ORCID Profile
0000-0001-6360-7959
Current Organisation
University of Oxford
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Publisher: Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory
Date: 21-08-2021
DOI: 10.1101/2021.08.20.457080
Abstract: The CorA family of proteins regulates the homeostasis of alent metal ions in many bacteria, archaea, and eukaryotic mitochondria, making it an important target in the investigation of the mechanisms of transport and its functional regulation. Although numerous structures of open and closed channels are now available for the CorA family, the mechanism of the transport regulation remains elusive. Here, we investigated the conformational distribution and associated dynamic behaviour of the pentameric Mg 2+ channel CorA at room temperature using small-angle neutron scattering (SANS) in combination with molecular dynamics (MD) simulations and solid-state nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy (NMR). We find that neither the Mg 2+ -bound closed structure nor the Mg 2+ -free open forms are sufficient to explain the average conformation of CorA. Our data support the presence of conformational equilibria between multiple states, and we further find a variation in the behaviour of the backbone dynamics with and without Mg 2+ . We propose that CorA must be in a dynamic equilibrium between different non-conducting states, both symmetric and asymmetric, regardless of bound Mg 2+ but that conducting states become more populated in Mg 2+ -free conditions. These properties are regulated by backbone dynamics and are key to understanding the functional regulation of CorA.
Publisher: American Chemical Society (ACS)
Date: 28-10-2019
Publisher: Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Date: 27-01-2012
DOI: 10.1038/SREP00237
Publisher: Royal Society of Chemistry (RSC)
Date: 2018
DOI: 10.1039/C8FD90020E
Publisher: Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory
Date: 09-07-2021
DOI: 10.1101/2021.07.08.451580
Abstract: The iconic Sonic Hedgehog (SHH) morphogen pathway is a fundamental orchestrator of embryonic development and stem cell maintenance, and is implicated in cancers in various organs. A key step in signalling is transfer of a palmitate group to the N-terminal cysteine residue of SHH, catalysed by the multi-pass transmembrane enzyme Hedgehog acyltransferase (HHAT) resident in the endoplasmic reticulum (ER). Here, we present the high-resolution cryo-EM structure of HHAT bound to substrate analogue palmityl-coenzyme A and a SHH mimetic megabody. Surprisingly, we identified a heme group bound to an HHAT cysteine residue and show that this modification is essential for HHAT structure and function. A structure of HHAT bound to potent small molecule inhibitor IMP-1575 revealed conformational changes in the active site which occlude substrate binding. Our multidisciplinary analysis provides a detailed view of the novel mechanism by which HHAT adapts the membrane environment to transfer a long chain fatty acid across the ER membrane from cytosolic acyl-CoA to a luminal protein substrate. This structure of a member of the protein-substrate membrane-bound O-acyltransferase (MBOAT) superfamily provides a blueprint for other protein substrate MBOATs, such as WNT morphogen acyltransferase Porcupine and ghrelin O -acyltransferase GOAT, and a template for future drug discovery.
Publisher: Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Date: 07-2016
DOI: 10.1038/NATURE18934
Publisher: American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS)
Date: 11-10-2022
DOI: 10.1126/SCISIGNAL.ABO3507
Abstract: The canonical members of the Jagged/Serrate and Delta families of transmembrane ligands have an extracellular, amino-terminal C2 domain that binds to phospholipids and is required for optimal activation of the Notch receptor. Somatic mutations that cause amino substitutions in the C2 domain in human JAGGED1 (JAG1) have been identified in tumors. We found in reporter cell assays that mutations affecting an N-glycosylation site reduced the ligand’s ability to activate Notch. This N-glycosylation site located in the C2 domain is conserved in the Jagged/Serrate family but is lacking in the Delta family. Site-specific glycan analysis of the JAG1 amino terminus demonstrated that occupancy of this site by either a complex-type or high-mannose N-glycan was required for full Notch activation in reporter cell assays. Similarly to JAG1 variants with defects in Notch binding, N-glycan removal, either by mutagenesis of the glycosylation site or by endoglycosidase treatment, reduced receptor activation. The N-glycan variants also reduced receptor activation in a Notch signaling–dependent vascular smooth muscle cell differentiation assay. Loss of the C2 N-glycan reduced JAG1 binding to liposomes to a similar extent as the loss of the entire C2 domain. Molecular dynamics simulations suggested that the presence of the N-glycan limits the orientation of JAG1 relative to the membrane, thus facilitating Notch binding. These data are consistent with a critical role for the N-glycan in promoting a lipid-binding conformation that is required to orient Jagged at the cell membrane for full Notch activation.
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 12-2021
Publisher: American Chemical Society (ACS)
Date: 22-04-2014
DOI: 10.1021/CT500003G
Publisher: eLife Sciences Publications, Ltd
Date: 03-02-2022
Publisher: Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Date: 17-12-2015
DOI: 10.1038/NCOMMS10140
Abstract: Diacylglycerol kinase catalyses the ATP-dependent conversion of diacylglycerol to phosphatidic acid in the plasma membrane of Escherichia coli . The small size of this integral membrane trimer, which has 121 residues per subunit, means that available protein must be used economically to craft three catalytic and substrate-binding sites centred about the membrane/cytosol interface. How nature has accomplished this extraordinary feat is revealed here in a crystal structure of the kinase captured as a ternary complex with bound lipid substrate and an ATP analogue. Residues, identified as essential for activity by mutagenesis, decorate the active site and are rationalized by the ternary structure. The γ-phosphate of the ATP analogue is positioned for direct transfer to the primary hydroxyl of the lipid whose acyl chain is in the membrane. A catalytic mechanism for this unique enzyme is proposed. The active site architecture shows clear evidence of having arisen by convergent evolution.
