Highly selective water channel activity measured by voltage clamp: analysis of planar lipid bilayers reconstituted with purified AqpZ.

Aquaporins are membrane channels selectively permeated by water or water plus glycerol. Conflicting reports have described ion conductance associated with some water channels, raising the question of whether ion conductance is a general property of the aquaporin family. To clarify this question, a defined system was developed to simultaneously measure water permeability and ion conductance. The Escherichia coli water channel aquaporin-Z (AqpZ) was studied, because it is a highly stable tetramer. Planar lipid bilayers were formed from unilamellar vesicles containing purified AqpZ. The hydraulic conductivity of bilayers made from the total extract of E. coli lipids increased 3-fold if reconstituted with AqpZ, but electric conductance was unchanged. No channel activity was detected under voltage-clamp conditions, indicating that less than one in 10(9) transport events is electrogenic. Microelectrode measurements were simultaneously undertaken adjacent to the membrane. Changes in sodium concentration profiles accompanying transmembrane water flow permitted calculation of the activation energies: 14 kcal/mol for protein-free lipid bilayers and 4 kcal/mol for lipid bilayers containing AqpZ. Neither the water permeability nor the electric conductivity exhibited voltage dependence. This sensitive system demonstrated that AqpZ is permeated by water but not charged ions and should permit direct analyses of putative electrogenic properties of other aquaporins.

Reconstitution and functional comparison of purified GlpF and AqpZ, the glycerol and water channels from Escherichia coli.

A large family of membrane channel proteins selective for transport of water (aquaporins) or water plus glycerol (aquaglyceroporins) has been found in diverse life forms. Escherichia coli has two members of this family-a water channel, AqpZ, and a glycerol facilitator, GlpF. Despite having similar primary amino acid sequences and predicted structures, the oligomeric state and solute selectivity of AqpZ and GlpF are disputed. Here we report biochemical and functional characterizations of affinity-purified GlpF and compare it to AqpZ. Histidine-tagged (His-GlpF) and hemagglutinin-tagged (HA-GlpF) polypeptides encoded by a bicistronic construct were expressed in bacteria. HA-GlpF and His-GlpF appear to form oligomers during Ni-nitrilotriacetate affinity purification. Sucrose gradient sedimentation analyses showed that the oligomeric state of octyl glucoside-solubilized GlpF varies: low ionic strength favors subunit dissociation, whereas Mg(2+) stabilizes tetrameric assembly. Reconstitution of affinity-purified GlpF into proteoliposomes increases glycerol permeability more than 100-fold and water permeability up to 10-fold compared with control liposomes. Glycerol and water permeability of GlpF both occur with low Arrhenius activation energies and are reversibly inhibited by HgCl(2). Our studies demonstrate that, unlike AqpZ, a water-selective stable tetramer, purified GlpF exists in multiple oligomeric forms under nondenaturing conditions and is highly permeable to glycerol but less well permeated by water.

The 6.9-A structure of GlpF: a basis for homology modeling of the glycerol channel from Escherichia coli.

The three-dimensional structure of GlpF, the glycerol facilitator of Escherichia coli, was determined by cryo-electron microscopy. The 6.9-A density map calculated from images of two-dimensional crystals shows the GlpF helices to be similar to those of AQP1, the erythrocyte water channel. While the helix arrangement of GlpF does not reflect the larger pore diameter as seen in the projection map, additional peripheral densities observed in GlpF are compatible with the 31 additional residues in loops C and E, which accordingly do not interfere with the inner channel construction. Therefore, the atomic structure of AQP1 was used as a basis for homology modeling of the GlpF channel, which is predicted to be free of bends, wider, and more vertically oriented than the AQP1 channel. Furthermore, the residues facing the GlpF channel exhibit an amphiphilic nature, being hydrophobic on one side and hydrophilic on the other side. This property may partially explain the contradiction of glycerol diffusion but limited water permeation capacity.

The 3.7 A projection map of the glycerol facilitator GlpF: a variant of the aquaporin tetramer.

GlpF, the glycerol facilitator protein of Escherichia coli, is an archetypal member of the aquaporin superfamily. To assess its structure, recombinant histidine-tagged protein was overexpressed, solubilized in octylglucoside and purified to homogeneity. Negative stain electron microscopy of solubilized GlpF protein revealed a tetrameric structure of approximately 80 A side length. Scanning transmission electron microscopy yielded a mass of 170 kDa, corroborating the tetrameric nature of GlpF. Reconstitution of GlpF in the presence of lipids produced highly ordered two-dimensional crystals, which diffracted electrons to 3.6 A resolution. Cryoelectron microscopy provided a 3.7 A projection map exhibiting a unit cell comprised of two tetramers. In projection, GlpF is similar to AQP1, the erythrocyte water channel. However, the major density minimum within each monomer is distinctly larger in GlpF than in AQP1.

Functional reconstitution and characterization of AqpZ, the E. coli water channel protein.

