Intracellular peptide trafficking in yeast

The mechanism of peptide transport has been studied on two different ABC transporters of S. cerevisiae. Thereby, the aim of this PhD thesis was to characterise the transporter function on molecular level and shed light on the physiological role of these transporters. The ABC gene YLL048 encodes a novel intracellular transporter translocating peptides from the cytosol to the lumen of the ER. Deletion of the gene resulted in loss of peptide transport activity. The transport activity was fully restored after transformation of the deletion mutant by plasmid-encoded YLL048. Studying the substrate specificity using randomized peptide libraries it was demonstrated that peptides of the size from 6 to 56 amino acids are recognized. So far, no upper limit of the substrate size was obtained. Introduction of D-amino acids in various positions of a nonamer peptide did not impair transport activity. The physiological function of YLL048p is not well understood. The gene product is not essential for cell viability as the deletion mutant did not show any growth phenotype. To examine the possibility that YLL048 encoded protein is part of a quality control of yeast cells involved in the unfolded protein response (UPR), upregulation of YLL048 transcription by heat shock and stress conditions were investigated. We could not observe an influence of stress factors on YLL048 mRNA level. Upregulation of gene expression by the transcription factors Pdr1p and Pdr3p was excluded. The ABC transporter Mdl1p has been identified as peptide transporter of the inner mitochondrial membrane. This protein is required for the export of peptides with the size of 6 to 21 amino acids from the matrix into the intermembrane space. These peptides are generated by m-AAA proteases degrading non-assembled or missfolded membrane proteins. In order to understand the transport mechanism in detail, Mdl1p was expressed in S. cerevisiae and E. coli. Partially enriched protein was reconstituted into liposomes and was active in ATP binding. The association of the NBDs has been described as a central step of the ATPase cycle of ABC transporters, but it is still controversial how both motor domains cooperate and coordinate ATP hydrolysis. To address this question, the Mdl1p-NBD was overexpressed in E. coli and purified to homogeneity. The isolated NBD was active in ATP binding and hydrolysis with a turnover of 0.5 ATP per min and a Km value of 0.2 mM. Isolated NBDs did not show cooperativity in ATPase activity. However, the ATPase activity was observed to be non-linearly dependent on protein concentration suggesting the active form of this enzyme is not a monomer. Very importantly, for the first time an ATP-induced dimer was observed after trapping the NBD by ortho-vanadate or BeFx. The nucleotide composition of the trapped intermediate state was determined and two ADP molecules were simultaneously bound per dimer. An ATP-induced dimer of the ATPase inactive mutant (E559Q) was observed already in the absence of ATPase inhibitor. The E599Q dimer contained two ATP molecules in the absence of Mg2+ at 4°C. Prolonged incubation at 30°C in the presence of Mg2+ induced a stable dimer in which one ATP and ADP molecule were trapped at the same time. Based on these experiments, a new cycle for ATPase activity of ABC transporters was proposed. Binding of ATP to two NBD monomers induces dimerization. Both nucleotides are hydrolysed sequentially. During the hydrolysis cycle the nucleotides cannot be released from the dimer. After hydrolysis of two ATP molecules the domains dissociate and start a new cycle.ABC (ATP-Binding Cassette) Transporter stellen eine der grössten Superfamilien von Membranproteinen dar, die aktiv Substanzen über Membranen transportieren. Alle Vertreter dieser Proteinfamilie weisen den gleichen modularen Aufbau aus vier Untereinheiten auf. Zwei Transmembrandomänen (TMD) durchspannen die Membran mehrfach und bilden die Translokationspore für das Substrat. Die zwei löslichen Nukleotidbindedomänen (NBD) energetisieren den Transportprozess durch ATP Hydrolyse, die an stark konservierten Regionen der NBD stattfindet: dem Walker A, Walker B Motiv und dem C-Loop. Kommunikation und Kooperation der einzelnen Untereinheiten sind von zentraler Bedeutung, um den Transportprozess effizient und vektoriell zu leisten. Ziel dieser Arbeit war die Aufklärung des molekularen Mechanismus, durch den Substrattranslokation an ATP-Hydrolyse gekoppelt wird. Dabei diente der Peptidtransport, der durch ABC Transporter in der Hefe S. cerevisiae ausgeführt wird, als Modellsystem. Mdl1p (multidrug resistance like) ist in der inneren Mitochondrienmembran lokalisiert und exportiert Peptide, die aus der Degradation von missgefaltenen Membranprotein in der Matrix entstehen, in den Intermembranraum. In dieser Arbeit wurde die lösliche NBD von Mdl1p in E. coli überexprimiert und bis zur Homogenität gereinigt. Die Aktivität des Proteins wurde bezüglich ATP Bindung und Hydrolyse demonstriert (Wechselzahl von 0.5 ATP/min und einem Km-Wert von 0.2 mM). Zum ersten Mal ist es uns gelungen, einen dimeren Zwischenzustand der Wildtyp-NBD unter dem Einfluss von ATPase lnhibitoren wie Berylliumfluorid in der Gelfiltrationschromatographie zu beobachten. Mutation des konservierten Glutamats stromabwärts des Walker B Motivs führte zu einer ATPase inaktiven NBD (E599Q), die in Gegenwart von ATP einen Dimer bildete. Stöchiometrieuntersuchungen haben gezeigt, dass im BeFx stabilisierten Wildtyp zwei ADP Moleküle inkorporiert waren, während im E599Q Dimer zwei ATP Moleküle vorlagen. Wurde jedoch die E599Q NBD in Gegenwart von Mg2+ bei 30°C inkubiert, konnte ein Dimer isoliert werden, in dem ein ATP und ein ADP in das Molekül eingebaut waren. Basierend auf diesen unterschiedlichen Intermediaten konnte ein Modell für eine sequentielle ATP-Hydrolyse erstellt werden, in dem die Bindung der Nukleotide an die monomeren Untereinheiten eine Assoziation der NBD induziert. Im zweiten Teilprojekt dieser Arbeit wurde ein ABC Transporter charakterisiert, der durch den Leserahmen YLL048 kodiert wird und Peptide in das Lumen des endoplasmatischen Reticulums transportiert. Durch den Einsatz von zufallsgerichteten Peptidbibliotheken wurde die Substratspezifität des Transporters im Detail untersucht

