Pinholin S2168 triggers the lytic cycle of bacteriophage φ21 in infected Escherichia coli. Activated transmembrane dimers oligomerize into small holes and uncouple the proton gradient. Transmembrane domain 1 (TMD1) regulates this activity, while TMD2 is postulated to form the actual “pinholes.” Focusing on the TMD2 fragment, we used synchrotron radiation-based circular dichroism to confirm its α-helical conformation and transmembrane alignment. Solid-state 15N-NMR in oriented DMPC bilayers yielded a helix tilt angle of τ = 14°, a high order parameter (Smol = 0.9), and revealed the azimuthal angle. The resulting rotational orientation places an extended glycine zipper motif (G40xxxS44xxxG48) together with a patch of H-bonding residues (T51, T54, N55) sideways along TMD2, available for helix–helix interactions. Using fluorescence vesicle leakage assays, we demonstrate that TMD2 forms stable holes with an estimated diameter of 2 nm, as long as the glycine zipper motif remains intact. Based on our experimental data, we suggest structural models for the oligomeric pinhole (right-handed heptameric TMD2 bundle), for the active dimer (right-handed Gly-zipped TMD2/TMD2 dimer), and for the full-length pinholin protein before being triggered (Gly-zipped TMD2/TMD1-TMD1/TMD2 dimer in a line).
Membrane traffic, an essential cellular process that plays a role in many human diseases, requires key biophysical steps including formation of membrane buds, loading of these buds with specific molecular cargo, separation from the parent membrane, and fusion with the target membrane. The prevailing view has been that structured protein motifs such as wedge-like amphipathic helices, crescent-shaped BAR domains, curved coats and constricting dynamin rings drive these processes. However, many proteins that contain these structural motifs also contain large intrinsically disordered protein (IDP) domains of 300-1500 amino acids, including many clathrin and COPII coat components. While these IDP domains have been regarded primarily as flexible biochemical scaffolds, we have recently discovered that IDPs are highly efficient physical drivers of membrane budding. Further, our work demonstrates that IDP domains serve as strong drivers of membrane fission. How can molecules without a defined structure drive membrane budding and fission? Our results support the idea that disordered domains generate entropic pressure at membrane surfaces, which is critical to overcoming key biophysical barriers to membrane traffic. IDPs are particularly efficient generators of entropic pressure owing to their very large hydrodynamic radii, potential for electrostatic repulsion owing to high net charge, and the substantial entropic cost of extending them. More broadly our findings suggest that any protein, regardless of structure, can contribute to membrane remodeling by increasing entropic pressure, and paradoxically, that proteins that lack a defined secondary structure, IDPs, may be among the most potent drivers of membrane traffic. Our ongoing work focuses on understanding how entropic pressure influences membrane traffic, and designing biophysical tools for manipulating receptor recycling and signaling.
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