The DeltaF508 mutation disrupts packing of the transmembrane segments of the cystic fibrosis transmembrane conductance regulator.
The most common mutation in cystic fibrosis (deletion of Phe-508 in the first nucleotide binding domain (DeltaF508)) in the cystic fibrosis transmembrane conductance regulator (CFTR) causes retention of the mutant protein in the endoplasmic reticulum. We previously showed that the DeltaF508 mutation causes the CFTR protein to be retained in the endoplasmic reticulum in an inactive and structurally altered state. Proper packing of the transmembrane (TM) segments is critical for function because the TM segments form the chloride channel. Here we tested whether the DeltaF508 mutation altered packing of the TM segments by disulfide cross-linking analysis between TM6 and TM12 in wild-type and DeltaF508 CFTRs. These TM segments were selected because TM6 appears to line the chloride channel, and cross-linking between these TM segments has been observed in the CFTR sister protein, the multidrug resistance P-glycoprotein. We first mapped potential contact points in wild-type CFTR by cysteine mutagenesis and thiol cross-linking analysis. Disulfide cross-linking was detected in CFTR mutants M348C(TM6)/T1142C(TM12), T351C(TM6)/T1142C(TM12), and W356C(TM6)/W1145C(TM12) in a wild-type background. The disulfide cross-linking occurs intramolecularly and was reducible by dithiothreitol. Introduction of the DeltaF508 mutation into these cysteine mutants, however, abolished cross-linking. The results suggest that the DeltaF508 mutation alters interactions between the TM domains. Therefore, a potential target to correct folding defects in the DeltaF508 mutant of CFTR is to identify compounds that promote correct folding of the TM domains.
Canadian Institutes of Health Research Group in Membrane Biology, Department of Medicine, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario M5S 1A8, Canada.
Eva Y
EY
Chen
M Claire
MC
Bartlett
Tip W
TW
Loo
David M
DM
Clarke
D000595:Amino Acid Sequence; D002460:Cell Line; D003432:Cross-Linking Reagents; D019005:Cystic Fibrosis Transmembrane Conductance Regulator / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000235:genetics* / Q000378:metabolism; D006801:Humans; D007668:Kidney / Q000166:cytology; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D016296:Mutagenesis; D017354:Point Mutation; D017510:Protein Folding; D017434:Protein Structure, Tertiary; D011940:Receptor Aggregation; D013329:Structure-Activity Relationship; D014162:Transfection
C505032:CFTR protein, human; D003432:Cross-Linking Reagents; D019005:Cystic Fibrosis Transmembrane Conductance Regulator