Per Amstrup Pedersen

Expression in High Yield of Pig α1β1 Na,K-ATPase and Inactive Mutants D369N and D807N in Saccharomyces cerevisiae

Studies of structure-function relationships in Na,K-ATPase require high yield expression of inactive mutations in cells without endogenous Na,K-ATPase activity. In this work we developed a host/vector system for expression of fully active pig Na,K-ATPase as well as the inactive mutations D369N and D807N at high levels in Saccharomyces cerevisiae. The α1- and β1-subunit cDNAs were inserted into a single 2-μm-based plasmid with a high and regulatable copy number and strong galactose-inducible promoters allowing for stoichiometric alterations of gene dosage. The protease-deficient host strain was engineered to express high levels of GAL4 transactivating protein, thereby causing a 10-fold increase in expression to 32,500 ± 3,000 [3H]ouabain sites/cell. In one bioreactor run 150-200 g of yeast were produced with 54 ± 5 μg of Na,K-pump protein/g of cells. Through purification in membrane bound form the activity of the recombinant Na,K-ATPase was increased to 42-50 pmol/mg of protein. The Na,K dependence of ATP hydrolysis and the molar activity (4,500-7,000 min) were close to those of native pig kidney Na,K-ATPase. Mutations to the phosphorylation site (D369N) or presumptive cation sites (D807N), both devoid of Na,K-ATPase activity, were expressed in the yeast membrane at the same α-subunit concentration and [3H]ouabain binding capacity as the wild type Na,K-ATPase. The high yield and absence of endogenous activity allowed assay of [3H]ATP binding at equilibrium, demonstrating a remarkable 18-fold increase in affinity for ATP in consequence of reducing the negative charge at the phosphorylation site (D369N).

STRUCTURE-FUNCTION RELATIONSHIPS OF E1-E2 TRANSITIONS AND CATION BINDING IN NA, K-PUMP PROTEIN

Fully active Na,K-ATPase and lethal mutations can be expressed in yeast cells in yields allowing for equilibrium ATP binding, occlusion of T1+, K+ displacement of ATP, and Na(+)-dependent phosphorylation with determinations of affinity constants for binding and constants for the conformational equilibria. Removal of the charge and hydrophobic substitution of the phosphorylated residue (Asp369Ala) reveals an intrinsic high affinity for ATP binding (Kd 2.8 vs. 100 nM for wild type) and causes a shift of conformational equilibrium towards the E2 form. Substitution of Glu327, Glu779, Asp804 or Asp808 in transmembrane segments 4, 5, and 6 shows that each of these residues are essential for high-affinity occlusion of K+ and for binding of Na+. Substitution of other residues in segment 5 shows that the carboxamide group of Asn776 is important for binding of both K+ and Na+. Differential effects of the relevant mutations identify Thr774 as specific determinant of Na+ binding in the E1P[3Na] form, whereas Ser775 is a specific participant of high-affinity binding of the E2[2K] form, suggesting that these residues engage in formation of a molecular Na+/K+ switch. The position of the switch may be controlled by rotating or tilting the helix during the E1-E2 transition.

Low Muscle Glycogen and Elevated Plasma Free Fatty Acid Modify but Do Not Prevent Exercise-Induced PDH Activation in Human Skeletal Muscle

OBJECTIVE To test the hypothesis that free fatty acid (FFA) and muscle glycogen modify exercise-induced regulation of PDH (pyruvate dehydrogenase) in human skeletal muscle through regulation of PDK4 expression. RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS On two occasions, healthy male subjects lowered (by exercise) muscle glycogen in one leg (LOW) relative to the contra-lateral leg (CON) the day before the experimental day. On the experimental days, plasma FFA was ensured normal or remained elevated by consuming breakfast rich (low FFA) or poor (high FFA) in carbohydrate, 2 h before performing 20 min of two-legged knee extensor exercise. Vastus lateralis biopsies were obtained before and after exercise. RESULTS PDK4 protein content was ∼2.2- and ∼1.5-fold higher in LOW than CON leg in high FFA and low FFA, respectively, and the PDK4 protein content in the CON leg was approximately twofold higher in high FFA than in low FFA. In all conditions, exercise increased PDHa (PDH in the active form) activity, resulting in similar levels in LOW leg in both trials and CON leg in high FFA, but higher level in CON leg in low FFA. PDHa activity was closely associated with the PDH-E1α phosphorylation level. CONCLUSIONS Muscle glycogen and plasma FFA attenuate exercise-induced PDH regulation in human skeletal muscle in a nonadditive manner. This might be through regulation of PDK4 expression. The activation of PDH by exercise independent of changes in muscle glycogen or plasma FFA suggests that exercise overrules FFA-mediated inhibition of PDH (i.e., carbohydrate oxidation), and this may thus be one mechanism behind the health-promoting effects of exercise.

