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Bacterial LmrA, an integral membrane protein of Lactococcus lactis, confers multidrug resistance by mediating active extrusion of a wide variety of structurally unrelated compounds. Similar to its eucaryotic homologue P-gp, this protein is a member of the ATP-binding cassette (ABC) superfamily. Different predictive models, based on hydropathy profiles, have been proposed to describe the structure of the ABC transporters in general and of LmrA in particular. We used polarized attenuated total reflection infrared spectroscopy, combined with limited proteolysis, to investigate the secondary structure and the orientation of the transmembrane segments of LmrA. We bring the first experimental evidence that the membrane-embedded domain of LmrA is composed of transmembrane-oriented a-helices. Furthermore, a new approach was developed in order to provide information about membrane domain dynamics. Monitoring the infrared linear dichroism spectra in the course of H-1/H-2 exchange allowed to focus the recording of exchange rates on the membrane-embedded region of the protein only. This approach revealed an unusual structural dynamics, indicating high flexibility in this antibiotic binding and transport region.

Transport of hydrophilic di- and tripeptides into Lactococcus lactis is mediated by a proton motive force-driven peptide transport protein (DtpT) that shares similarity with eukaryotic peptide transporters, e.g., from kidney and small intestine of rabbit, man, and rat. Hydropathy profiling in combination with the ''positive inside rule'' predicts for most of the homologous proteins an a-helical bundle of 12 transmembrane segments, but the positions of these transmembrane segments and the location of the amino and carboxyl termini are by no means conclusive. The secondary structure of DtpT was investigated by analysing 42 DtpT-alkaline phosphatase fusion proteins, generated by random or directed fusions of the corresponding genes. These studies confirm the presence of 12 transmembrane segments but refute several other predictions made of the secondary structure. Data obtained from the fusion proteins were substantiated by studying the accessibility of single cysteine mutants in putative cytoplasmic or extracellular loops by membrane (im)permeant sulfhydryl reagents. The deduced topology model of DtpT consists of a bundle of 12 alpha-helixes with a short amino and a large carboxyl terminus, both located at the cytoplasmic site of the membrane. On the basis of sequence comparisons with DtpT, it seems likely that the structure model of the amino-terminal half of DtpT also holds for the eukaryotic peptide transporters, whereas the carboxyl-terminal half is largely different.

Nisin is a cationic polycyclic bacteriocin secreted by some lactic acid bacteria. Nisin has previously been shown to permeabilize Liposomes. The interaction of nisin was analyzed with liposomes prepared of the zwitterionic phosphatidylcholine (PC) and the anionic phosphatidylglycerol (PG). Nisin induces the release of 6-carboxyfluorescein and other small anionic fluorescent dyes from: PC Liposomes in;a Delta psi-stimulated manner, and not that of neutral and cationic fluorescent dyes. This activity is blocked in PG liposomes. Nisin, however, efficiently dissipates the Delta psi in cytochrome c oxidase proteoliposomes reconstituted with PG, with a threshold Delta psi, requirement of about -100 mV. Nisin associates with the anionic surface of PG liposomes and disturbs the lipid dynamics near the phospholipid polar head group-water interface. Further studies with a novel cationic lantibiotic, epilancin K7, indicate that this molecule penetrates into the hydrophobic carbon region of the Lipid bilayer upon the imposition of a Delta psi. It is concluded that nisin acts as an anion-selective carrier in the absence of anionic phospholipids. In vivo, however, this activity is likely to be prevented by electrostatic interactions with anionic lipids of the target membrane. It is suggested that pore formation by cationic (type A) lantibiotics involves the local perturbation of the bilayer structure and a Delta psi-dependent reorientation of these molecules from a surface-bound into a membrane-inserted configuration.

The histidine-tagged secondary multidrug transporter LmrP was overexpressed in Lactococcus lactis, using a novel protein expression system for cytotoxic proteins based on the tightly regulated, nisin-inducible nisA promoter. LmrP-mediated H+/drug antiport activity in inside-out membrane vesicles was inhibited by detergents, such as Triton X-100, Triton X-114, and Tween 80, at low concentrations that did not affect the magnitude or composition of the proton motive force. The inhibition of the activity of LmrP by detergents restricted the range of compounds that could be used for the solubilization and reconstitution of the protein because low concentrations of detergent are retained in proteoliposomes. Surprisingly, dodecyl maltoside did not modulate the activity of LmrP. Therefore, LmrP was solubilized with dodecyl maltoside, purified by nickel-chelate affinity chromatography, and reconstituted in dodecyl maltoside-destabilized, preformed liposomes prepared from Escherichia coli phospholipids and egg phosphatidylcholine. Reconstituted LmrP mediated the transport of multiple drugs in response to an artificially imposed pH gradient, demonstrating that the protein functions as a proton motive force-dependent multidrug transporter, independent of accessory proteins. These observations are relevant for the effective solubilization and reconstitution of multidrug transporters belonging to the major facilitator superfamily, which, in view of their broad drug specificity, may strongly interact with detergents.

The activity of the phosphoenolpyruvate-dependent glucose phosphotransferase system (PTS) in Escherichia coli is coupled to the oxidation-reduction potential. It is inhibited when the redox potential is increased above -300 mV either via substrate oxidation or via direct addition of oxidizing agents. Depending on the point of addition, dithiothreitol either blocks or reverses these effects. Inhibition occurs at the level of sugar binding to EII. A sulfhydryl group associated with EII activity undergoes reversible oxidation to, presumably, a disulfide, resulting in the conversion of EII from a reduced, high-affinity form to an oxidized, low-affinity form which has a 10(2)-10(3) times lower affinity for the sugar. An identical change in affinity occurs as the result of the generation of a delta mu H+ during the oxidation of reduced N-methylphenazonium methosulfate or nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide. In this case, uncouplers and ionophores reverse the change. A mechanism is proposed in which the electrical potential difference across the membrane regulates the glucose PTS by shifting the midpoint potential of the EII-associated redox transition to more negative values. As a result, EII is converted to the oxidized, low-affinity state in the presence of a delta mu H+.