0000000000012458
AUTHOR
Mar Orzáez
Influence of the C-terminus of the glycophorin A transmembrane fragment on the dimerization process
The monomer-dimer equilibrium of the glycophorin A (GpA) transmembrane (TM) fragment has been used as a model system to investigate the amino acid sequence requirements that permit an appropriate helix-helix packing in a membrane‐mimetic environment. In particular, we have focused on a region of the helix where no crucial residues for packing have been yet reported. Various deletion and replacement mutants in the C‐terminal region of the TM fragment showed that the distance between the dimerization motif and the flanking charged residues from the cytoplasmic side of the protein is important for helix packing. Furthermore, selected GpA mutants have been used to illustrate the rearrangement o…
The C-terminal Domains of Apoptotic BH3-only Proteins Mediate Their Insertion into Distinct Biological Membranes
Changes in the equilibrium of pro- and anti-apoptotic members of the B-cell lymphoma-2 (Bcl-2) protein family in the mitochondrial outer membrane (MOM) induce structural changes that commit cells to apoptosis. Bcl-2 homology-3 (BH3)-only proteins participate in this process by either activating pro-apoptotic effectors or inhibiting anti-apoptotic components and by promoting MOM permeabilization. The association of BH3-only proteins with MOMs is necessary for the activation and amplification of death signals; however, the nature of this association remains controversial, as these proteins lack a canonical transmembrane sequence. Here we used an in vitro expression system to study the inserti…
Azobenzene Polyesters Used as Gate-Like Scaffolds in Nanoscopic Hybrid Systems
The synthesis and characterisation of new capped silica mesoporous nanoparticles for on-command delivery applications is reported. Functional capped hybrid systems consist of MCM-41 nanoparticles functionalised on the external surface with polyesters bearing azobenzene derivatives and rhodamine¿B inside the mesopores. Two solid materials, Rh-PAzo8-S and Rh-PAzo6-S, containing two closely related polymers, PAzo8 and PAzo6, in the pore outlets have been prepared. Materials Rh-PAzo8-S and Rh-PAzo6-S showed an almost zero release in water due to steric hindrance imposed by the presence of anchored bulky polyesters, whereas a large delivery of the cargo was observed in the presence of an esteras…
Cathepsin-B Induced Controlled Release from Peptide-Capped Mesoporous Silica Nanoparticles
New capped silica mesoporous nanoparticles for intracellular controlled cargo release within cathepsin B expressing cells are described. Nanometric mesoporous MCM-41 supports loaded with safranin O (S1-P) or doxorubicin (S2-P) containing a molecular gate based on a cathepsin B target peptidic sequence were synthesized. Solids were designed to show "zero delivery" and to display cargo release in the presence of cathepsin B enzyme, which selectively hydrolyzed in vitro the capping peptide sequence. Controlled delivery in HeLa, MEFs WT, and MEFs lacking cathepsin B cell lines were also tested. Release of safranin O and doxorubicin in these cells took place when cathepsin B was active or presen…
Targeted-lung delivery of dexamethasone using gated mesoporous silica nanoparticles. A new therapeutic approach for acute lung injury treatment
Acute lung injury (ALI) is a critical inflammatory syndrome, characterized by increased diffuse inflammation and severe lung damage, which represents a clinical concern due to the high morbidity and mortality in critical patients. In last years, there has been a need to develop more effective treatments for ALI, and targeted drug delivery to inflamed lungs has become an attractive research field. Here, we present a nanodevice based on mesoporous silica nanoparticles loaded with dexamethasone (a glucocorticoid extensively used for ALI treatment) and capped with a peptide that targets the TNFR1 receptor expressed in pro-inflammatory macrophages (TNFR-Dex-MSNs) and avoids cargo leakage. TNFR-D…
In vivo discovery of a peptide that prevents CUG-RNA hairpin formation and reverses RNA toxicity in myotonic dystrophy models
6 pages, 5 figures. PMID:21730182[PubMed] PMCID: PMC3141925[Available on 2012/1/19]
Bax transmembrane domain interacts with prosurvival Bcl-2 proteins in biological membranes
The Bcl-2 (B-cell lymphoma 2) protein Bax (Bcl-2 associated X, apoptosis regulator) can commit cells to apoptosis via outer mitochondrial membrane permeabilization. Bax activity is controlled in healthy cells by prosurvival Bcl-2 proteins. C-terminal Bax transmembrane domain interactions were implicated recently in Bax pore formation. Here, we show that the isolated transmembrane domains of Bax, Bcl-xL (B-cell lymphoma-extra large), and Bcl-2 can mediate interactions between Bax and prosurvival proteins inside the membrane in the absence of apoptotic stimuli. Bcl-2 protein transmembrane domains specifically homooligomerize and heterooligomerize in bacterial and mitochondrial membranes. Thei…
Mcl-1 and Bok transmembrane domains : Unexpected players in the modulation of apoptosis
The Bcl-2 protein family comprises both proand antiapoptotic members that control the permeabilization of the mitochondrial outer membrane, a crucial step in the modulation of apoptosis. Recent research has demonstrated that the carboxyl-terminal transmembrane domain (TMD) of some Bcl-2 protein family mem-bers can modulate apoptosis; however, the transmembrane interactome of the antiapoptotic protein Mcl-1 remains largely unexplored. Here, we demonstrate that the Mcl-1 TMD forms homooligomers in the mitochondrial membrane, competes with full-length Mcl-1 protein with regards to its antiapoptotic function, and induces cell death in a Bok-dependent manner. While the Bok TMD oligomers locate p…
Enzyme-responsive intracellular-controlled release using silica mesoporous nanoparticles capped with ε-poly-L-lysine.
