Gating mechanism of the extracellular entry to the lipid pathway in a TMEM16 scramblase.

TitleGating mechanism of the extracellular entry to the lipid pathway in a TMEM16 scramblase.
Publication TypeJournal Article
Year of Publication2018
AuthorsLee B-C, Khelashvili G, Falzone M, Menon AK, Weinstein H, Accardi A
JournalNat Commun
Volume9
Issue1
Pagination3251
Date Published2018 Aug 14
ISSN2041-1723
Abstract

Members of the TMEM16/ANO family of membrane proteins are Ca-activated phospholipid scramblases and/or Cl channels. A membrane-exposed hydrophilic groove in these proteins serves as a shared translocation pathway for ions and lipids. However, the mechanism by which lipids gain access to and permeate through the groove remains poorly understood. Here, we combine quantitative scrambling assays and molecular dynamic simulations to identify the key steps regulating lipid movement through the groove. Lipid scrambling is limited by two constrictions defined by evolutionarily conserved charged and polar residues, one extracellular and the other near the membrane mid-point. The region between these constrictions is inaccessible to lipids and water molecules, suggesting that the groove is in a non-conductive conformation. A sequence of lipid-triggered reorganizations of interactions between these residues and the permeating lipids propagates from the extracellular entryway to the central constriction, allowing the groove to open and coordinate the headgroups of transiting lipids.

DOI10.1038/s41467-018-05724-1
Alternate JournalNat Commun
PubMed ID30108217
PubMed Central IDPMC6092359
Grant ListR01 GM106717 / GM / NIGMS NIH HHS / United States
R01 GM116961 / GM / NIGMS NIH HHS / United States