechanism for peripheral membrane binding than is generally thought.

Fluorinated Aromatic Amino Acids Distinguish Cation-π Interactions from Membrane Insertion.

Cation-π interactions, where protein aromatic residues supply π systems while a positive-charged portion of phospholipid head groups are the cations, have been suggested as important binding modes for peripheral membrane proteins. However, aromatic amino acids can also insert into membranes and hydrophobically interact with lipid tails. Heretofore there has been no facile way to differentiate these two types of interactions. We show that specific incorporation of fluorinated amino acids into proteins can experimentally distinguish cation-π interactions from membrane insertion of the aromatic side chains. Fluorinated aromatic amino acids destabilize the cation-π interactions by altering electrostatics of the aromatic ring, whereas their increased hydrophobicity enhances membrane insertion. Incorporation of pentafluorophenylalanine or difluorotyrosine into a Staphylococcus aureus phosphatidylinositol-specific phospholipase C variant engineered to contain a specific PC-binding site demonstrates the effectiveness of this methodology. Applying this methodology to the plethora of tyrosine residues in Bacillus thuringiensis phosphatidylinositol-specific phospholipase C definitively identifies those involved in cation-π interactions with phosphatidylcholine. This powerful method can easily be used to determine the roles of aromatic residues in other peripheral membrane proteins and in integral membrane proteins.

Avoidance of autophagy mediated by PlcA or ActA is required for Listeria monocytogenes growth in macrophages.

Listeria monocytogenes is a facultative intracellular pathogen that escapes from phagosomes and grows in the cytosol of infected host cells. Most of the determinants that govern its intracellular life cycle are controlled by the transcription factor PrfA, including the pore-forming cytolysin listeriolysin O (LLO), two phospholipases C (PlcA and PlcB), and ActA. We constructed a strain that lacked PrfA but expressed LLO from a PrfA-independent promoter, thereby allowing the bacteria to gain access to the host cytosol. This strain did not grow efficiently in wild-type macrophages but grew normally in macrophages that lacked ATG5, a component of the autophagy LC3 conjugation system. This strain colocalized more with the autophagy marker LC3 (42% ± 7%) at 2 h postinfection, which constituted a 5-fold increase over the colocalization exhibited by the wild-type strain (8% ± 6%). While mutants lacking the PrfA-dependent virulence factor PlcA, PlcB, or ActA grew normally, a double mutant lacking both PlcA and ActA failed to grow in wild-type macrophages and colocalized more with LC3 (38% ± 5%). Coexpression of LLO and PlcA in a PrfA-negative strain was sufficient to restore intracellular growth and decrease the colocalization of the bacteria with LC3. In a cell-free assay, purified PlcA protein blocked LC3 lipidation, a key step in early autophagosome biogenesis, presumably by preventing the formation of phosphatidylinositol 3-phosphate (PI3P). The results of this study showed that avoidance of autophagy by L. monocytogenes primarily involves PlcA and ActA and that either one of these factors must be present for L. monocytogenes growth in macrophages.

Phospholipid-binding sites of phosphatase and tensin homolog (PTEN): exploring the mechanism of phosphatidylinositol 4,5-bisphosphate activation.

The lipid phosphatase activity of the tumor suppressor phosphatase and tensin homolog (PTEN) is enhanced by the presence of its biological product, phosphatidylinositol 4,5-bisphosphate (PI(4,5)P2). This enhancement is suggested to occur via the product binding to the N-terminal region of the protein. PTEN effects on short-chain phosphoinositide (31)P linewidths and on the full field dependence of the spin-lattice relaxation rate (measured by high resolution field cycling (31)P NMR using spin-labeled protein) are combined with enzyme kinetics with the same short-chain phospholipids to characterize where PI(4,5)P2 binds on the protein. The results are used to model a discrete site for a PI(4,5)P2 molecule close to, but distinct from, the active site of PTEN. This PI(4,5)P2 site uses Arg-47 and Lys-13 as phosphate ligands, explaining why PTEN R47G and K13E can no longer be activated by that phosphoinositide. Placing a PI(4,5)P2 near the substrate site allows for proper orientation of the enzyme on interfaces and should facilitate processive catalysis.

Quantifying transient interactions between Bacillus phosphatidylinositol-specific phospholipase-C and phosphatidylcholine-rich vesicles.

