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| 2. |
- Clifton, Luke A., et al.
(författare)
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Insight into Bcl-2 proteins' functioning at mitochondrial membrane level
- 2023
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Ingår i: Biophysical Journal. - : Elsevier. - 0006-3495 .- 1542-0086. ; 122:3S1, s. 232a-232a
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Programmed cell death (apoptosis) is essential in life. In its intrinsic apoptotic pathway opposing members of the B-cell lymphoma 2 (Bcl-2) protein family control the permeability of the mitochondrial outer membrane (MOM) and the release of apoptotic factors such as cytochrome c. Any misregulation of this process can cause disorders most prominently cancer, where often upregulation of cell protecting (anti-apoptotic) Bcl-2 members such as the Bcl-2 membrane protein itself plays a notorious role by blocking MOM perforation by - often drug induced - apoptotic proteins such as Bax which would cause cancer cell death normally. Here, we apply neutron reflectometry (NR) on supported lipid bilayers which mimic MOM environment and solid state/liquid state NMR spectroscopy to unravel the molecular basis driving opposing proteins to interact with each other at the MOM; a mechanism which is not really understood yet due to lack of high-resolution structural insight. Based on our central hypothesis that Bcl-2 drives its cell-protecting function at a membrane-embedded location as revealed by NR (1), we focus i) to determine the structure of human Bcl-2 protein in its membrane setting by combining solution and solid-state NMR; ii) use NR to study the kinetics and lipid/protein pore assemblied upon binding of Bax to mitochondrial membranes and its membrane destroying activities there; and iii) unravel the nature of direct interaction between Bcl-2 and Bax to neutralize each other. Knowledge generated here, will be indispensable in understanding the regulative function of the Bcl-2 family at mitochondrial membranes.
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| 3. |
- Dingeldein, Artur Peter Günther, et al.
(författare)
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Apoptotic Bax at Oxidatively Stressed Mitochondrial Membranes : Lipid Dynamics and Permeabilization
- 2017
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Ingår i: Biophysical Journal. - : Elsevier BV. - 0006-3495 .- 1542-0086. ; 112:10, s. 2147-2158
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Mitochondria are crucial compartments of eukaryotic cells because they function as the cellular power plant and play a central role in the early stages of programmed cell death (apoptosis). To avoid undesired cell death, this apoptotic pathway is tightly regulated by members of the Bcl-2 protein family, which interact on the external surface of the mitochondria, i.e., the mitochondrial outer membrane (MOM), and modulate its permeability to apoptotic factors, controlling their release into the cytosol. A growing body of evidence suggests that the MOM lipids play active roles in this permeabilization process. In particular, oxidized phospholipids (OxPls) formed under intracellular stress seem to directly induce apoptotic activity at the MOM. Here we show that the process of MOM pore formation is sensitive to the type of OxPls species that are generated. We created MOM-mimicking liposome systems, which resemble the cellular situation before apoptosis and upon triggering of oxidative stress conditions. These vesicles were studied using P-31 solid-state magic-angle-spinning nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy and differential scanning calorimetry, together with dye leakage assays. Direct polarization and cross-polarization nuclear magnetic resonance experiments enabled us to probe the heterogeneity of these membranes and their associated molecular dynamics. The addition of apoptotic Bax protein to OxPls-containing vesicles drastically changed the membranes' dynamic behavior, almost completely negating the previously observed effect of temperature on the lipids' molecular dynamics and inducing an ordering effect that led to more cooperative membrane melting. Our results support the hypothesis that the mitochondrion-specific lipid cardiolipin functions as a first contact site for Bax during its translocation to the MOM in the onset of apoptosis. In addition, dye leakage assays revealed that different OxPls species in the MOM-mimicking vesicles can have opposing effects on Bax pore formation.
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| 4. |
- Dingeldein, Artur P G, et al.