Role of PGC-1α in exercise and fasting-induced adaptations in mouse liver

The transcriptional coactivator peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor (PPAR)-γ coactivator (PGC)-1α plays a role in regulation of several metabolic pathways. By use of whole body PGC-1α knockout (KO) mice, we investigated the role of PGC-1α in fasting, acute exercise and exercise training-induced regulation of key proteins in gluconeogenesis and metabolism in the liver. In both wild-type (WT) and PGC-1α KO mice liver, the mRNA content of the gluconeogenic proteins glucose-6-phosphatase (G6Pase) and phosphoenolpyruvate carboxykinase (PEPCK) was upregulated during fasting. Pyruvate carboxylase (PC) remained unchanged after fasting in WT mice, but it was upregulated in PGC-1α KO mice. In response to a single exercise bout, G6Pase mRNA was upregulated in both genotypes, whereas no significant changes were detected in PEPCK or PC mRNA. While G6Pase and PC protein remained unchanged, liver PEPCK protein content was higher in trained than untrained mice of both genotypes. The mRNA content of the mitochondrial proteins cytochrome c (Cyt c) and cytochrome oxidase (COX) subunit I was unchanged in response to fasting. The mRNA and protein content of Cyt c and COXI increased in the liver in response to a single exercise bout and prolonged exercise training, respectively, in WT mice, but not in PGC-1α KO mice. Neither fasting nor exercise affected the mRNA expression of antioxidant enzymes in the liver, and knockout of PGC-1α had no effect. In conclusion, these results suggest that PGC-1α plays a pivotal role in regulation of Cyt c and COXI expression in the liver in response to a single exercise bout and prolonged exercise training, which implies that exercise training-induced improvements in oxidative capacity of the liver is regulated by PGC-1α.

Role of conserved TGDGVND-loop in Mg2+ binding, phosphorylation, and energy transfer in Na,K-ATPase.

In the P-domain, the 369-DKTGTLT and the 709-GDGVNDSPALKK segment are highly conserved during evolution of P-type E1–E2-ATPase pumps irrespective of their cation specificities. The focus of this article is on evaluation of the role of the amino acid residues in the P domain of the α subunit of Na,K-ATPase for the E1P[3Na]→ E2P[2Na] conversion, the K+-activated dephosphorylation, and the transmission of these changes to and from the cation binding sites. Mutations of residues in the TGDGVND loop show that Asp710 is essential, and Asn713 is important, for Mg2+ binding and formation of the high-energy MgE1P[3Na] intermediate. In contrast Asp710 and Asp713 do not contribute to Mg2+ binding in the E2P–ouabain complex. Transition to E2P thus involves a shift of Mg2+ coordination away from Asp710 and Asn713 and the two residues become more important for K+-activated hydrolysis of the acyl phosphate bond at Asp369. Transmission of structural changes between the P-domain and cation sites in the membrane domain is evaluated in light of the protein structure, and the information from proteolytic or metal-catalyzed cleavage and mutagenesis studies.

Recombinant production of human Aquaporin-1 to an exceptional high membrane density in Saccharomyces cerevisiae.

