Mechanistic studies of the biogenesis and folding of outer membrane proteins in vitro and in vivo: what have we learned to date?

Research into the mechanisms by which proteins fold into their native structures has been on-going since the work of Anfinsen in the 1960s. Since that time, the folding mechanisms of small, water-soluble proteins have been well characterised. By contrast, progress in understanding the biogenesis and folding mechanisms of integral membrane proteins has lagged significantly because of the need to create a membrane mimetic environment for folding studies in vitro and the difficulties in finding suitable conditions in which reversible folding can be achieved. Improved knowledge of the factors that promote membrane protein folding and disfavour aggregation now allows studies of folding into lipid bilayers in vitro to be performed. Consequently, mechanistic details and structural information about membrane protein folding are now emerging at an ever increasing pace. Using the panoply of methods developed for studies of the folding of water-soluble proteins. This review summarises current knowledge of the mechanisms of outer membrane protein biogenesis and folding into lipid bilayers in vivo and in vitro and discusses the experimental techniques utilised to gain this information. The emerging knowledge is beginning to allow comparisons to be made between the folding of membrane proteins with current understanding of the mechanisms of folding of water-soluble proteins.

Amphipathic polymers enable the study of functional membrane proteins in the gas phase.

Membrane proteins are notoriously challenging to analyze using mass spectrometry (MS) because of their insolubility in aqueous solution. Current MS methods for studying intact membrane proteins involve solubilization in detergent. However, detergents can destabilize proteins, leading to protein unfolding and aggregation, or resulting in inactive entities. Amphipathic polymers, termed amphipols, can be used as a substitute for detergents and have been shown to enhance the stability of membrane proteins. Here, we show the utility of amphipols for investigating the structural and functional properties of membrane proteins using electrospray ionization mass spectrometry (ESI-MS). The functional properties of two bacterial outer-membrane ß-barrel proteins, OmpT and PagP, in complex with the amphipol A8-35 are demonstrated, and their structural integrities are confirmed in the gas phase using ESI-MS coupled with ion mobility spectrometry (IMS). The data illustrate the power of ESI-IMS-MS in separating distinct populations of amphipathic polymers from the amphipol-membrane complex while maintaining a conformationally "nativelike" membrane protein structure in the gas phase. Together, the data indicate the potential importance and utility of amphipols for the analysis of membrane proteins using MS.

Dissecting the effects of periplasmic chaperones on the in vitro folding of the outer membrane protein PagP.

Although many periplasmic folding factors have been identified, the mechanisms by which they interact with unfolded outer membrane proteins (OMPs) to promote correct folding and membrane insertion remain poorly understood. Here, we have investigated the effect of two chaperones, Skp and SurA, on the folding kinetics of the OMP, PagP. Folding kinetics of PagP into both zwitterionic diC12:0PC (1,2-dilauroyl-sn-glycero-3-phosphocholine) liposomes and negatively charged 80:20 diC12:0PC:diC12:0PG [1,2-dilauroyl-sn-glycero-3-phospho-(1'-rac-glycerol)] liposomes were investigated using a combination of spectroscopic and SDS-PAGE assays. The results indicate that Skp modulates the observed rate of PagP folding in a manner that is dependent on the composition of the membrane and the ionic strength of the buffer used. These data suggest that electrostatic interactions play an important role in Skp-assisted substrate delivery to the membrane. In contrast, SurA showed no effect on the observed folding rates of PagP, consistent with the view that these chaperones act by distinct mechanisms in partially redundant parallel chaperone pathways that facilitate OMP assembly. In addition to delivery of the substrate protein to the membrane, the ability of Skp to prevent OMP aggregation was investigated. The results show that folding and membrane insertion of PagP can be restored, in part, by Skp in conditions that strongly favour PagP aggregation. These results illustrate the utility of in vitro systems for dissecting the complex folding environment encountered by OMPs in the periplasm and demonstrate the key role of Skp in holding aggregation-prone OMPs prior to their direct or indirect delivery to the membrane.