It is well known that lipids are heterogeneously distributed throughout the cell. Most lipid species are synthesized in the ER and then distributed to different cellular locations in order to create the distinct membrane compositions observed in eukaryotes. However, the mechanisms by which specific lipid species are trafficked to and maintained in specific areas of the cell are poorly understood and constitute an active area of research. Of particular interest is the distribution of phosphatidylserine (PS), an anionic lipid that is enriched in the cytosolic leaflet of the plasma membrane. PS transport occurs by both vesicular and non-vesicular routes, with members of the oxysterol binding protein family (Osh6 and Osh7) recently implicated in the latter route. In addition, the flippase activity of P4-ATPases helps build PS membrane asymmetry by preferentially translocating PS to the cytosolic leaflet. This asymmetric PS distribution can be used as a signaling device by the regulated activation of scramblases, which rapidly expose PS on the extracellular leaflet and play important roles in blood clotting and apoptosis. This review will discuss recent advances made in the study of phospholipid flippases, scramblases, and PS-specific lipid transfer proteins, as well as how these proteins contribute to subcellular PS distribution.

Phospholipid flippases in the type IV P-type ATPase family (P4-ATPases) are essential components of the Golgi, plasma membrane and endosomal system that play critical roles in membrane biogenesis. These pumps flip phospholipid across the bilayer to create an asymmetric membrane structure with substrate phospholipids, such as phosphatidylserine and phosphatidylethanolamine, enriched within the cytosolic leaflet. The P4-ATPases also help form transport vesicles that bud from Golgi and endosomal membranes, thereby impacting the sorting and localization of many different proteins in the secretory and endocytic pathways. At the organismal level, P4-ATPase deficiencies are linked to liver disease, obesity, diabetes, hearing loss, neurological deficits, immune deficiency and reduced fertility. Here, we review the biochemical, cellular and physiological functions of P4-ATPases, with an emphasis on their roles in vesicle-mediated protein transport.

SUMMARY Misfolded proteins of the endoplasmic reticulum (ER) are retrotranslocated to the cytosol, where they are polyubiquitinated, extracted from the membrane, and degraded by the proteasome. To investigate how the ER-associated Degradation (ERAD) machinery can accomplish retrotranslocation of a misfolded luminal protein domain across a lipid bilayer, we have reconstituted retrotranslocation with purified S. cerevisiae proteins, using proteoliposomes containing the multi-spanning ubiquitin ligase Hrd1. Retrotranslocation of the luminal domain of a membrane-spanning substrate is triggered by autoubiquitination of Hrd1. Substrate ubiquitination is a subsequent event, and the Cdc48 ATPase that completes substrate extraction from the membrane is not required for retrotranslocation. Ubiquitination of lysines in Hrd1’s RING-finger domain is required for substrate retrotranslocation in vitro and for ERAD in vivo. Our results suggest that Hrd1 forms a ubiquitin-gated protein-conducting channel.

Type IV P-type ATPases (P4-ATPases) catalyze translocation of phospholipid across a membrane to establish an asymmetric bilayer structure with phosphatidylserine (PS) and phosphatidylethanolamine (PE) restricted to the cytosolic leaflet. The mechanism for how P4-ATPases recognize and flip phospholipid is unknown, and is described as the “giant substrate problem” because the canonical substrate binding pockets of homologous cation pumps are too small to accommodate a bulky phospholipid. Here, we identify residues that confer differences in substrate specificity between Drs2 and Dnf1, Saccharomyces cerevisiae P4-ATPases that preferentially flip PS and phosphatidylcholine (PC), respectively. Transplanting transmembrane segments 3 and 4 (TM3-4) of Drs2 into Dnf1 alters the substrate preference of Dnf1 from PC to PS. Acquisition of the PS substrate maps to a Tyr618Phe substitution in TM4 of Dnf1, representing the loss of a single hydroxyl group. The reciprocal Phe511Tyr substitution in Drs2 specifically abrogates PS recognition by this flippase causing PS exposure on the outer leaflet of the plasma membrane without disrupting PE asymmetry. TM3 and the adjoining lumenal loop contribute residues important for Dnf1 PC preference, including Phe587. Modeling of residues involved in substrate selection suggests a novel P-type ATPase transport pathway at the protein/lipid interface and a potential solution to the giant substrate problem.