Structural highlights
Function
[GLIC_GLOVI] Cationic channel with similar permeabilities for Na(+) and K(+), that is activated by an increase of the proton concentration on the extracellular side. Displays no permeability for chloride ions. Shows slow kinetics of activation, no desensitization and a single channel conductance of 8 pS. Might contribute to adaptation to external pH change.[1]
Publication Abstract from PubMed
In meso crystallization of membrane proteins from lipidic mesophases is central to protein structural biology but limited to membrane proteins with small extracellular domains (ECDs), comparable to the water channels (3-5 nm) of the mesophase. Here we present a strategy expanding the scope of in meso crystallization to membrane proteins with very large ECDs. We combine monoacylglycerols and phospholipids to design thermodynamically stable ultra-swollen bicontinuous cubic phases of double-gyroid (Ia3d), double-diamond (Pn3m), and double-primitive (Im3m) space groups, with water channels five times larger than traditional lipidic mesophases, and showing re-entrant behavior upon increasing hydration, of sequences Ia3d-->Pn3m-->Ia3d and Pn3m-->Im3m-->Pn3m, unknown in lipid self-assembly. We use these mesophases to crystallize membrane proteins with ECDs inaccessible to conventional in meso crystallization, demonstrating the methodology on the Gloeobacter ligand-gated ion channel (GLIC) protein, and show substantial modulation of packing, molecular contacts and activation state of the ensued proteins crystals, illuminating a general strategy in protein structural biology.
Design of ultra-swollen lipidic mesophases for the crystallization of membrane proteins with large extracellular domains.,Zabara A, Chong JTY, Martiel I, Stark L, Cromer BA, Speziale C, Drummond CJ, Mezzenga R Nat Commun. 2018 Feb 7;9(1):544. doi: 10.1038/s41467-018-02996-5. PMID:29416037[2]
From MEDLINE®/PubMed®, a database of the U.S. National Library of Medicine.
References
- ↑ Bocquet N, Prado de Carvalho L, Cartaud J, Neyton J, Le Poupon C, Taly A, Grutter T, Changeux JP, Corringer PJ. A prokaryotic proton-gated ion channel from the nicotinic acetylcholine receptor family. Nature. 2007 Jan 4;445(7123):116-9. Epub 2006 Dec 10. PMID:17167423 doi:10.1038/nature05371
- ↑ Zabara A, Chong JTY, Martiel I, Stark L, Cromer BA, Speziale C, Drummond CJ, Mezzenga R. Design of ultra-swollen lipidic mesophases for the crystallization of membrane proteins with large extracellular domains. Nat Commun. 2018 Feb 7;9(1):544. doi: 10.1038/s41467-018-02996-5. PMID:29416037 doi:http://dx.doi.org/10.1038/s41467-018-02996-5