Understanding the selectivity of aquaporin water channels will require structural and functional studies of wild-type and modified proteins; however, expression systems have not previously yielded aquaporins in the necessary milligram quantities. Here we report expression of a histidine-tagged form of Escherichia coli aquaporin-Z (AqpZ) in its homologous expression system. 10-His-AqpZ is solubilized and purified to near homogeneity in a single step with a final yield of approximately 2.5 mg/l of culture. The histidine tag is removed by trypsin, yielding the native protein with the addition of three N-terminal residues, as confirmed by microsequencing. Sucrose gradient sedimentation analysis showed that the native, solubilized AqpZ protein is a trypsin-resistant tetramer. Unlike other known aquaporins, AqpZ tetramers are not readily dissociated by 1% SDS at neutral pH. Hydrophilic reducing agents have a limited effect on the stability of the tetramer in 1% SDS, whereas incubations for more than 24 hours, pH values below 5.6, or exposure to the hydrophobic reducing agent ethanedithiol cause dissociation into monomers. Cys20, but not Cys9, is necessary for the stability of the AqpZ tetramer in SDS. Upon reconstitution into proteoliposomes, AqpZ displays very high osmotic water permeability (pf > or = 10 x 10(-14) cm3 s-1 subunit-1) and low Arrhenius activation energy (Ea = 3.7 kcal/mol), similar to mammalian aquaporin-1 (AQP1). No permeation by glycerol, urea or sorbitol was detected. Expression of native and modified AqpZ in milligram quantities has permitted biophysical characterization of this remarkably stable aquaporin tetramer, which is being utilized for high-resolution structural studies.

Structure of the water channel AqpZ from Escherichia coli revealed by electron crystallography.

Molecular water channels (aquaporins) allow living cells to adapt to osmotic variations by rapid and specific diffusion of water molecules. Aquaporins are present in animals, plants, algae, fungi and bacteria. Here we present an electron microscopic analysis of the most ancient water channel described so far: the aquaporin Z (AqpZ) of Escherichia coli. A recombinant AqpZ with a poly(histidine) tag at the N terminus has been constructed, overexpressed and purified to homogeneity. Solubilized with octylglucoside, the purified AqpZ remains associated as a homotetramer, and assembles into highly ordered two-dimensional tetragonal crystals with unit cell dimensions a = b = 95 A, gamma = 90 degrees when reconstituted by dialysis in the presence of lipids. Three-dimensional reconstruction of negatively stained lattices revealed the p42(1)2 packing arrangement that is also observed with the human erythrocyte water channel (AQP1). The 8 A projection map of the AqpZ tetramer in frozen hydrated samples is similar to that of AQP1, consistent with the high sequence homology between these proteins.

Competition of hydrophobic peptides, cytotoxic drugs, and chemosensitizers on a common P-glycoprotein pharmacophore as revealed by its ATPase activity.

The aim of the present study was to demonstrate that the modulation of P-glycoprotein (Pgp) ATPase activity by peptides, drugs, and chemosensitizers takes place on a common drug pharmacophore. To this end, a highly emetine-resistant Chinese hamster ovary cell line was established, in which Pgp constituted 18% of plasma membrane protein. Reconstituted proteoliposomes, the Pgp content of which was up to 40%, displayed a basal activity of 2.6 +/- 0.45 micromol of Pi/min/mg of protein, suggesting the presence of an endogenous Pgp substrate. This basal ATPase activity was stimulated (up to 5.2 micromol of Pi/min/mg of protein) by valinomycin and various Pgp substrates, whereas, to our surprise, gramicidin D, an established Pgp substrate, was inhibitory. Taking advantage of this novel inhibition of Pgp ATPase activity by gramicidin D, a drug competition assay was devised in which gramicidin D-inhibited Pgp ATPase was coincubated with increasing concentrations of various substrates that stimulate its ATPase activity. Gramicidin D inhibition of Pgp ATPase was reversed by Pgp substrates, including various cytotoxic agents and chemosensitizers. The inhibition of the basal ATPase activity and the reversal of gramicidin D inhibition of Pgp ATPase by its various substrates conformed to classical Michaelis-Menten competition. This competition involved an endogenous substrate, the inhibitory drug gramicidin D, and a stimulatory substrate. We conclude that the various MDR type substrates and chemosensitizers compete on a common drug binding site present in Pgp.

Transport of polypeptide ionophores into proteoliposomes reconstituted with rat liver P-glycoprotein.

