RESUMO
LmrP is an electrogenic H(+)/drug antiporter that extrudes a broad spectrum of antibiotics. Five carboxylic residues are implicated in drug binding (Asp142 and Glu327) and proton motive force-mediated restructuring (Asp68, Asp128 and Asp235). ATR-FTIR (Attenuated Total Reflection - Fourier Transform Infrared) and tryptophan quenching experiments revealed that phosphatidylethanolamine (PE) is required to generate the structural intermediates induced by ionization of carboxylic residues. Surprisingly, no ionization-induced conformational changes were detectable in the absence of PE, suggesting either that carboxylic acid residues do not ionize or that ionization does not lead to any conformational change. The mean pKa of carboxylic residues evaluated by ATR-FTIR spectroscopy was 6.5 for LmrP reconstituted in PE liposomes, whereas the pKa calculated in the absence of PE was 4.6. Considering that 16 of the 19 carboxylic residues are located in the extramembrane loops, the pKa values obtained in the absence and in the presence of PE suggest that the interaction of the loop acid residues with the membrane interface depends on the lipid composition.
Assuntos
Proteínas de Bactérias/química , Proteínas de Membrana Transportadoras/química , Proteínas Associadas à Resistência a Múltiplos Medicamentos/química , Fosfatidiletanolaminas/química , Substituição de Aminoácidos , Ácido Aspártico/química , Ácido Aspártico/genética , Proteínas de Bactérias/genética , Ácido Glutâmico/química , Ácido Glutâmico/genética , Proteínas de Membrana Transportadoras/genética , Proteínas Associadas à Resistência a Múltiplos Medicamentos/genética , Conformação Proteica , Espectroscopia de Infravermelho com Transformada de Fourier , Especificidade por Substrato , Triptofano/análiseRESUMO
LmrP from Lactococcus lactis is a 45-kDa membrane protein that confers resistance to a wide variety of lipophilic compounds by acting as a proton motive force-driven efflux pump. This study shows that both the proton motive force and ligand interaction alter the accessibility of cytosolic tryptophan residues to a hydrophilic quencher. The proton motive force mediates an increase of LmrP accessibility toward the external medium and results in higher drug binding. Residues Asp128 and Asp68, from cytosolic loops, are involved in the proton motive force-mediated accessibility change. Ligand binding does not modify the protein accessibility, but the proton motive force-mediated restructuring is prerequisite for a subsequent accessibility change mediated by ligand binding. Asp142 cooperates with other membrane-embedded carboxylic residues to promote a conformational change that increases LmrP accessibility toward the hydrophilic quencher. This drug binding-mediated reorganization may be related to the transition between the high- and low-affinity drug-binding sites and is crucial for drug release in the extracellular medium.