ABSTRACT
Calcium-activated phospholipid scramblase mediates the energy-independent bidirectional translocation of lipids across the bilayer, leading to transient or, in the case of apoptotic scrambling, sustained collapse of membrane asymmetry. Cells lacking TMEM16F-dependent lipid scrambling activity are deficient in generation of extracellular vesicles (EVs) that shed from the plasma membrane in a Ca2+-dependent manner, namely microvesicles. We have adapted chemical induction of giant plasma membrane vesicles (GPMVs), which require both TMEM16F-dependent phospholipid scrambling and calcium influx, as a kinetic assay to investigate the mechanism of TMEM16F activity. Using the GPMV assay, we identify and characterize both inactivating and activating mutants that elucidate the mechanism for TMEM16F activation and facilitate further investigation of TMEM16F-mediated lipid translocation and its role in extracellular vesiculation.
Subject(s)
Anoctamins/metabolism , Biological Transport/physiology , Phospholipid Transfer Proteins/metabolism , Animals , Calcium/metabolism , Cell Line , Cell Line, Tumor , Cell Membrane/metabolism , Cell-Derived Microparticles/metabolism , Extracellular Vesicles/metabolism , HEK293 Cells , Humans , Mice , Phospholipids/metabolismABSTRACT
TMEM16F, which is activated by elevation of intracellular calcium to trigger phospholipid scrambling and the collapse of lipid bilayer asymmetry to mediate important cellular functions such as blood coagulation, also generates a small-conductance calcium-activated cation current. How TMEM16F activation may be regulated is an open question. By recording TMEM16F Ca2+-activated current, we found that the TMEM16F Ca2+-response is desensitized by a brief exposure to high intracellular Ca2+, which is associated with depletion of phosphatidylinositol-(4, 5)-bisphosphate (PIP2) from the inner leaflet of the membrane. Application of artificial or natural PIP2 restores TMEM16F channel activity. PIP2 modulation of TMEM16F requires the presence of several positively charged amino acids in its cytoplasmic N-terminal domain. TMEM16F interaction with PIP2 works synergistically with membrane depolarization to facilitate Ca2+-gating of TMEM16F. Our study reveals the dependence of TMEM16F activity on phosphoinositides and provides one mechanism for TMEM16F activation to be strictly regulated in the cell membrane.
