Protein targeting and export Flashcards
An average protein is 10nm across, what is the volume of the protein?
41 nm3 in volume
An average eukaryotic cell is 50 µm in diameter and has a volume of what?
6.6x1013 nm3
An overview of protein targeting and export
Whats the fluorescent protein used to visualise subcellular localisation?
What organism was it discovered in?
GFP
Discovered in Aequorea victoria (Nobel prize winning discovery)
What structure does GFP have and when it’s mutated in different ways what can be produced?
GFP has a beta-barrel structure
Different colours can be obtained by mutating the Beta-barrel structure
e.g. mutating into YFP, BFP, CFP
This is because the wavelengths can be manipulated whilst moving through the structure and therefore produce different colours
How else can different colours be obtained from GFP?
By using other organisms such as DsRed
What can GFP fuse with?
Your proteins of interest (chimera- A chimera is essentially a single organism that’s made up of cells from two or more “individuals”)
Whats a disadvantage of GFP?
Chimeric protein may not fold correctly/ act normally due to large size of FP
The use of Immunofluorescence (IF) has the same kind of procedure as what?
Immunoblotting (detection of a protein on an antibody)
What are the disadvantages of Immunofluorescence?
- Cells have to be fixed as permeabilised to allow antibody into them i.e. dead
- antibodies may give false signals via non-specific binding
What are some other useful fluorescent dyes and what do they detect?
- DAPI (4’,6-diamidino-2-phenylindole) and Hoechst stain bind to the minor groove of DNA and emit blue light when exposed to UV light
- Phalloidin toxin from the death cap mushroom (Amanita phalloides)- binds to filamentous Actin (F-actin) and can be conjugated to different fluorophores
What are some of the reasons that cells migrate?
What does it require a rapid change in?
What needs to be newly synthesised?
- Wound healing, movement of WBCs to infection sites, metastasis
- Requires rapid changes in the cytoskeleton
- The leading edge of the cell has lots of actin microfilaments
- These assemble/disassemble to push membrane forward
- New synthesis of actin protein is also required to help in the migration process
Whats a FISH?
A probe with a fluorophore to show where the RNAs are
Whats are UTRs in eukaroytic mRNA?
They are Untranslated regions which are involved in regulation
sequences in the 3’ UTR may be involved in what?
localisation
e.g. the beta-actin mRNA contains a “zip code” which has an essential ACACCC sequence
What does the Zip-code in eukaryotic mRNA form?
A secondary structure via base-pairing within the 3’ UTR
Tell me what the Zip code biding protein (ZBP1) contains?
And what do these bind to?
- Contains 2x RRMs (RNA recognition motif) which has basic regions (positive charge) and interacts with negative charge on RNA
- Also, 4x KH domains (K-homology, first found in hnRNPK) which bind to single-stranded RNA and DNA
What does ZBP1 bind to?
What is this complex then transported through?
ZBP1 binds to nascent Beta-actin mRNA in nucleus as part of a large mRNP complex
These mRNPs are actively transported through the nuclear pore complex (NPC) with the aid of Ran GTPase
How is beta-actin mRNA transported to the leading edge of a migrating cell?
Where are many proteins made before being moved to where they need to be?
What do they therefore require?
Many proteins are made in the cytoplasm and then are moved to where they need to be
They require organelle-specific targeting sequences
How can organellle-specific targeting sequences be identified?
Some can be identified from primary sequence (NLS or NES)
Some are more structural
- amphiphilic helix (mitochondria)
- Signal patch (lysosome)
With organelle-specific targeting when entering the nucleus, what is required?
Tell me about them
A targeting sequence known as nuclear localisation signal (NLS) which is NOT removed following transport
There are two kinds of NLS which may be anywhere in the protein
- Basic
- Non-basic
What are the two kinds of NLS?