Publisher: eLife Sciences Publications, Ltd
Date: 07-02-2022
DOI: 10.7554/ELIFE.71887
Abstract: The CorA family of proteins regulates the homeostasis of alent metal ions in many bacteria, archaea, and eukaryotic mitochondria, making it an important target in the investigation of the mechanisms of transport and its functional regulation. Although numerous structures of open and closed channels are now available for the CorA family, the mechanism of the transport regulation remains elusive. Here, we investigated the conformational distribution and associated dynamic behaviour of the pentameric Mg 2+ channel CorA at room temperature using small-angle neutron scattering (SANS) in combination with molecular dynamics (MD) simulations and solid-state nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy (NMR). We find that neither the Mg 2+ -bound closed structure nor the Mg 2+ -free open forms are sufficient to explain the average conformation of CorA. Our data support the presence of conformational equilibria between multiple states, and we further find a variation in the behaviour of the backbone dynamics with and without Mg 2+ . We propose that CorA must be in a dynamic equilibrium between different non-conducting states, both symmetric and asymmetric, regardless of bound Mg 2+ but that conducting states become more populated in Mg 2+ -free conditions. These properties are regulated by backbone dynamics and are key to understanding the functional regulation of CorA.
Publisher: American Chemical Society (ACS)
Date: 08-01-2014
DOI: 10.1021/BI401576K
Publisher: American Chemical Society (ACS)
Date: 13-04-2004
DOI: 10.1021/JA039392A
Abstract: In interfacing man-made electronic components with specifically folded biomacromolecules, the perturbative effects of junction structure on any signal generated should be considered. We report herein on the electron-transfer characteristics of the blue copper metalloprotein, azurin, as characterized at a refined level by conducting atomic force microscopy (C-AFM). Specifically, the modulation of current-voltage (I-V) behavior with compressional force has been examined. In the absence of assignable resonant electron tunneling within the confined bias region, from -1 to 1 V, the I-V behavior was analyzed with a modified Simmons formula. To interpret the variation of tunneling barrier height and barrier length obtained by fitting with the modified Simmons formula, an atom packing density model associated with protein mechanical deformation was proposed and simulated by molecular dynamics. The barrier heights determined at the minimum forces necessary for stable electrical contact correlate reasonably well with those estimated from bulk biophysical (electroanalytical and photochemical) experiments previously reported. At higher forces, the tunnel barrier decreases to fall within the range observed with saturated organic systems. Molecular dynamics simulations revealed changes in secondary structure and atomic density of the protein with respect to compression. At low compression, where transport measurements are made, secondary structure is retained, and atomic packing density is observed to increase linearly with force. These predictions, and those made at higher compression, are consistent with both experimentally observed modulations of tunneling barrier height with applied force and the applicability of the atom packing density model of electron tunneling in proteins to molecular-level analyses.
Publisher: American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS)
Date: 03-06-2022
Abstract: Smoothened (SMO) transduces the Hedgehog (Hh) signal across the plasma membrane in response to accessible cholesterol. Cholesterol binds SMO at two sites: one in the extracellular cysteine-rich domain (CRD) and a second in the transmembrane domain (TMD). How these two sterol-binding sites mediate SMO activation in response to the ligand Sonic Hedgehog (SHH) remains unknown. We find that mutations in the CRD (but not the TMD) reduce the fold increase in SMO activity triggered by SHH. SHH also promotes the photocrosslinking of a sterol analog to the CRD in intact cells. In contrast, sterol binding to the TMD site boosts SMO activity regardless of SHH exposure. Mutational and computational analyses show that these sites are in allosteric communication despite being 45 angstroms apart. Hence, sterols function as both SHH-regulated orthosteric ligands at the CRD and allosteric ligands at the TMD to regulate SMO activity and Hh signaling.
Publisher: Public Library of Science (PLoS)
Date: 09-01-2014
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 05-2005
Publisher: Public Library of Science (PLoS)
Date: 26-07-2016
Publisher: Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences
Date: 07-03-2013
Abstract: The twin-arginine transport system (Tat) has the remarkable ability of transporting folded proteins across membranes while avoiding uncontrolled ion leakage. Tat is essential for plant photosynthesis and is required for bacterial pathogenesis. The mechanism by which folded proteins are translocated is poorly understood. We have determined the structure of the TatA oligomer, which is responsible for the translocation step, and evaluated its impact on lipid bilayers. The results suggest a mechanism of protein translocation involving thinning and perturbing the membrane bilayer. The approach used here will be useful for structural analysis of other oligomeric proteins that weakly assemble in the membrane.
Location: United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland
No related grants have been discovered for Mark Sansom.