Transient Structural Properties of the Rho GDP-Dissociation Inhibitor.

Rho GTPases, master spatial regulators of a wide range of cellular processes, are orchestrated by complex formation with guanine nucleotide dissociation inhibitors (RhoGDIs). These have been thought to possess an unstructured N-terminus that inhibits nucleotide exchange of their client upon binding/folding. Via NMR analyses, molecular dynamics simulations, and biochemical assays, we reveal instead pertinent structural properties transiently maintained both, in the presence and absence of the client, imposed onto the terminus context-specifically by modulating interactions with the surface of the folded C-terminal domain. These observations revise the long-standing textbook picture of the GTPases' mechanism of membrane extraction. Rather than by a disorder-to-order transition upon binding of an inhibitory peptide, the intricate and highly selective extraction process of RhoGTPases is orchestrated via a dynamic ensemble bearing preformed transient structural properties, suitably modulated by the specific surrounding along the multi-step process.

Introducing a fluorescence-based standard to quantify protein partitioning into membranes.

The affinity of peripheral membrane proteins for a lipid bilayer can be described using the partition coefficient (KP). Although several methods to determine KP are known, all possess limitations. To address some of these issues, we developed both: a versatile method based on single molecule detection and fluorescence imaging for determining KP, and a simple measurement standard employing hexahistidine-tagged enhanced green fluorescent protein (eGFP-His6) and free standing membranes of giant unilamellar vesicles (GUVs) functionalized with NTA(Ni) lipids as binding sites. To ensure intrinsic control, our method features two measurement modes. In the single molecule mode, fluorescence correlation spectroscopy (FCS) is applied to quantify free and membrane associated protein concentrations at equilibrium and calculate KP. In the imaging mode, confocal fluorescence images of GUVs are recorded and analyzed with semi-automated software to extract protein mean concentrations used to derive KP. Both modes were compared by determining the affinity of our standard, resulting in equivalent KP values. As observed in other systems, eGFP-His6 affinity for membranes containing increasing amounts of NTA(Ni) lipids rises in a stronger-than-linear fashion. We compared our dual approach with a FCS-based assay that uses large unilamellar vesicles (LUVs), which however fails to capture the stronger-than-linear trend for our NTA(Ni)-His6 standard. Hence, we determined the KP of the MARCKS effector domain with our FCS approach on GUVs, whose results are consistent with previously published data using LUVs. We finally provide a practical manual on how to measure KP and understand it in terms of molecules per lipid surface.

Asymmetric supported lipid bilayer formation via methyl-ß-cyclodextrin mediated lipid exchange: influence of asymmetry on lipid dynamics and phase behavior.

Supported lipid bilayers (SLBs) are broadly used as minimal membrane models and commonly produced by vesicle fusion (VF) on solid supports. Despite its advantages, VF does not allow the controlled formation of bilayers that mimic the leaflet asymmetry in lipid composition normally found in biological systems. Here we present a simple, quick, and versatile method to produce SLBs with a desired asymmetric lipid composition which is stable for ca. 4 h. We apply methyl-ß-cyclodextrin mediated lipid exchange to SLBs formed by VF to enrich the upper leaflet of the bilayer with sphingomyelin. The bilayer asymmetry is assessed by fluorescence correlation spectroscopy, measuring the lipid mobility separately in each leaflet. To check the compatibility of the method with the most common protein reconstitution approaches, we report the production of asymmetric SLBs (aSLBs) in the presence of a glycosylphosphatidylinositol-anchored protein, reconstituted in the bilayer both, via direct protein insertion, and via proteoliposomes fusion. We finally apply aSLBs to study phase separation and transbilayer lipid movement of raft-mimicking lipid mixtures. The observed differences in terms of phase separation in symmetric and asymmetric SLBs with the same overall lipid composition provide further experimental evidence that the transversal lipid distribution affects the overall lipid miscibility and allow to temporally investigate leaflet mixing.

Extraction of active RhoGTPases by RhoGDI regulates spatiotemporal patterning of RhoGTPases.

The RhoGTPases are characterized as membrane-associated molecular switches that cycle between active, GTP-bound and inactive, GDP-bound states. However, 90-95% of RhoGTPases are maintained in a soluble form by RhoGDI, which is generally viewed as a passive shuttle for inactive RhoGTPases. Our current understanding of RhoGTPase:RhoGDI dynamics has been limited by two experimental challenges: direct visualization of the RhoGTPases in vivo and reconstitution of the cycle in vitro. We developed methods to directly image vertebrate RhoGTPases in vivo or on lipid bilayers in vitro. Using these methods, we identified pools of active and inactive RhoGTPase associated with the membrane, found that RhoGDI can extract both inactive and active RhoGTPases, and found that extraction of active RhoGTPase contributes to their spatial regulation around cell wounds. These results indicate that RhoGDI directly contributes to the spatiotemporal patterning of RhoGTPases by removing active RhoGTPases from the plasma membrane.

In vitro Reconstitution of a Membrane Switch Mechanism for the Polarity Protein LGL.

Cell polarity arises from a combination of interactions between biological molecules, such as activation, inhibition, and positive or negative feedback between specific polarity units. Activation and inhibition often take place in the form of a membrane binding switch. Lethal giant larvae (LGL), a conserved regulator of cell polarity in animals, was suggested to function as such a switch. LGL localizes to both the cytoplasm and, asymmetrically, the membrane. However, the spatial regulation mechanism of LGL membrane localization has remained unclear. For systematic elucidation, we set out to reconstitute a minimal polarity unit using a model membrane, Caenorhabditis elegans LGL (LGL-1), and atypical protein kinase C (aPKC) supposed to activate the membrane switch. We identified a membrane binding sequence (MBS) in LGL-1 by a screen in vivo, reconstituted LGL-1 membrane binding in vitro, and successfully implemented the membrane switch by aPKC phosphorylation activity, detaching LGL from membranes. Upon membrane binding, LGL-1 MBS folds into an alpha-helix in which three regions can be identified: a positively charged patch, a switch area containing the three aPKC phosphorylation sites, and a hydrophobic area probably buried in the membrane. Phosphorylation by aPKC dramatically reduces the binding affinity of the LGL-1 MBS to negatively charged model membranes, inducing its detachment. Specific residues in the MBS are critical for LGL-1 function in C. elegans.

Diffusion coefficients and dissociation constants of enhanced green fluorescent protein binding to free standing membranes.

Recently, a new and versatile assay to determine the partitioning coefficient [Formula: see text] as a measure for the affinity of peripheral membrane proteins for lipid bilayers was presented in the research article entitled, "Introducing a fluorescence-based standard to quantify protein partitioning into membranes" [1]. Here, the well-characterized binding of hexahistidine-tag (His6) to NTA(Ni) was utilized. Complementarily, this data article reports the average diffusion coefficient [Formula: see text] of His6-tagged enhanced green fluorescent protein (eGFP-His6) and the fluorescent lipid analog ATTO-647N-DOPE in giant unilamellar vesicles (GUVs) containing different amounts of NTA(Ni) lipids. In addition, dissociation constants [Formula: see text] of the NTA(Ni)/eGFP-His6 system are reported. Further, a conversion between [Formula: see text] and [Formula: see text] is provided.