The ATP hydrolysis cycle of the nucleotide-binding domain of the mitochondrial ATP-binding cassette transporter Mdl1p

The ABC transporter Mdl1p, a structural and functional homologue of the transporter associated with antigen processing (TAP) plays an important role in intracellular peptide transport from the mitochondrial matrix of Saccharomyces cerevisiae. To characterize the ATP hydrolysis cycle of Mdl1p, the nucleotide-binding domain (NBD) was overexpressed in Escherichia coli and purified to homogeneity. The isolated NBD was active in ATP binding and hydrolysis with a turnover of 25 ATP per minute and a Km of 0.6 mm and did not show cooperativity in ATPase activity. However, the ATPase activity was non-linearly dependent on protein concentration (Hill coefficient of 1.7), indicating that the functional state is a dimer. Dimeric catalytic transition states could be trapped either by incubation with orthovanadate or beryllium fluoride, or by mutagenesis of the NBD. The nucleotide composition of trapped intermediate states was determined using [alpha-32P]ATP and [gamma-32P]ATP. Three different dimeric intermediate states were isolated, containing either two ATPs, one ATP and one ADP, or two ADPs. Based on these experiments, it was shown that: (i) ATP binding to two NBDs induces dimerization, (ii) in all isolated dimeric states, two nucleotides are present, (iii) phosphate can dissociate from the dimer, (iv) both nucleotides are hydrolyzed, and (v) hydrolysis occurs in a sequential mode. Based on these data, we propose a processive-clamp model for the catalytic cycle in which association and dissociation of the NBDs depends on the status of bound nucleotides

Insulin-like growth factor I is expressed in classical and nodular lymphocyte-predominant Hodgkin's lymphoma tumour and microenvironmental cells

