Mechanistic effects of protein palmitoylation and the cellular consequences thereof

S-palmitoylation involves the attachment of a 16-carbon long fatty acid chain to the cysteine residues of proteins. The process is enzymatic and dynamic with DHHC enzymes mediating palmitoylation and acyl-protein thioesterases reverting the reaction. Proteins that undergo this modification span almost all cellular functions. While the increase in hydrophobicity generated by palmitoylation has the obvious consequence of triggering membrane association, the effects on transmembrane proteins are less intuitive and span a vast range. We review here the current knowledge on palmitoylating and depalmitoylating enzymes, the methods that allow the study of this lipid modification and which drugs can affect it, and finally we focus on four cellular processes for which recent studies reveal an involvement of palmitoylation: endocytosis, reproduction and cell growth, fat and sugar homeostasis and signal transduction at the synapse. (C) 2014 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.

Palmitoylation of membrane proteins (Review)

Françoise Gisou van der Goot Grunberg

S-Palmitoylation is a reversible post-translational modification that results in the addition of a C16-carbon saturated fatty acyl chain to cytoplasmic cysteine residues. This modification is mediated by Palmitoyl-acyl Transferases that are starting to be investigated, and reversed by Protein Palmitoyl Thioesterases, which remain enigmatic. Palmitoylation of cytoplasmic proteins has been well described to regulate the interaction of these soluble proteins with specific membranes or membrane domains. Less is known about the consequences of palmitoylation in transmembrane proteins not only due to the dual difficulty of following a lipid modification and dealing with membrane proteins, but also due to the complexity of the palmitoylation-induced behavior. Moreover, possibly because the available data set is limited, the change in behavior induced by palmitoylation of a transmembrane protein is currently not predictable. We here review the various consequences reported for the palmitoylation of membrane proteins, which include improper folding in the endoplasmic reticulum, retention in the Golgi, inability to assemble into protein platforms, altered signaling capacity, premature endocytosis and missorting in the endocytic pathway. We then discuss the possible underlying mechanisms, in particular the ability of palmitoylation to control the conformation of transmembrane segments, to modify the affinity of a membrane protein for specific membrane domains and to control protein-protein interactions.

Taylor & Francis2008

What does S-palmitoylation do to membrane proteins?

Mathieu Blanc, Sanja Blaskovic, Françoise Gisou van der Goot Grunberg

S-palmitoylation is post-translational modification, which consists in the addition of a C16 acyl chain to cytosolic cysteines and which is unique amongst lipid modifications in that it is reversible. It can thus, like phosphorylation or ubiquitination, act as a switch. While palmitoylation of soluble proteins allows them to interact with membranes, the consequences of palmitoylation for transmembrane proteins are more enigmatic. We briefly review the current knowledge regarding the enzymes responsible for palmitate addition and removal. We then describe various observed consequences of membrane protein palmitoylation. We propose that the direct effects of palmitoylation on transmembrane proteins, however, might be limited to four non-mutually exclusive mechanistic consequences: alterations in the conformation of transmembrane domains, association with specific membrane domains, controlled interactions with other proteins and controlled interplay with other post-translational modifications.

Wiley-Blackwell2013

Characterization of Coenzyme Q Biosynthesis Proteins through Integrative Modeling at the Protein-Membrane Interface

Deniz Aydin

Integral and peripheral membrane proteins account for one-third of the human proteome, and they are estimated to represent the target for over 50% of modern medicinal drugs. Despite their central role in medicine, the complex, heterogeneous and dynamic nature of biological membranes complicates the investigation of their mechanism of action by both experimental and computational techniques. Among the different membrane bound compartments in eukaryotic cells, mitochondria are highly complex in form and function, and they harbor a unique proteome that remains largely unexplored. A growing number of inherited metabolic diseases are associated with mitochondrial dysfunction, which necessitates the structural and functional elucidation of mitochondrial proteins. In this thesis, we combine experimental and computational methods to explore the activity of COQ8 and COQ9, two functionally elusive proteins of the biosynthetic complex that produces coenzyme Q, a redox-active lipid component of the mitochondrial electron transport chain. (i) Conserved Lipid Modulation of Ancient Kinase-Like UbiB Family Member COQ8. We demonstrate that COQ8 has an ATPase function that is activated when it specifically associates with cardiolipin-containing membranes. We identify its interaction surface with the inner mitochondrial membrane, which gives hints about the possible interaction surfaces with other members of the coenzyme Q synthesis machinery and has implications on how it mediates functional interactions with lipids. Collectively, this work reveals how the positioning of COQ8 on the inner mitochondrial membrane is key to its activation, and therefore advances our understanding of the COQ8 function. (ii) Membrane, Lipid, and Protein Interactions of Coenzyme Q Biosynthesis Protein COQ9. We explore the lipid binding activity of COQ9, and we reveal that COQ9 repurposes an ancient bacterial fold to selectively bind aromatic isoprenes, including CoQ intermediates that reside within the bilayer. We elucidate the mechanistic details of its membrane binding process, by which COQ9 warps the membrane surface and creates a tightly sealed hydrophobic region to access its lipid cargo. Finally, we establish a potential molecular interface between COQ9 and COQ7, the enzyme that catalyzes the penultimate step in CoQ biosynthesis, suggesting a model whereby COQ9 presents intermediates to CoQ enzymes to overcome the hydrophobic barrier of the membrane. Collectively, our results provide a mechanism for how a lipid binding protein might access, select, and extract specific cargo from a membrane and present it to a peripheral membrane enzyme. In conclusion, our work is a good illustration of the interplay between experiment and modeling in protein research and specifically in understanding how proteins perform their action in direct synergy with membrane environments. We anticipate our integrative methodologies and mechanistic findings will prove relevant to other membrane proteins, whose fine functional modulation at the membrane-water interface has been historically challenging to characterize.

EPFL2019

Characterization of Coenzyme Q Biosynthesis Proteins through Integrative Modeling at the Protein-Membrane Interface

Deniz Aydin

EPFL2019