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Membrane proteins engage in a variety of contacts with their surrounding lipids, but distinguishing between specifically bound lipids, and non‐specific, annular interactions is a challenging problem. Applying native mass spectrometry to three membrane protein complexes with different lipid‐binding properties, we explore the ability of detergents to compete with lipids bound in different environments. We show that lipids in annular positions on the presenilin homologue protease are subject to constant exchange with detergent. By contrast, detergent‐resistant lipids bound at the dimer interface in the leucine transporter show decreased koff rates in molecular dynamics simulations. Turning to the lipid flippase MurJ, we find that addition of the natural substrate lipid‐II results in the formation of a 1:1 protein–lipid complex, where the lipid cannot be displaced by detergent from the highly protected active site. In summary, we distinguish annular from non‐annular lipids based on their exchange rates in solution. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The cation diffusion facilitators (CDFs) are a family of membrane‐bound proteins that maintain cellular homeostasis of essential metal ions. In humans, the zinc‐transporter CDF family members (ZnTs) play important roles in zinc homeostasis. They do this by facilitating zinc efflux from the cytoplasm to the extracellular space across the plasma membrane or into intracellular organelles. Several ZnTs have been implicated in human health owing to their association with type 2 diabetes and neurodegenerative diseases. Although the structure determination of CDF family members is not trivial, recent advances in membrane‐protein structural biology have resulted in two structures of bacterial YiiPs and several structures of their soluble C‐terminal domains. These data reveal new insights into the molecular mechanism of ZnT proteins, suggesting a unique rocking‐bundle mechanism that provides alternating access to the metal‐binding site. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The determination of the crystal structures of small-molecule transporters has shed light on the conformational changes that take place during structural isomerization from outward- to inward-facing states. Rather than using a simple rocking movement of two bundles around a central substrate-binding site, it has become clear that even the most simplistic transporters utilize rearrangements of nonrigid bodies. In the most dramatic cases, one bundle is fixed while the other, structurally divergent, bundle carries the substrate some 18 Å across the membrane, which in this review is termed an elevator alternating-access mechanism. Here, we compare and contrast rocker-switch, rocking-bundle, and elevator alternating-access mechanisms to highlight shared features and novel refinements to the basic alternating-access model. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Optimising membrane protein production yields in Escherichia coli can be time- and resource-consuming. Here, we present a simple and effective Mem brane protein S ingle sho t a mplification r ecipe: MemStar. This one-shot amplification recipe is based on the E. coli strain Lemo21(DE3), the PASM-5052 auto-induction medium and, contradictorily, an IPTG induction step. Using MemStar, production yields for most bacterial membrane proteins tested were improved to reach an average of 5 mg L −1 per OD 600 unit, which is significantly higher than yields obtained with other common production strategies. With MemStar, we have been able to obtain new structural information for several transporters, including the sodium/proton antiporter NapA. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: The rate at which X-ray structures of membrane proteins are solved is on a par with that of soluble proteins in the late 1970s. There are still many obstacles facing the membrane protein structural community. Recently, there have been several technical achievements in the field that have started to dramatically accelerate structural studies. Here, we summarize these so-called ‘tricks-of-the-trade’ and include case studies of several mammalian transporters. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Optimizing conditions for the overexpression and purification of membrane proteins for functional and structural studies is usually a laborious and time-consuming process. This process can be accelerated using membrane protein—GFP fusions, which allows direct monitoring and visualization of membrane proteins of interest at any stage during overexpression, solubilization and purification (Fig. 1). The exceptionally stable GFP moiety of the fusion protein can be used to detect membrane proteins by observing fluorescence in whole cells during overexpression, with a detection limit as low as 10 μg of GFP per liter of culture, and in solution during solubilization and purification. Notably, the fluorescence of the GFP moiety can also be detected in standard SDS polyacrylamide gels with a detection limit of less than 5 ng of GFP per protein band (Fig. 2). In-gel fluorescence allows assessment of the integrity of membrane protein—GFP fusions and provides a rapid and generic alternative for the notoriously difficult immunoblotting of membrane proteins. With whole-cell and in-gel fluorescence the overexpression potential of many membrane protein—GFP fusions can be rapidly assessed and yields of promising targets can be improved. In this protocol the Escherichia coli BL21(DE3)-pET system—the most widely used (membrane) protein overexpression system—is used as a platform to illustrate the GFP-based method. The methodology described in this protocol can be transferred easily to other systems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Membrane protein topology predictions can be markedly improved by the inclusion of even very limited experimental information. We have recently introduced an approach for the production of reliable topology models based on a combination of experimental determination of the location (cytoplasmic or periplasmic) of a protein's C terminus and topology prediction. Here, we show that determination of the location of a protein's C terminus, rather than some internal loop, is the best strategy for large-scale topology mapping studies. We further report experimentally based topology models for 31 Escherichia coli inner membrane proteins, using methodology suitable for genome-scale studies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The bacterium Escherichia coli is one of the most popular model systems to study the assembly of membrane proteins of the so-called helix-bundle class. Here, based on this system, we review and discuss what is currently known about the assembly of these membrane proteins. In addition, we will briefly review and discuss how E. coli has been used as a vehicle for the overexpression of membrane proteins. