Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, California State University Long Beach, CA, USA.
FEBS J. 2019 May;286(10):1986-1998. doi: 10.1111/febs.14794. Epub 2019 Mar 13.
Apolipoprotein E (apoE) is a 299 residue, exchangeable apolipoprotein that has essential roles in cholesterol homeostasis and reverse cholesterol transport. It is a two-domain protein with the C-terminal (CT) domain mediating protein self-association via helix-helix interactions. In humans, the APOE gene is polymorphic with three common alleles, ε2, ε3, and ε4, occurring in frequencies of ~ 5%, 77%, and 18%, respectively. Heterozygotes expressing apoE3 and apoE4 isoforms, which differ in residue at position 112 in the N-terminal domain (C112 in apoE3 and R112 in apoE4), represent the highest population of ε4 carriers, an allele highly associated with Alzheimer's disease. The objective of this study was to determine if apoE3 and apoE4 have the ability to hybridize to form a heteromer in lipid-free state. Refolding an equimolar mixture of His-apoE3 and FLAG-apoE4 (or vice versa) followed by pull-down and immunoblotting indicated formation of apoE3/apoE4 heteromers. Förster resonance energy transfer between donor fluorophore on one isoform and acceptor on the other, both located in the respective CT domains, revealed a distance of separation of ~ 46 Å between the donor/acceptor pair. Similarly, a quencher placed on one was able to mediate significant quenching of fluorescence emission on the other, indicative of spatial proximity within collisional distance between the two. ApoE3/apoE4 heteromer association was also noted in lipid-associated state in reconstituted lipoprotein particles. The possibility of heteromerization of apoE3/apoE4 bears implications in the potential mitigating role of apoE3 on the folding and physiological behavior of apoE4 and its role in maintaining cholesterol homeostasis.
载脂蛋白 E(apoE)是一种 299 个残基的可交换载脂蛋白,在胆固醇稳态和胆固醇逆向转运中具有重要作用。它是一种具有两个结构域的蛋白质,C 末端(CT)结构域通过螺旋-螺旋相互作用介导蛋白质自身缔合。在人类中,APOE 基因具有三个常见等位基因的多态性,ε2、ε3 和 ε4,频率分别约为5%、77%和 18%。表达 apoE3 和 apoE4 异构体的杂合子,在 N 末端结构域(apoE3 中的 C112 和 apoE4 中的 R112)的位置 112 残基不同,代表最高的 ε4 携带者群体,该等位基因与阿尔茨海默病高度相关。本研究的目的是确定 apoE3 和 apoE4 是否有能力在无脂状态下杂交形成异源二聚体。等摩尔比 His-apoE3 和 FLAG-apoE4(或反之亦然)的重折叠后进行下拉和免疫印迹表明形成了 apoE3/apoE4 异源二聚体。供体荧光团在一个异构体上和受体在另一个异构体上的Förster 共振能量转移,两个受体都位于各自的 CT 结构域,表明供体/受体对之间的分离距离约为46 Å。同样,一个淬灭剂放置在一个上能够显著淬灭另一个上的荧光发射,表明两个之间在碰撞距离内的空间接近。在再组装的脂蛋白颗粒中的脂质相关状态也观察到 apoE3/apoE4 异源二聚体的缔合。apoE3/apoE4 异源二聚体的可能性对 apoE3 对 apoE4 的折叠和生理行为的潜在缓解作用及其在维持胆固醇稳态中的作用具有重要意义。