Hodgkin's lymphoma (HL) is among the most frequent nodal lymphomas in the Western world and is classified into two disease entities: nodular lymphocyte-predominant Hodgkin's lymphoma (NLPHL) and classical Hodgkin's lymphoma (cHL, 95% of all HL). HL lesions are characterised by a minority of clonal neoplastic cells, namely Hodgkin and Reed-Sternberg (HRS) cells and their variants in cHL and lymphocyte-predominant (LP) cells in NLPHL, both occurring within a microenvironment of, for example, reactive T and B cells, macrophages and granulocytes that are assumed to support the proliferation and maintenance of neoplastic cells through cytokines, chemokines and growth factors. Insulin-like growth factor I (IGF-I) is an important growth factor involved in proliferation, differentiation, apoptosis and cell survival of numerous (including immune) tissues and probably has a role in tumour pathogenesis and maintenance. Although HL is characterised by disturbed cell differentiation and apoptosis mechanisms, with the involvement of the IGF-I receptor (IGF-1R), the distinct location of IGF-I in HL has not yet been defined. We localise IGF-I by double-immunofluorescence in frequent neoplastic cells of all cHL and NLPHL cases investigated. Additionally, IGF-I immunoreactivity is detected in high endothelial venules and various immune cells within the surrounding tissue of cHL including neutrophils and macrophages. IGF-1R immunoreactivity of variable intensity is found in HRS cells and high endothelial venules within the microenvironment in cHL. We assume that autocrine and paracrine IGF-I plays an anti-apoptotic role in tumour pathogenesis and in shaping the tumour microenvironment

Insulin-like growth factor I is expressed in classical and nodular lymphocyte-predominant Hodgkin's lymphoma tumour and microenvironmental cells

Hodgkin's lymphoma (HL) is among the most frequent nodal lymphomas in the Western world and is classified into two disease entities: nodular lymphocyte-predominant Hodgkin's lymphoma (NLPHL) and classical Hodgkin's lymphoma (cHL, 95 % of all HL). HL lesions are characterised by a minority of clonal neoplastic cells, namely Hodgkin and Reed-Sternberg (HRS) cells and their variants in cHL and lymphocyte-predominant (LP) cells in NLPHL, both occurring within a microenvironment of, for example, reactive T and B cells, macrophages and granulocytes that are assumed to support the proliferation and maintenance of neoplastic cells through cytokines, chemokines and growth factors. Insulin-like growth factor I (IGF-I) is an important growth factor involved in proliferation, differentiation, apoptosis and cell survival of numerous (including immune) tissues and probably has a role in tumour pathogenesis and maintenance. Although HL is characterised by disturbed cell differentiation and apoptosis mechanisms, with the involvement of the IGF-I receptor (IGF-1R), the distinct location of IGF-I in HL has not yet been defined. We localise IGF-I by double-immunofluorescence in frequent neoplastic cells of all cHL and NLPHL cases investigated. Additionally, IGF-I immunoreactivity is detected in high endothelial venules and various immune cells within the surrounding tissue of cHL including neutrophils and macrophages. IGF-1R immunoreactivity of variable intensity is found in HRS cells and high endothelial venules within the microenvironment in cHL. We assume that autocrine and paracrine IGF-I plays an anti-apoptotic role in tumour pathogenesis and in shaping the tumour microenvironment

Pleiotropic functions for transcription factor zscan10.

The transcription factor Zscan10 had been attributed a role as a pluripotency factor in embryonic stem cells based on its interaction with Oct4 and Sox2 in in vitro assays. Here we suggest a potential role of Zscan10 in controlling progenitor cell populations in vivo. Mice homozygous for a Zscan10 mutation exhibit reduced weight, mild hypoplasia in the spleen, heart and long bones and phenocopy an eye malformation previously described for Sox2 hypomorphs. Phenotypic abnormalities are supported by the nature of Zscan10 expression in midgestation embryos and adults suggesting a role for Zscan10 in either maintaining progenitor cell subpopulation or impacting on fate choice decisions thereof