Bacillus thuringiensis secretes the virulence factor phosphatidylinositol-specific phospholipase C (BtPI-PLC), which specifically binds to phosphatidylcholine (PC) and cleaves GPI-anchored proteins off eukaryotic plasma membranes. To elucidate how BtPI-PLC searches for GPI-anchored proteins on the membrane surface, we measured residence times of single fluorescently labeled proteins on PC-rich small unilamellar vesicles (SUVs). BtPI-PLC interactions with the SUV surface are transient with a lifetime of 379 ± 49 ms. These data also suggest that BtPI-PLC does not directly sense curvature, but rather prefers to bind to the numerous lipid packing defects in SUVs. Despite this preference for defects, all-atom molecular dynamics simulations of BtPI-PLC interacting with PC-rich bilayers show that the protein is shallowly anchored with the deepest insertions ∼18 Å above the bilayer center. Membrane partitioning is mediated, on average, by 41 hydrophobic, 8 hydrogen-bonding, and 2 cation-π (between PC choline headgroups and Tyr residues) transient interactions with phospholipids. These results lead to a quantitative model for BtPI-PLC interactions with cell membranes where protein binding is mediated by lipid packing defects, possibly near GPI-anchored proteins, and the protein diffuses on the membrane for ∼100-380 ms, during which time it may cleave ∼10 GPI-anchored proteins before dissociating. This combination of short two-dimensional scoots followed by three-dimensional hops may be an efficient search strategy on two-dimensional surfaces with obstacles.

Reduced glucose utilization underlies seizure protection with dietary therapy in epileptic EL mice.

Dietary therapy has been used to treat many individuals with epilepsy whose seizures are refractory to antiepileptic drugs. The mechanisms for how dietary therapy confers seizure protection are currently not well understood. We evaluated the acute effects of glucose and ß-hydroxybutyrate (the major circulating ketone body) in conferring seizure protection to the EL mouse, a model of multifactorial idiopathic generalized epilepsy. EL mice were fed either an unrestricted standard diet or a calorie-restricted standard diet to achieve a body weight reduction of 20-23%. D-Glucose, 2-deoxy-D-glucose, and ß-hydroxybutyrate were supplemented in the drinking water of calorie-restricted mice for 2.5 h prior to seizure testing to simulate the effect of increased glucose availability, decreased glucose utilization, and increased ketone availability, respectively. Seizure susceptibility, body weight, plasma glucose, and ß-hydroxybutyrate were measured over a nine-week treatment period. Additionally, excitatory and inhibitory amino acids were measured in the brains of mice using (1)H NMR. Glutamate decarboxylase activity was also measured to evaluate the connection between dietary therapy and brain metabolism. We found that lowering of glucose utilization is necessary to confer seizure protection with long-term (>4 weeks) calorie restriction, whereas increased ketone availability did not affect seizure susceptibility. In the absence of long-term calorie restriction, however, reduced glucose utilization and increased ketone availability did not affect seizure susceptibility. Brain excitatory and inhibitory amino acid content did not change with treatment, and glutamate decarboxylase activity was not associated with seizure susceptibility. We demonstrated that reduced glucose utilization is necessary to confer seizure protection under long-term calorie restriction in EL mice, while acute ketone supplementation did not confer seizure protection. Further studies are needed to uncover the mechanisms by which glucose utilization influences seizure susceptibility.

Cytotoxic amphiphiles and phosphoinositides bind to two discrete sites on the Akt1 PH domain.

The mechanism of binding of two promising anticancer agents (the cytotoxic alkylphospholipids perifosine and miltefosine) to the Akt PH domain is investigated by high-resolution field-cycling (31)P nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy using a spin-labeled recombinant PH domain. These results strongly indicate that there are two discrete amphiphile binding sites on the domain: (i) the cationic site that binds phosphoinositides and some alkylphospholipids and (ii) a second site that is occupied by only the alkylphospholipids. The identification of this second site for amphiphiles on the Akt1 PH domain provides a new target for drug development as well as insights into the regulation of the activity of the intact Akt1 protein. The field-cycling NMR methodology could be used to define discrete phospholipid or amphiphile binding sites on a wide variety of peripheral membrane proteins.

Remnants of the anterior tunica vasculosa lentis and long anterior lens zonules.

PURPOSE: To investigate presence of remnants of the tunica vasculosa lentis, a possible indication of anterior segment dysgenesis, in subjects with the long anterior zonule (LAZ) trait. METHODS: Retroillumination photographs of the pupil region had been collected in earlier study of the LAZ trait in African Americans. Secondary image analysis was performed to assess the frequency of intact persistent pupillary membrane iris strands (PPMIS). RESULTS: The analysis included 148 subjects, comprised of 74 LAZ subjects (median age=70 y; range, 50 to 91 y; 64 females) and 74 controls (68 y; 50 to 83 y; 64 females). While controlling for age and sex, analysis showed that LAZ subjects were 3.1 times more likely than controls (odds ratio=3.1; 95% confidence interval, 1.4-6.7; P=0.004) to exhibit PPMIS in at least one of their eyes. CONCLUSION: The LAZ trait, which is being studied as a potential risk factor for glaucoma, was associated with presence of PPMIS in our study population.