- Basic
- Non-basic
Whats a Basic NLS and give an example
Basic
e.g. SV40 large T antigen
- rich in lysine (K) and arginine (R)
- The exact sequence is not important instead it is the cluster of basic amino acids
- can be bipartite (split into two parts)
Give an example of a Non-basic NLS?
hnRNPA1 which is hydrophobic
With organelle specific targeting exiting the nucleus, what is required?
Where are they in the sequence?
Are they removed after transport?
Nuclear export signals (NES)
These can be found anywhere in the sequence
Not removed following transport
What are NESs rich in?
How do they look in the sequence?
- Rich in hydrophobic residues (leucine, L and isoleucine, I)
- In sequence:
L X2-3 (F/I/L/V/M) X2-3 (L/I) X (L/I)
The X represent any AA
What is the nuclear localisation signals eIF4GI?
A large protein that acts as a scaffold in translation initiation
Indirect immunofluorescence of HeLa cells in eIF4GI shows what?
Some of the endogenous protein is in the nucleus, but most is in the cytoplasm
What was nuclear localisation in eIF4GI dependent on and how was this discovered?
- We expressed fragments corresponding to known protease cleavage sites – N-terminal part goes to nucleus (detected by indirect IF)
- N-terminal fragment sequence contains KRRRK
- Made fusion proteins with GFP - whole fragment or just a small fragment of surrounding sequence (X5)
- Mutated KRRRK to AAAAA (charge goes from positive to neutral)
- Nuclear localisation was dependent on this sequence
How do ions, small metabolites and globular proteins move through the NPC (nuclear pore complex) ?
What size are these ions?
Ions, small metabolites and globular proteins 20-40 kDa move through the nuclear pore complex (NPC) by passive diffusion
How do moelcules greater than 40 kDa move through the NPC?
Bigger proteins and mRNAs (in mRNPs) need to be transported through pore- this is the central role of the GTPase Ran
What are the stages to the Nuclear import process?
- Nuclear import receptor: heterodimer of importin-alpha (recognises NLS in “cargo”) and importin-beta (interacts with nucleoporins in NPC)
- Nucleoporins contain FG-rich repeats (hydrophobic)
- These help transport (shuttle) the complex into the nucleus
- Nuclear Ran-GTP interacts with importin, releasing cargo
- Ran-GTP: importin complex exits to cytoplasm
- Ran-GAP stimulates Ran to hydrolyse GTP
- Importin is now free for another round of import
- Ran-GDP enters the nucleus to be “recycled” by Ran-GEF (guanine nucleotide exchange factor)
What are the stages to the Nuclear export pathway?
- Again, the Ran GTPase is central
- In this case the cargo is included in a complex with Ran-GTP and a transport protein called an exportin (e.g. Crm1)
- Exportins and importins are similar in both sequence and structure and are part of a family called karyopherin’s
What is Mnk1?
A kinase with an N-terminal NLS and a C-terminal NES
Leptomycine B can be used to prevent cancer
What does it bind to and what does it do?
It binds to and alkylates Exportin1 on a single cys residue, inhibiting the export activity
LMB (Leptomycin B) has been found to have anti-tumour activity in mouse models, where in the cell does it need to be any why?
If not in the right location, what can this lead to? Provide an example.
Lots of proteins with tumour suppressor activity needs to be in the nucleus to carry out their function
The mislocalisation of tumour suppressor proteins is a common feature of tumours
e.g. RUNX3 (a transcription factor) is commonly mislocalised to the cytoplasm in breast and gastric tumours
Blocking Exportin 1-dependent nuclear export with LMB may help what?
may help to keep such proteins where they ought to be and prevent cancer progression
Lecture 4 conclusions
- Proteins in the cell need to be in the right place to perform their function
- This can be achieved by movement of the mRNA via sequences located in the 3’ UTR (Pre-translation)
- Movement of proteins Post-translation relies on targeting sequences
- The simplest of these signals are those that mark out a protein for nuclear import or export
- All these movements can be visualised in cells by various methods
- Hybridisation of a fluorescent nucleotide probe to mRNA
- Binding of fluorescently labelled antibodies to proteins
- Expression of a protein of interest fused to a fluorescent protein
- Human cells expressing suspected GFP-tagged shuttling proteins can be fused to murine cells (no initial expression)
- Human cell nuclei stain differently to those from mice (murine cells shown with arrow)
- The photos were taken 6 hours after fusion of the cells
Which of the two hnRNPs shuttles?
