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C T Sigal

Publications and source records attributed to C T Sigal.

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Electrostatics and the membrane association of Src: theory and experiment.

The binding of Src to phospholipid membranes requires both hydrophobic insertion of its myristate into the hydrocarbon interior of the membrane and nonspecific electrostatic interaction of its N-terminal cluster of basic residues with acidic phospholipids. We provide a theoretical description of the electrostatic partitioning of Src onto phospholipid membranes. Specifically, we use molecular models to represent a nonmyristoylated peptide corresponding to residues 2-19 of Src [nonmyr-Src(2-19); GSSKSKPKDPSQRRRSLE-NH2] and a phospholipid bilayer, calculate the electrostatic interaction by solving the nonlinear Poisson-Boltzmann equation, and predict the molar partition coefficient using statistical thermodynamics. The theoretical predictions agree with experimental data obtained by measuring the partitioning of nonmyr-Src(2-19) onto phospholipid vesicles: membrane binding increases as the mole percent of acidic lipid in the vesicles is increased, the ionic strength of the solution is decreased, or the net positive charge of the peptide is increased. The theoretical model also correctly predicts the measured partitioning of the myristoylated peptide, myr-Src(2-19); for example, adding 33% acidic lipid to electrically neutral vesicles increases the partitioning of myr-Src(2-19) 100-fold. Phosphorylating either serine 12 (by protein kinase C) or serine 17 (by cAMP-dependent protein kinase) decreases the partitioning of myr-Src(2-19) onto vesicles containing acidic lipid 10-fold. We investigated the effect of phosphorylation on the localization of Src to biological membranes by expressing fusion constructs of Src's N terminus with a soluble carrier protein in COS-1 cells; phosphorylation produces a small shift in the distribution of the Src chimeras from the plasma membrane to the cytosol.

Amino Acid Sequence↗

Amino-terminal basic residues of Src mediate membrane binding through electrostatic interaction with acidic phospholipids.

Membrane targeting of pp60src (Src) is mediated by its myristoylated amino terminus. We demonstrate that, in addition to myristate, six basic residues in the amino terminus are essential for high-affinity binding to the lipid bilayer via electrostatic interaction with acidic phospholipids. Specifically, c-Src was shown to bind 2500-fold more strongly to vesicles composed of the physiological ratio of 2:1 phosphatidylcholine (PC)/phosphatidylserine (PS) than to neutral PC bilayer vesicles. The apparent Kd for binding of c-Src to the PC/PS bilayer was 6 x 10(-7) M. This interaction is sufficiently strong to account for c-Src membrane targeting. Mutants of c-Src in which the amino-terminal basic residues were replaced by neutral asparagine residues exhibited binding isotherms approaching that of wild-type binding to neutral bilayers (apparent Kd of 2 x 10(-3) M). The transforming v-Src and activated c-Src (Y527F) proteins also bound more strongly to PC/PS bilayers (apparent Kd of approximately 1 x 10(-5) M) than to neutral PC bilayers. In vivo experiments with Src mutants confirmed the role of positive charge in mediating membrane binding and cellular transformation.

3T3 Cells↗

Membrane binding of myristylated peptides corresponding to the NH2 terminus of Src.

Membrane association is required for cell transformation by pp60v-src (v-Src), the product of the v-src oncogene of Rous sarcoma virus. Previous experiments have identified two NH2-terminal membrane-binding motifs: a myristate (14-carbon acyl chain) attached to the NH2-terminal glycine and three basic residues at positions 5, 7, and 9 of Src. We examined the membrane binding of each motif using myristylated (myr-src) and nonmyristylated (nonmyr-src) peptides corresponding to the NH2 terminus of Src. All myristylated peptides partitioned equally well onto electrically neutral phosphatidylcholine vesicles (K1 = 10(4) M-1). Identical binding has been observed for simple myristylated peptides (e.g., myr-Gly) and arises from the hydrophobic insertion of the myristate into the bilayer. A nonmyristylated peptide corresponding to residues 2-16 of Src [nonmyr-src(2-16), net charge = +5] bound to vesicles containing 33% monovalent acidic phospholipids with K1 = 10(3) M-1. Penta(lysine) (+5 net charge) exhibits the same binding behavior, which is due to the electrostatic interaction between basic residues and acidic lipids. The corresponding myristylated peptide, myr-src(2-16), binds 3 orders of magnitude more strongly to vesicles containing 33% acidic lipids than to neutral vesicles. The resulting apparent association constant, K1 = 10(7) M-1, is approximately equal to the product of the partition coefficients for the two individual interactions. This 10(7) M-1 binding is sufficiently strong to anchor the Src protein to biological membranes. We propose a simple model that explains the observed synergism between the two peptide-membrane interactions.

Amino Acid Sequence↗

The ADP/ATP carrier is the 32-kilodalton receptor for an NH2-terminally myristylated src peptide but not for pp60src polypeptide.

Membrane binding of pp60src is initiated via its myristylated NH2 terminus. To identify a candidate pp60src docking protein or receptor in the membrane, a radiolabelled peptide corresponding to the pp60src NH2-terminal membrane binding domain was cross-linked to fibroblast membranes and found to specifically label a 32-kDa protein. This protein was purified by appending an affinity tag to the peptide probe so that the cross-linked complex could be isolated via affinity chromatography. Microsequencing indicated that the 32-kDa protein was the mitochondrial ADP/ATP carrier (AAC). This result was further confirmed by the ability of an antibody to the AAC to immunoprecipitate the cross-linked complex, by the ability of certain inhibitors of the AAC to block cross-linking, and by membrane fractionation to show that complex formation occurred essentially exclusively in the mitochondrial fraction. While the AAC bound the myristyl-src peptide in a specific manner both in vitro and in vivo, its localization to the inner membrane of the mitochondrion precludes its being a pp60src binding protein. An analysis of pp60v-src binding in vitro was consistent with this expectation. Thus, use of a myristyl-src peptide revealed an unexpected and previously unidentified binding capacity of the AAC, most likely related to the ability of long-chain fatty acyl coenzyme As to serve as AAC inhibitors. The amphipathic nature of the pp60src NH2 terminus suggests alternative strategies for uncovering pp60src membrane binding species.

Amino Acid Sequence↗

Binding of pp60v-src to membranes: evidence for multiple membrane interactions.

Membrane association of pp60v-src, the myristylated transforming protein of Rous sarcoma virus, has been shown to be a receptor-mediated process, which is inhibited by myristylated src peptides containing the N-terminal 11 amino acids of the v-src sequence (MGYsrc). By cross-linking radiolabelled MGYsrc peptide to fibroblast membranes, a 32-kilodalton membrane protein was identified as a candidate src receptor. To elucidate the potential role of p32 in binding pp60v-src, we studied the relationship between binding of MGYsrc peptide and pp60v-src polypeptide to cellular membranes. The subcellular membrane distribution of p32 was distinct from that of pp60v-src in transformed cells. Moreover, under certain defined in vitro conditions, it was possible to inhibit peptide cross-linking to p32 without significantly affecting pp60v-src membrane binding. However, when internal sequences were removed from pp60v-src, the binding characteristics of the src deletion polypeptide and MGYsrc peptide became identical. These data indicate that the presence of internal membrane binding domains influences the interaction of myristylated N-terminal src sequences with p32, and suggest that accessory binding factors might be involved in establishing stable contact between pp60v-src and the membrane phospholipid bilayer.

Amino Acid Sequence↗