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Mass spectrometry of intact membrane protein complexes requires removal of the detergent micelle by collisional activation. We demonstrate that the necessary energy can be obtained by adjusting the degree of collisional cooling in the ion source. This enables us to extend the energy regime for dissociation of membrane protein complexes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: As we appreciate the importance of stabilising membrane proteins, the barriers towards their structure determination are being broken down. This change in mindset comes hand-in-hand with more effort placed on developing methods focused at screening for membrane proteins which are naturally stable in detergent solution or improving those that are not so. In practice, however, it is not easy to decide the best strategy to monitor and improve detergent stability, requiring a decision-making process that can be even more difficult for those new to the field. In this review we outline the importance of membrane protein stability with discussions of the stabilisation strategies applied in context with the use of crystallisation scaffolds and the different types of crystallisation methods themselves. Where possible we also highlight areas that we think could push this field forward with emerging technologies, such as X-ray free electron lasers (X-feL), which could have a big impact on the membrane protein structural biology community. We hope this review will serve as a useful guide for those striving to solve structures of both pro- and eukaryotic membrane proteins. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Functional and structural studies of membrane proteins usually require overexpression of the proteins in question. Often, however, the ‘trial and error’ approaches that are mainly used to produce membrane proteins are not successful. Our rapidly increasing understanding of membrane protein insertion, folding and degradation means that membrane protein overexpression can be more rationalized, both at the level of the overexpression host and the overexpressed membrane protein. This change of mindset is likely to have a significant impact on membrane protein research. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Suppressor of copper sensitivity (Scs) proteins play a role in the bacterial response to copper stress in many Gram-negative bacteria, including in the human pathogen Proteus mirabilis. Recently, the ScsC protein from P. mirabilis (PmScsC) was characterized as a trimeric protein with isomerase activity that contributes to the ability of the bacterium to swarm in the presence of copper. The CXXC motif catalytic cysteines of PmScsC are maintained in their active reduced state by the action of its membrane-bound partner protein, the Proteus mirabilis ScsB (PmScsB). Thus, PmScsC and PmScsB form a redox relay in vivo. The predicted domain arrangement of PmScsB comprises a central transmembrane β-domain and two soluble, periplasmic domains, the N-terminal α-domain and C-terminal γ-domain. Here, we provide a procedure for the recombinant expression and purification of the full-length PmScsB protein. Using Lemo21 (DE3) cells we expressed PmScsB and, after extraction and purification, we were able to achieve a yield of 3 mg of purified protein per 8 L of bacterial culture. Furthermore, using two orthogonal methods - AMS labelling of free thiols and a scrambled RNase A activity assay - PmScsB is shown to catalyze the reduction of PmScsC. Our results demonstrate that the PmScsC and PmScsB redox relay can be reconstituted in vitro using recombinant full-length PmScsB membrane protein. This finding provides a promising starting point for the in vitro biochemical and structural characterization of the P. mirabilis ScsC and ScsB interaction. • The bacterial membrane protein ScsB was purified using an E. coli expression system. • ScsB contains two periplasmic domains (α- and γ-) connected by a transmembrane β-domain. • ScsB forms a redox relay with its partner protein ScsC to mediate disulfide isomerization. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Escherichia coli BL21(DE3) is widely used to overexpress proteins. In this overexpression host, the gene encoding the target protein is located on a plasmid and is under control of the T7 promoter, which is recognized exclusively by the T7 RNA polymerase (RNAP). The T7 RNAP gene is localized on the chromosome, and its expression is governed by the non-titratable, IPTG-inducible lacUV5 promoter. Recently, we constructed the Lemo21(DE3) strain, which allows improved control over the expression of genes from the T7 promoter. Lemo21(DE3) is a BL21(DE3) strain equipped with a plasmid harboring the gene encoding T7 lysozyme, an inhibitor of the T7 RNAP, under control of the exceptionally well-titratable rhamnose promoter. The overexpression yields of a large collection of membrane proteins in Lemo21(DE3) at different concentrations of rhamnose indicated that this strain may be very suitable for optimizing the production of membrane proteins. However, insight in the mechanism by which optimized expression yields are achieved in Lemo21(DE3) is lacking. Furthermore, whether the overexpressed proteins are suitable for functional and structural studies remains to be tested. Here, we show that in Lemo21(DE3), (i) the modulation of the activity of the T7 RNAP by the T7 lysozyme is key to optimizing the ratio of membrane proteins properly inserted in the cytoplasmic membrane to non-inserted proteins; (ii) maximizing the yields of membrane proteins is accompanied by reduction of the adverse effects of membrane protein overexpression, resulting in stable overexpression; and (iii) produced membrane proteins can be used for functional and structural studies. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Summary: Obtaining well-ordered crystals is a major hurdle to X-ray structure determination of membrane proteins. To facilitate crystal optimization, we investigated the detergent stability of 24 eukaryotic and prokaryotic membrane proteins, predominantly transporters, using a fluorescent-based unfolding assay. We have benchmarked the stability required for crystallization in small micelle detergents, as they are statistically more likely to lead to high-resolution structures. Using this information, we have been able to obtain well-diffracting crystals for a number of sodium and proton-dependent transporters. By including in the analysis seven membrane proteins for which structures are already known, AmtB, GlpG, Mhp1, GlpT, EmrD, NhaA, and LacY, it was further possible to demonstrate an overall trend between protein stability and structural resolution. We suggest that by monitoring membrane protein stability with reference to the benchmarks described here, greater efforts can be placed on constructs and conditions more likely to yield high-resolution structures. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]