In the present paper we explored the capacity of yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae as host for heterologous expression of human Aquaporin-1. Aquaporin-1 cDNA was expressed from a galactose inducible promoter situated on a plasmid with an adjustable copy number. Human Aquaporin-1 was C-terminally tagged with yeast enhanced GFP for quantification of functional expression, determination of sub-cellular localization, estimation of in vivo folding efficiency and establishment of a purification protocol. Aquaporin-1 was found to constitute 8.5 percent of total membrane protein content after expression at 15°C in a yeast host over-producing the Gal4p transcriptional activator and growth in amino acid supplemented minimal medium. In-gel fluorescence combined with western blotting showed that low accumulation of correctly folded recombinant Aquaporin-1 at 30°C was due to in vivo mal-folding. Reduction of the expression temperature to 15°C almost completely prevented Aquaporin-1 mal-folding. Bioimaging of live yeast cells revealed that recombinant Aquaporin-1 accumulated in the yeast plasma membrane. A detergent screen for solubilization revealed that CYMAL-5 was superior in solubilizing recombinant Aquaporin-1 and generated a monodisperse protein preparation. A single Ni-affinity chromatography step was used to obtain almost pure Aquaporin-1. Recombinant Aquaporin-1 produced in S. cerevisiae was not N-glycosylated in contrast to the protein found in human erythrocytes.

PGC-1α increases PDH content but does not change acute PDH regulation in mouse skeletal muscle

The aim of this study was to test whether the transcriptional coactivator peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor (PPAR)-γ coactivator (PGC)1α regulates the content of pyruvate dehydrogenase (PDH)-E1α and influences PDH activity through regulation of pyruvate dehydrogenase kinase-4 (PDK4) expression and subsequently PDH phosphorylation. PGC-1α whole body knockout (KO), muscle-specific PGC-1α overexpressing mice (MCK PGC-1α), and littermate wild-type (WT) mice underwent two interventions known to affect PDH. Quadriceps muscles were removed from fed and 24-h fasted mice as well as at 6 h of recovery after 1-h running and from mice that did not run acutely. PDH-E1α protein content and PDH-E1α phosphorylation were lower in PGC-1α KO and higher in MCK PGC-1α mice at rest, but, while MCK PGC-1α had higher PDK4 protein content, KO of PGC-1α had no effect on PDK4 protein content. The differences in phosphorylation partly vanished when expressing phosphorylation relative to the PDH-E1α content with only a maintained elevated phosphorylation in MCK PGC-1α mice. Fasting upregulated PDK4 protein in PGC-1α KO, MCK PGC-1α and WT mice, but this was not consistently associated with increased PDH-E1α phosphorylation. Downregulation of the activity of PDH in the active form (PDHa) at 6-h recovery from exercise in both the PGC-1α KO and MCK PGC-1α mice and the association between PDH-E1α phosphorylation and PDHa activity in PGC-1α KO mice indicate that PGC-1α is not required for these responses. In conclusion, PGC-1α regulates PDH-E1α protein content in parallel with mitochondrial oxidative proteins, but does not seem to influence PDH regulation in mouse skeletal muscle in response to fasting and in recovery from exercise.

Effects of IL-6 on pyruvate dehydrogenase regulation in mouse skeletal muscle

Skeletal muscle regulates substrate choice according to demand and availability and pyruvate dehydrogenase (PDH) is central in this regulation. Circulating interleukin (IL)-6 increases during exercise and IL-6 has been suggested to increase whole body fat oxidation. Furthermore, IL-6 has been reported to increase AMP-activated protein kinase (AMPK) phosphorylation and AMPK suggested to regulate PDHa activity. Together, this suggests that IL-6 may be involved in regulating PDH. The aim of this study was to investigate the effect of a single injection of IL-6 on PDH regulation in skeletal muscle in fed and fasted mice. Fed and 16–18xa0h fasted mice were injected with either 3xa0ngu2009·u2009g−1 recombinant mouse IL-6 or PBS as control. Fasting markedly reduced plasma glucose, muscle glycogen, muscle PDHa activity, as well as increased PDK4 mRNA and protein content in skeletal muscle. IL-6 injection did not affect plasma glucose or muscle glycogen, but increased AMPK and ACC phosphorylation and tended to decrease p38 protein content in skeletal muscle in fasted mice. In addition IL-6 injection reduced PDHa activity in fed mice and increased PDHa activity in fasted mice without significant changes in PDH-E1α phosphorylation or PDP1 and PDK4 mRNA and protein content. The present findings suggest that IL-6 contributes to regulating the PDHa activity and hence carbohydrate oxidation, but the metabolic state of the muscle seems to determine the outcome of this regulation. In addition, AMPK and p38 may contribute to the IL-6-mediated PDH regulation in the fasted state.