(författare)
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BCL-2 Family Proteins Effect on Mitochondrial-Mimicking Membrane Structure by Solid State NMR
- 2015
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Ingår i: Biophysical Journal. - : Cell Press. - 0006-3495 .- 1542-0086. ; 108:2, s. 251A-252A
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Tidskriftsartikel (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- Mitochondria are not only the cells' powerhouse, but also involved in their suicide via apoptosis. Key regulators of this pathway are members of the Bcl-2 protein family which interact with the outer mitochondrial membrane to modulate permeability and enable the release of apoptotic stimuli like cytochrome c. For a long time the mitochondrial membrane forming lipids have been seen as merely structural building units with proteins doing the actual work. This view changed in recent years, since lipids were shown to be also directly involved in apoptotic events e.g. under intracellular oxidative stress. Oxidized phospholipids (OxPls) generated under these stress conditions might trigger mitochondria-mediated apoptosis. Their presence in mitochondrial membranes can severely alter the properties of these membranes with yet unknown consequences regarding the formation of pores through membrane-mediated interplay with apoptotic Bax protein. We therefore devised a model system that embodies oxidative stress conditions by incorporating OxPls into mitochondria mimicking model membranes composed of phosphatidylcholine (PC), phosphatidylethanolamine (PE) and cardiolipin (CL) to study the impact of OxPls on apoptotic Bax-membrane interactions. To obtain molecular insight into hydrophobic fatty acid regions of membranes and their hydrophilic interface which is responsible for first protein-membrane contacts, we used differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) and solid state NMR spectroscopy. Upon incorporating OxPls with carboxyl (PoxnoPC) or aldehyde (PazePC) groups at their truncated sn-2-chains into our mitochondria model membranes, calorimetric and NMR measurements showed dramatic changes. 31P NMR experiments revealed major perturbation effects in these membranes; an effect which presumably elevates the membrane binding of apoptotic Bax to the charged membranes and its partial penetration, being a prerequisite for its final formation of pores which enable cytochrome c release from the mitochondrial interior. Currently structural studies of various Bax-lipid assemblies are ongoing.
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| 8. |
- Mikhalyov, I, et al.
(författare)
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Designed fluorescent probes reveal interactions between Amyloid-β(1-40) Peptides and GM1 Gangliosides in Micelles and Lipid Vesicles
- 2010
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Ingår i: Biophysical Journal. - : Elsevier BV. - 0006-3495 .- 1542-0086. ; 99:5, s. 1510-1519
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- A hallmark of the common Alzheimer's disease (AD) is the pathological conversion of its amphiphatic amyloid-beta (Abeta) peptide into neurotoxic aggregates. In AD patients, these aggregates are often found to be tightly associated with neuronal G(M1) ganglioside lipids, suggesting an involvement of G(M1) not only in aggregate formation but also in neurotoxic events. Significant interactions were found between micelles made of newly synthesized fluorescent G(M1) gangliosides labeled in the polar headgroup or the hydrophobic chain and Abeta(1-40) peptide labeled with a BODIPY-FL-C1 fluorophore at positions 12 and 26, respectively. From an analysis of energy transfer between the different fluorescence labels and their location in the molecules, we were able to place the Abeta peptide inside G(M1) micelles, close to the hydrophobic-hydrophilic interface. Large unilamellar vesicles composed of a raftlike G(M1)/bSM/cholesterol lipid composition doped with labeled G(M1) at various positions also interact with labeled Abeta peptide tagged to amino acids 2 or 26. A faster energy transfer was observed from the Abeta peptide to bilayers doped with 581/591-BODIPY-C(11)-G(M1) in the nonpolar part of the lipid compared with 581/591-BODIPY-C(5)-G(M1) residing in the polar headgroup. These data are compatible with a clustering process of G(M1) molecules, an effect that not only increases the Abeta peptide affinity, but also causes a pronounced Abeta peptide penetration deeper into the lipid membrane; all these factors are potentially involved in Abeta peptide aggregate formation due to an altered ganglioside metabolism found in AD patients.
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| 9. |
- Ul Mushtaq, Ameeq, et al.
(författare)
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Domain-specific insight into the recognition of BH3-death motifs by the pro-survival Bcl-2 protein
- 2022
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Ingår i: Biophysical Journal. - : Elsevier. - 0006-3495 .- 1542-0086. ; 121:23, s. 4517-4525
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Programmed mammalian cell death (apoptosis) is an essential mechanism in life that tightly regulates embryogenesis and removal of dysfunctional cells. In its intrinsic (mitochondrial) pathway, opposing members of the Bcl-2 (B cell lymphoma 2) protein family meet at the mitochondrial outer membrane (MOM) to control its integrity. Any imbalance can cause disorders, with upregulation of the cell-guarding antiapoptotic Bcl-2 protein itself being common in many, often incurable, cancers. Normally, the Bcl-2 protein itself is embedded in the MOM where it sequesters cell-killing apoptotic proteins such as Bax (Bcl-2-associated X protein) that would otherwise perforate the MOM and subsequently cause cell death. However, the molecular basis of Bcl-2’s ability to recognize those apoptotic proteins via their common BH3 death motifs remains elusive due to the lack of structural insight. By employing nuclear magnetic resonance on fully functional human Bcl-2 protein in membrane-mimicking micelles, we identified glycine residues across all functional domains of the Bcl-2 protein and could monitor their residue-specific individual response upon the presence of a Bax-derived 36aa long BH3 domain. The observed chemical shift perturbations allowed us to determine the response and individual affinity of each glycine residue and provide an overall picture of the individual roles by which Bcl-2’s functional domains engage in recognizing and inhibiting apoptotic proteins via their prominent BH3 motifs. This way, we provide a unique residue- and domain-specific insight into the molecular functioning of Bcl-2 at the membrane level, an insight also opening up for interfering with this cell-protecting mechanism in cancer therapy.
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