PubMed Health⌕ Search

Biomedical subjects

D Sahoo

Publications and source records attributed to D Sahoo.

5 recordsLinked to original sources

Pyrene excimer fluorescence: a spatially sensitive probe to monitor lipid-induced helical rearrangement of apolipophorin III.

Manduca sexta apolipophorin III (apoLp-III), an 18-kDa, monomeric, insect hemolymph apolipoprotein, is comprised of five amphipathic alpha-helices arranged as a globular bundle in the lipid-free state. Upon lipid binding, it is postulated that the bundle opens, exposing a continuous hydrophobic surface which becomes available for lipid interaction. To investigate lipid binding-induced helical rearrangements, we exploited the unique fluorescence characteristics of N-(1-pyrene)maleimide. Pyrene is a spatially sensitive extrinsic fluorescent probe, which forms excited-state dimers (excimers) upon close encounter with another pyrene molecule. Cysteine residues were introduced into apoLp-III (which otherwise lacks cysteine) at Asn 40 (helix 2) and/or Leu 90 (helix 3), creating two single-cysteine mutants (N40C-apoLp-III and L90C-apoLp-III) and N40C/L90C-apoLp-III, a double-cysteine mutant, which were labeled with pyrene maleimide. Pyrene-labeled N40C/L90C-apoLp-III, but not the pyrene-labeled single-cysteine mutants, exhibited strong excimer fluorescence in the lipid-free, monomeric state. Guanidine hydrochloride titration and temperature studies revealed a loss in excimer fluorescence, accompanied by a loss in the molar ellipticity of the protein. When apoLp-III interacts with phospholipid vesicles to form disklike complexes, a significant loss in excimer fluorescence was noted, indicating that the helices bearing the pyrene moieties diverge from each other. Pyrene excimer fluorescence was further employed to examine the relative orientation of lipid-bound apoLp-III molecules. Pyrene-labeled N40C- or L90C-apoLp-III displayed no excimer fluorescence in the disk complexes, while complexes prepared with an equal mixture of both single-labeled mutants did emit excimer fluorescence, indicating apoLp-III adopts a preferred nonrandom orientation around the perimeter of the bilayer disk. These studies establish pyrene excimer fluorescence as a useful spectroscopic tool to address intra- and intermolecular interactions of exchangeable apolipoproteins upon binding to lipid.

Animals↗

Fluorescence studies of exchangeable apolipoprotein-lipid interactions. Superficial association of apolipophorin III with lipoprotein surfaces.

Apolipophorin III (apoLp-III) from the Sphinx moth, Manduca sexta, is an 18-kDa exchangeable apolipoprotein that reversibly associates with lipoprotein particles. In the absence of lipid, apoLp-III exists as an elongated bundle of five amphipathic alpha-helices. Upon lipid association, the protein is postulated to undergo a major conformational change, wherein the bundle opens around hinge loop regions, resulting in exposure of its hydrophobic interior. Fluorescence quenching techniques have been employed to study apoLp-III helix topography and spatial arrangement in phospholipid disc complexes and intact lipoprotein particles. Intrinsic fluorescence of the single tyrosine in apoLp-III was exploited to monitor the location of helix 5 in model disc complexes. To investigate other regions of the protein, site-directed mutagenesis was performed to introduce cysteine residues, replacing Asn-40 (helix 2, N40C) or Leu-90 (helix 3, L90C), thereby providing two mutant apoLp-IIIs, each with a single site for covalent attachment of the extrinsic fluorescent probe, N-(1-pyrene) maleimide. In the lipid-free state, pyrene-N40C- and pyrene-L90C-apoLp-III were highly accessible to the negatively charged aqueous quencher KI, yielding Ksv values of 27.1 and 19.8 M-1, respectively. Upon binding to the surface of a spherical lipoprotein particle, Ksv values for KI decreased by about 90% for both pyrene-labeled apoLp-IIIs, indicating a significant change in the local microenvironment of the fluorophores. A lesser decrease in Ksv was observed when the pyrene-labeled apoLp-IIIs were bound to phospholipid disc complexes. When spin-labeled fatty acids 5-doxylstearic acid and 12-doxylstearic acid were used as lipophilic quenchers, tyrosine and pyrene fluorescence were more effectively quenched by 5-doxylstearic acid in both phospholipid bilayer disc complexes and spherical lipoprotein particles. These data provide insight into the spatial topography of apoLp-III alpha-helices in phospholipid disc complexes and support the concept that interaction with spherical lipoprotein particles results in superficial contact of apoL-III helical segments with the monolayer surface, providing a basis for its reversible binding ability.

Alkylation↗

NMR evidence for a conformational adaptation of apolipophorin III upon lipid association.

A characteristic property of amphipathic exchangeable apolipoproteins is an ability to exist alternately in lipid-free and lipid-bound states. In the present study, we have used 1H-15N-heteronuclear single quantum correlation spectroscopy to probe structural changes of apolipophorin III upon lipid association, by monitoring alterations of the chemical shifts of specific amino acids as a function of lipid titration. 15N-valine-, 15N-leucine-, 15N-lysine-, and 15N-glycine-labeled apolipophorin III were used in titration experiments with the micelle-forming lipid dodecylphosphocholine. In the absence of lipid, valine and leucine residues are located in the hydrophobic interior of the apolipophorin III helix bundle and their resonances resist chemical shift changes below the critical micelle concentration of dodecylphosphocholine. At the critical micelle concentration, however, dramatic and abrupt chemical shift changes occur, apparently coincident with formation of a protein-lipid micelle complex, as judged by significant line-width broadening of the crosspeaks. By contrast, apolipophorin III lysine and glycine residues are located on the hydrophilic surfaces of amphipathic alpha-helices or in loop regions, exposed to solvent. Their crosspeaks display either a chemical shift change similar to that seen for hydrophobic residues or a more gradual chemical shift change, beginning at very low dodecylphosphocholine concentrations. These results indicate that an interaction occurs between specific solvent-exposed lysine residues and dodecylphosphocholine below the critical micelle concentration of this lipid, whereas valine and leucine residues are not accessible to monomeric dodecylphosphocholine. At the critical micelle concentration, however, the availability of a newly formed lipid surface induces apolipophorin III binding, concomitant with conformational opening of the helix bundle, exposing its hydrophobic surfaces for binding to the dodecylphosphocholine micellar surface. Subsequently, hydrophobic residues undergo characteristic spectral changes. Subtle differences in behavior of specific hydrophobic residues, in terms of their response to dodecylphosphocholine titration and relative locations in the helix-bundle conformation, suggest that one end of the molecule may initiate contact with the lipid surface, followed by helix bundle opening.

Amino Acids↗