In vivo studies of aquaporins 3 and 10 in human stratum corneum.

Aquaporins (AQPs) constitute one family of transmembrane proteins facilitating transport of water across cell membranes. Due to their specificity, AQPs have a broad spectrum of physiological functions, and for keratinocytes there are indications that these channel proteins are involved in cell migration and proliferation with consequences for the antimicrobial defense of the skin. AQP3 and AQP10 are aqua-glyceroporins, known to transport glycerol as well as water. AQP3 is the predominant AQP in human skin and has previously been demonstrated in the basal layer of epidermis in normal human skin, but not in stratum corneum (SC). AQP10 has not previously been identified in human skin. Previous studies have demonstrated the presence of AQP3 and AQP10 mRNA in keratinocytes. In this study, our aim was to investigate if these aquaporin proteins were actually present in human SC cells. This can be seen as a first step toward elucidating the possible functional role of AQP3 and AQP10 in SC hydration. Specifically we investigate the presence of AQP3 and AQP10 in vivo in human SC using “minimal-invasive” technique for obtaining SC samples. SC samples were obtained from six healthy volunteers. Western blotting and immunohistochemistry were used to demonstrate the presence of AQP3 as well as AQP10. The presence of AQP3 and AQP10 was verified by Western blotting, allowing for detection of proteins by specific antibodies. Applying immunohistochemistry, cell-like structures in the shape of corneocytes were identified in all samples by AQP3 and AQP10 antibodies. In conclusion, identification of AQP3 and AQP10 protein in SC in an in vivo model is new. Together with the new “minimal-invasive” method for SC collection presented, this opens for new possibilities to study the role of AQPs in relation to function of the skin barrier.

Saccharomyces cerevisiae-Based Platform for Rapid Production and Evaluation of Eukaryotic Nutrient Transporters and Transceptors for Biochemical Studies and Crystallography

To produce large quantities of high quality eukaryotic membrane proteins in Saccharomyces cerevisiae, we modified a high-copy vector to express membrane proteins C-terminally-fused to a Tobacco Etch Virus (TEV) protease detachable Green Fluorescent Protein (GFP)-8His tag, which facilitates localization, quantification, quality control, and purification. Using this expression system we examined the production of a human glucose transceptor and 11 nutrient transporters and transceptors from S. cerevisiae that have not previously been overexpressed in S. cerevisiae and purified. Whole-cell GFP-fluorescence showed that induction of GFP-fusion synthesis from a galactose-inducible promoter at 15°C resulted in stable accumulation of the fusions in the plasma membrane and in intracellular membranes. Expression levels of the 12 fusions estimated by GFP-fluorescence were in the range of 0.4 mg to 1.7 mg transporter pr. liter cell culture. A detergent screen showed that n-dodecyl-ß-D-maltopyranoside (DDM) is acceptable for solubilization of the membrane-integrated fusions. Extracts of solubilized membranes were prepared with this detergent and used for purifications by Ni-NTA affinity chromatography, which yielded partially purified full-length fusions. Most of the fusions were readily cleaved at a TEV protease site between the membrane protein and the GFP-8His tag. Using the yeast oligopeptide transporter Ptr2 as an example, we further demonstrate that almost pure transporters, free of the GFP-8His tag, can be achieved by TEV protease cleavage followed by reverse immobilized metal-affinity chromatography. The quality of the GFP-fusions was analysed by fluorescence size-exclusion chromatography. Membranes solubilized in DDM resulted in preparations containing aggregated fusions. However, 9 of the fusions solubilized in DDM in presence of cholesteryl hemisuccinate and specific substrates, yielded monodisperse preparations with only minor amounts of aggregated membrane proteins. In conclusion, we developed a new effective S. cerevisiae expression system that may be used for production of high-quality eukaryotic membrane proteins for functional and structural analysis.