The aim of this study was to examine the peptide transport activity of a naturally occurring P-glycoprotein such as that present in rat liver canalicular membrane vesicles. The peptide ionophores valinomycin and gramicidin D, which are known substrates of P-glycoprotein, served to monitor the P-glycoprotein activity indirectly as the ATP-dependent uptake of 86Rb+ mediated by these ionophores. Canalicular membrane vesicles proved inherently permeable to K+ ions, which prevented assay of transport ionophore activity. Therefore, P-glycoprotein was extracted from canalicular membrane vesicles and reconstituted into proteoliposomes that are relatively impermeable to cations. P-glycoprotein activity in the proteoliposomes was dependent on ATP hydrolysis since it was not observed with non-hydrolyzable analogs of ATP. Maximal ATP-dependent 86Rb+ uptake occurred at 50 nM gramicidin D and at 500 nM valinomycin thus possibly reflecting higher affinity of P-glycoprotein for gramicidin D. Nigericin, which does not participate in the multidrug resistance phenomenon, did not support an ATP-dependent uptake of 86Rb+. ATP hydrolysis increased the amount of 86RB+ transported into the proteoliposomes. Furthermore, preincubation of the proteoliposomes in the presence of gramicidin D and 86Rb+, allowing for maximal ATP-independent 86Rb+ uptake to occur, did not interfere with subsequent ATP-dependent uptake, indicating the latter to constitute an active transport mechanism. The ATP-dependent component of 86Rb+ uptake occurred neither with liposomes nor with proteoliposomes reconstituted with proteins extracted from sinusoidal vesicles that lack P-glycoprotein. The ATP-dependent uptake was blocked by the known inhibitors of the ATPase activity associated with P-glycoprotein, oligomycin and vanadate, as well as by its established substrates, daunorubicin, doxorubicin, vinblastine, and the tripeptide N-acetyl-leucyl-leucyl-norleucinal. Thus, the reconstituted P-glycoprotein catalyzes the ATP-dependent 86Rb+ uptake that appears to occur by an energy-dependent translocation of the 86Rb(+)-ionophore complex. In this case, the actual substrate of P-glycoprotein is the ionophore-cation complex, which is both hydrophobic and positively charged as are most of the substrates of P-glycoprotein. This is the first demonstration of transport of a naturally occurring polypeptide by proteoliposomes reconstituted with physiologically expressed P-glycoprotein.

Probing the interaction of the multidrug-resistance phenotype with the polypeptide ionophore gramicidin D via functional channel formation.

It has been proposed that the multidrug resistance (MDR) transporter, P-glycoprotein (P-170), may be physiologically involved in the transport of polypeptides. As a step towards understanding the interaction of P-170 with polypeptides, we isolated various gramicidin-D-resistant mammalian cell lines. Gramicidin D is a hydrophobic pentadecapeptide ionophore that forms proton and alkali metal cation-permeable channels in lipid bilayers. Gramicidin-D-resistant cells displayed a prominent MDR gene amplification, P-170 overexpression, reduced drug accumulation, and consequent resistance to MDR-type cytotoxic agents. Modulators of the MDR phenotype, including verapamil, reserpine and quinidine, rendered these cells sensitive to gramicidin D. Using these cell lines, we established an assay that probes for the intra-membranal interaction between P-170 and gramicidin D. Gramicidin-D channel formation was followed by cellular accumulation of 86Rb+. Ionophore-resistant cells, and other MDR cells, did not show an appreciable increase in 86Rb+ influx rates, in the presence of increasing gramicidin-D concentrations. In contrast, parental cells displayed a dose-dependent increase in the 86Rb+ influx rates. Interestingly, in the absence of serum, gramicidin-D-resistant cells resumed the wild-type, ionophore-dose-dependent increase in 86Rb+ influx rates. MDR modulators caused a resumption of channel formation in ionophore-resistant cells. We conclude that acquisition of the MDR phenotype is an efficient means of cellular protection against gramicidin D. Hence, a new approach is offered in which P-170 interaction with gramicidin D is quantitatively followed by a rapid assessment of the biological activity (i.e. channel formation) of the substrate itself. Possible mechanisms of P-170 interaction with free ionophore monomers, and membrane-associated gramicidin D are discussed.

Differential reversal of lipophilic antifolate resistance in mammalian cells with modulators of the multidrug resistance phenotype.

Chinese hamster ovary (CHO) T19 cells express a stable P-glycoprotein (P-170)-dependent multidrug resistance (MDR) phenotype and display a 24- to 29-fold cross-resistance to the lipophilic antifolates piritrexim (PTX) and trimetrexate (TMTX). We have examined the ability of various modulators of the MDR phenotype to sensitize T19 cells to TMTX and PTX in a clonogenic assay. An almost complete reversal of TMTX resistance in T19 cells was achieved with several modulators of the MDR phenotype whereas only a partial sensitization of T19 cells to PTX was obtained with the most potent modulator. In an attempt to explore the apparent P-170-independent locus of protection against PTX, resistant T19 sublines were isolated after stepwise selection with PTX and TMTX. Thus, T19 cells made resistant to PTX displayed a dramatic decrease in P-170 mRNA levels despite the maintenance of the parental T19 MDR gene amplification, whereas T19 cells selected for TMTX resistance exhibited a further increase in P-170 mRNA levels. Hence, the modulation experiments together with the established lipophilic antifolate-resistant T19 variants suggest that although T19 cells possess a P-170-dependent MDR phenotype and display a similar cross-resistance to TMTX and PTX, the protective pathway need not be necessarily via P-170. Rather, a pathway appears to exist that protects T19 MDR cells from the cytotoxicity of PTX without requiring a P-170 function.