Membrane binding of proteins such as short chain dehydrogenases reductases or tail-anchored proteins relies on their N-and/or C-terminal hydrophobic transmembrane segment. In this review, we propose guidelines to characterize such hydrophobic peptide segments using spectroscopic and biophysical measurements. The secondary structure content of the C-terminal peptides of retinol dehydrogenase 8, RGS9-1 anchor protein, lecithin retinol acyl transferase, and of the N-terminal peptide of retinol dehydrogenase 11 has been deduced by prediction tools from their primary sequence as well as by using infrared or circular dichroism analyses. Depending on the solvent and the solubilization method, significant structural differences were observed, often involving α-helices. The helical structure of these peptides was found to be consistent with their presumed membrane binding. Langmuir monolayers have been used as membrane models to study lipidpeptide interactions. The values of maximum insertion pressure obtained for all peptides using a monolayer of 1,2-dioleoyl-sn-glycero-3-phospho-ethanolamine (DOPE) are larger than the estimated lateral pressure of membranes, thus suggesting that they bind membranes. Polarization modulation infrared reflection absorption spectroscopy has been used to determine the structure and orientation of these peptides in the absence and in the presence of a DOPE monolayer. This lipid induced an increase or a decrease in the organization of the peptide secondary structure. Further measurements are necessary using other lipids to better understand the membrane interactions of these peptides.
Retinoid metabolism is important for many physiological functions, such as differenciation, growth, and vision. In the visual context, after the absorption of light in rod photoreceptors by the visual pigment rhodopsin, 11-cis retinal is isomerized to all-trans retinal. This retinoid subsequently undergoes a series of modifications during the visual cycle through a cascade of reactions occurring in photoreceptors and in the retinal pigment epithelium. Retinol dehydrogenases (RDHs) are enzymes responsible for crucial steps of this visual cycle. They belong to a large family of proteins designated as short-chain dehydrogenases/reductases. The structure of these RDHs has been predicted using modern bioinformatics tools, which allowed to propose models with similar structures including a common Rossman fold. These enzymes undergo oxidoreduction reactions, whose direction is dictated by the preference and concentration of their individual cofactor (NAD(H)/NADP(H)). This review presents the current state of knowledge on functional and structural features of RDHs involved in the visual cycle as well as knockout models. RDHs are described as integral or peripheral enzymes. A topology model of the membrane binding of these RDHs via their N- and (or) C-terminal domain has been proposed on the basis of their individual properties. Membrane binding is a crucial issue for these enzymes because of the high hydrophobicity of their retinoid substrates.
Retinol dehydrogenase 11 (RDH11) has been postulated to be anchored to membranes by means of its N-terminal segment in retinal pigment epithelial (RPE) cells where it participates to the visual cycle. The analysis of the primary sequence of RDH11 revealed that its N-terminal hydrophobic segment could be involved in the anchoring of this enzyme to membranes. However, no information is yet available on the properties of this N-terminal segment to support this role. The secondary structure and membrane binding of two N-terminal peptides of RDH11 with different lengths have thus been investigated to provide this information. Online tools allowed predicting an α-helical secondary structure for both peptides. Infrared spectroscopy and circular dichroism have shown that the α-helix of the Long-peptide (35 amino acids) is longer and more rigid than that of the Short-peptide (25 amino acids) regardless of the type of solvent. Langmuir monolayers have been used as a model membrane to study lipid-peptide interactions. Values of maximum insertion pressure and synergy suggested a preferential binding of the Long-peptide to lipids with a phosphoethanolamine polar head group, which are abundant in the RPE. Furthermore, infrared spectroscopy in monolayers has shown that the α-helical structure of the Long-peptide is more stable in the presence of saturated phospholipids whereas the structure of the Short-peptide is mainly disordered. Altogether, the present data demonstrate that the α-helical hydrophobic core of the N-terminal segment of RDH11 displays properties typical of transmembrane domains, in agreement with its postulated role in the membrane anchoring of this protein.
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