Overview of protein targeting and export
Movements in the cell can be visualised by what methods?
- Hybridisation of a fluorescent nucleotide probe to mRNA
- Binding of fluorescently labelled antibodies to proteins
- Expression of a protein of interest fused to a fluorescent protein
Whats the purpose of the nucleolus in the nucleus?
- not membrane bound
- site of transcription of major rRNA genes by RNA Pol I
- rRNA is processed and ribosomes are assembled in nucleolus
Whats Nucleolar localisation signals (NoLS)?
A longer version of NLS
(run of basic residues- K/R)
99% of mitochondrial protens are made from the nuclear genome.
What are the functions of the mitochondrial proteins?
What is present in the mitochondrial matrix in multiple copies?
mtDNA is present within the matrix in multiple copies
What does the mitochondrial genome contain?
Mitochondrial genome (16,569 bp) contains 37 genes (13 proteins, 22 tRNAs and 2 rRNAs)
The 13 mitochondrial genes are subunits of what?
Subunits of the enzyme complexes of the oxidative phosphorylation system
When fractionating cellular components (differential centrifugation) tell me the different spins, pellets and supernatants formed
- can take these partially purified components and reconstitute them in the test tube in a cell-free system
Mitochondrial matrix targeting is a N-terminal matrix-targeting sequence. Tell me how mant aa it has? its polarity and why? What its process requires?
- 20-50 aa
- Rich in hydrophobic, positively charged (R/K) and hydroxylated (S/T) amino acids, forming an amphipathic alpha-helix – positively charged on one side, hydrophobic on other
- Process requires actively respiring mitochondria + ATP
- Once in matrix, targeting sequence is cleaved off by matrix protease
Mitochondrial targeting signals
What does the mitochondrial targeting peptide (mTP) have to be close to?
Has to be close to N-terminus of protein, rich in hydrophobic, positively charged (R/K) and hydroxylated (S/T) amino acids
mTP is a structural motif and forms what?
an amphipathic helix
what does mTP bind to?
binds to a receptor on mitochondrial outer surface and brought towards translocase of the outer membrane (TOM)
Mitochondrial import complexes
Tell me the steps to translocation
- Unfolding helped by chaperones (e.g. Hsc70), which require ATP
- mTP binds to receptor
- Brings protein to TOM pore
- Protein begins to pass through
- Proximity of TIM complex enables passage through inner membrane helped by ATP turnover by matrix HSc70
- mTP is removed by protease
- Chaperones help refold protein to active state
During translocation, proteins are premade and folded in the cytoplasm. Why do most proteins have to be unfolded?
They have to be unfolded before they can pass into the mitochondria in order to thread through narrow translocase pores
Whats the size of TOM, TIM and nuclear pore in nm?
TOM = 2-2.5 nm
TIM = 0.8–0.9 nm
nuclear pore = 9-12 nm
The process of oxidative phosphorylation creates what?
a membrane potential
How do protons being pumped into the IMS drive ATP synthesis?
Protons pumped into IMS, reimport to matrix by ATP synthase drives ATP synthesis
Mitochondrial activity aids import, what is the chaerge of the matrix and IMS and why?
Matrix becomes negatively charged, with IMS positive due to high [H+] due to proton pumping from ATP synthesis
In an agarose gel, which electrode does DNA move towards and why?
DNA is negatively charged so it moves towards the positive electrode
Why is mitochondrial membrane potential (ΔΨ) thought to help drive import by ‘electrophoresis’?
Due to the attraction of positively charged amino acids in mTP towards the matrix
Where do mitochondrial matrix targeting sequences/peptides have to be located?
at the N-terminus of the protein