The binding of phosphatidylcholine to the phosphatidylcholine transfer protein: affinity and role in folding

A. P. de Brouwer, B. Bouma, C. M. van Tiel, W. Heerma, J. F. Brouwers, L. E. Bevers, J. Westerman, B. Roelofsen, K. W. Wirtz

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Abstract

Bovine liver phosphatidylcholine transfer protein (PC-TP) has been expressed in Escherichia coli and purified to homogeneity from the cytosol fraction at a yield of 0.45 mg PC-TP per 10 mg total cytosolic protein. In addition, active PC-TP was obtained from inclusion bodies. An essential factor in the activation of PC-TP was phosphatidylcholine (PC) present in the folding buffer. PC-TP from the cytosol contains phosphatidylethanolamine (PE) and phosphatidylglycerol (PG) with a preference for the di-monounsaturated species over the saturated species as determined by fast atom bombardment mass spectrometry (FAB-MS). By incubation with microsomal membranes the endogenous PE and PG were replaced by PC. Relative to the microsomal PC species composition, PC-TP bound preferentially C16:0/C20:4-PC and C16:0/C18:2-PC (twofold enriched) whereas the major microsomal species C18:0/C18:1-PC and C18:0/C18:2-PC were distinctly less bound. PC-TP is structurally homologous to the lipid-binding domain of the steroidogenic acute regulatory protein (Nat. Struct. Biol. 7 (2000) 408). Replacement of Lys(55) present in one of the beta-strands forming the lipid-binding site, with an isoleucine residue yielded an inactive protein. This suggests that Lys(55) be involved in the binding of the PC molecule
Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)109-119
JournalChemistry and Physics of Lipids
Volume112
Issue number2
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 2001

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