New examples of membrane protein expression and purification using the yeast based Pdr1-3 expression strategy.

Overexpression and purification of membrane proteins has been a bottleneck for their functional and structural study for a long time. Both homologous and heterologous expression of membrane proteins with suitable tags for purification presents unique challenges for cloning and expression. Saccharomyces cerevisiae is a potential host system with significant closeness to higher eukaryotes and provides opportunity for attempts to express membrane proteins. In the past, bakers yeast containing mutations within the transcriptional regulator Pdr1 has been used to overexpress various membrane proteins including for example the ABC transporters Pdr5 and Yor1, respectively. In this study we exploited this system and tried to express and purify 3 membrane proteins in yeast along with Pdr5 and Yor1 viz. Rsb1, Mdl1 and Drs2 by virtue of an N-terminal 14-histidine affinity tag. Out of these five, we could express all membrane proteins although at different levels. Satisfactory yields were obtained for three examples i.e. Pdr5, Yor1 and Drs2. Rsb1 expression was comparatively low and Mdl1 was rather unsatisfactory. Thus, we demonstrate here the application of this yeast based expression system that is suitable for cloning, expression and purification of a wide variety of membrane proteins.

Generating symmetry in the asymmetric ATP-binding cassette (ABC) transporter Pdr5 from Saccharomyces cerevisiae.

Pdr5 is a plasma membrane-bound ABC transporter from Saccharomyces cerevisiae and is involved in the phenomenon of resistance against xenobiotics, which are clinically relevant in bacteria, fungi, and humans. Many fungal ABC transporters such as Pdr5 display an inherent asymmetry in their nucleotide-binding sites (NBS) unlike most of their human counterparts. This degeneracy of the NBSs is very intriguing and needs explanation in terms of structural and functional relevance. In this study, we mutated nonconsensus amino acid residues in the NBSs to its consensus counterpart and studied its effect on the function of the protein and effect on yeast cells. The completely "regenerated" Pdr5 protein was severely impaired in its function of ATP hydrolysis and of rhodamine 6G transport. Moreover, we observe alternative compensatory mechanisms to counteract drug toxicity in some of the mutants. In essence, we describe here the first attempts to restore complete symmetry in an asymmetric ABC transporter and to study its effects, which might be relevant to the entire class of asymmetric ABC transporters.

Functional impact of a single mutation within the transmembrane domain of the multidrug ABC transporter Pdr5.

The pleiotropic drug resistance network in budding yeast presents a first line of defense against xenobiotics, which is formed by primary and secondary active membrane transporters. Among these transporters, the ABC transporter Pdr5 is a key component, because it confers resistance against a broad spectrum of such cytotoxic agents. Furthermore, it represents a model system for homologous transporters from pathogenic fungi and has been intensively studied in the past. In addition to other mutational studies, the S1360F mutation of Pdr5 was found to modulate substrate specificity and resistance. Notably, in the S1360F background, the resistance against the immunosuppressant FK506 is drastically increased. We present a detailed analysis of this mutation that is located in the predicted cytosolic part of transmembrane helix 11. Our data demonstrate that kinetic and thermodynamic parameters of the S1360F mutant are similar to those of the wild-type protein, except for FK506-inhibited ATPase activity and the degree of competitive inhibition. In summary, our results indicate that the S1360F mutation within the transmembrane domain interferes drastically with the ability of the nucleotide-binding domains to hydrolyze ATP by interfering with interdomain crosstalk.

The multidrug transporter Pdr5: a molecular diode?

A subset of the family of ATP-binding cassette (ABC) transporters has been in focus owing to their involvement in conferring multidrug resistance in cancer cells and among immune compromised individuals. Saccharomyces cerevisiae is protected against xenobiotics by similar machineries that are part of the pleitropic drug resistance (PDR) network. The ABC transporter Pdr5 is an important member of this PDR network in yeast and is involved in cellular detoxification by the efflux of a wide variety of drugs and substrates. In this review, we focus on the aspects of detergent effects and the degeneracy in conserved sequences that is observed in the nucleotide binding domains of Pdr5 and discuss their functional relevance.