The synthesis and characterization of two new capped silica mesoporous nanoparticles for controlled delivery purposes are described. Capped hybrid systems consist of MCM-41 nanoparticles functionalized on the outer surface with polymer epsilon-poly-L-lysine by two different anchoring strategies. In both cases, nanoparticles were loaded with model dye molecule [Ru(bipy)(3)](2+). An anchoring strategy involved the random formation of urea bonds by the treatment of propyl isocyanate-functionalized MCM-41 nanoparticles with the lysine amino groups located on the epsilon-poly-L-lysine backbone (solid Ru-rLys-S1). The second strategy involved a specific attachment through the carboxyl terminus of…
Enzyme-responsive silica mesoporous supports capped with azopyridinium salts for controlled delivery applications
11 páginas, 7 figuras, 3 tablas y 2 esquemas
Peptides Derived from the Transmembrane Domain of Bcl-2 Proteins as Potential Mitochondrial Priming Tools
The Bcl-2 family of proteins is crucial for apoptosis regulation. Members of this family insert through a specific C-terminal anchoring trans membrane domain (TMD) in the mitochondrial outer membrane where they hierarchically interact to determine cell fate. While the mitochondrial membrane has been proposed to actively participate in these protein protein interactions, the influence of the TMD in the membrane-mediated interaction is poorly understood. Synthetic peptides (TMD-pepts) corresponding to the putative TMD of antiapoptotic (Bcl-2, Bcl-xL, Bcl-w, and Mcl-1) and pro-apoptotic (Bax, Bak) members were synthesized and characterized. TMD-pepts bound more efficiently to mitochondria-like…
Influence of hydrophobic matching on association of model transmembrane fragments containing a minimised glycophorin A dimerisation motif
AbstractThe principles that govern the folding and packing of membrane proteins are still not completely understood. In the present work, we have revisited the glycophorin A (GpA) dimerisation motif that mediates transmembrane (TM) helix association, one of the best-suited models of membrane protein oligomerisation. By using artificial polyleucine TM segments we have demonstrated in this study that a pattern of only five amino acids (GVxxGVxxT) promotes specific dimerisation. Further, we have used this minimised GpA motif to assess the influence of hydrophobic matching on the TM helix packing process in detergent micelles and found that this factor modulates helix–helix association and/or d…
Caspase 3 Targeted Cargo Delivery in Apoptotic Cells Using Capped Mesoporous Silica Nanoparticles
[EN] Excessive apoptotic cell death is at the origin of several pathologies, such as degenerative disorders, stroke or ischemia-reperfusion damage. In this context, strategies to improve inhibition of apoptosis and other types of cell death are of interest and may represent a pharmacological opportunity for the treatment of cell-death-related disorders. In this scenario new peptide-containing delivery systems (solids S1-P1and S1-P2) are described based on meso-porous silica nanoparticles (MSNs) loaded with a dye and capped with the KKGDEVDKKARDEVDK (P1) peptide that contains two repeats of the DEVD target sequence that are selectively hydrolyzed by caspase3 (C3). This enzyme plays a central…
Small molecule inhibitors of Apaf-1-related caspase- 3/-9 activation that control mitochondrial-dependent apoptosis
10 pages, 5 figures.-- PMID: 16341125 [PubMed].-- Available online Dec 9, 2005.
Temperature-controlled release by changes in the secondary structure of peptides anchored onto mesoporous silica supports
Changes in the conformation of a peptide anchored onto the external surface of mesoporous silica nanoparticles have been used to design novel temperature-controlled delivery systems.
Polar/Ionizable Residues in Transmembrane Segments: Effects on Helix-Helix Packing
The vast majority of membrane proteins are anchored to biological membranes through hydrophobic alpha-helices. Sequence analysis of high-resolution membrane protein structures show that ionizable amino acid residues are present in transmembrane (TM) helices, often with a functional and/or structural role. Here, using as scaffold the hydrophobic TM domain of the model membrane protein glycophorin A (GpA), we address the consequences of replacing specific residues by ionizable amino acids on TM helix insertion and packing, both in detergent micelles and in biological membranes. Our findings demonstrate that ionizable residues are stably inserted in hydrophobic environments, and tolerated in t…
Differences in the Association of BH3-Only Proteins to Biological Membranes
Apoptosis, a prevalent mechanism of programmed cell death, is regulated by the Bcl-2 protein family. The balance between pro- and anti-apoptotic Bcl-2 members in the mitochondrial outer membrane (MOM) protects or triggers MOM permeabilization. Bcl-2 homology-3 (BH3)-only proteins participate in this process activating pro-apoptotic effectors and promoting permeabilization of the MOM. The membrane association of BH3-only proteins is controversial due to the lack of a canonical carboxyl-terminal (C-terminal) transmembrane (TM) domain. We used an in vitro transcription/translation system to study the insertion capacity of these hydrophobic C-terminal regions of the BH3-members Bik, Bim, Noxa, …
Influence of proline residues in transmembrane helix packing
Integral membrane proteins often contain proline residues in their alpha-helical transmembrane (TM) fragments, which may strongly influence their folding and association. Pro-scanning mutagenesis of the helical domain of glycophorin A (GpA) showed that replacement of the residues located at the center abrogates helix packing while substitution of the residues forming the ending helical turns allows dimer formation. Synthetic TM peptides revealed that a point mutation of one of the residues of the dimerization motif (L75P) located at the N-terminal helical turn of the GpA TM fragment, adopts a secondary structure and oligomeric state similar to the wild-type sequence in detergents. In additi…