Université Grenoble Alpes, CNRS, LiPhy, Grenoble, France; Institut Laue-Langevin, Grenoble, France.
Institut de Biologie Structurale, Université Grenoble Alpes, CEA, CNRS, IBS, Grenoble, France.
Int J Biol Macromol. 2023 Dec 1;252:126345. doi: 10.1016/j.ijbiomac.2023.126345. Epub 2023 Aug 22.
Low-density lipoprotein (LDL) plays a crucial role in cholesterol metabolism. Responsible for cholesterol transport from the liver to the organs, LDL accumulation in the arteries is a primary cause of cardiovascular diseases, such as atherosclerosis. This work focuses on the fundamental question of the LDL molecular structure, as well as the topology and molecular motions of apolipoprotein B-100 (apo B-100), which is addressed by single-particle cryo-electron microscopy (cryo-EM) and high-speed atomic force microscopy (HS-AFM). Our results suggest a revised model of the LDL core organization with respect to the cholesterol ester (CE) arrangement. In addition, a high-density region close to the flattened poles could be identified, likely enriched in free cholesterol. The most remarkable new details are two protrusions on the LDL surface, attributed to the protein apo B-100. HS-AFM adds the dimension of time and reveals for the first time a highly dynamic direct description of LDL, where we could follow large domain fluctuations of the protrusions in real time. To tackle the inherent flexibility and heterogeneity of LDL, the cryo-EM maps are further assessed by 3D variability analysis. Our study gives a detailed explanation how to approach the intrinsic flexibility of a complex system comprising lipids and protein.
低密度脂蛋白 (LDL) 在胆固醇代谢中起着至关重要的作用。它负责将胆固醇从肝脏运输到各个器官,而 LDL 在动脉中的积累是心血管疾病(如动脉粥样硬化)的主要原因。这项工作主要关注 LDL 分子结构以及载脂蛋白 B-100 (apo B-100) 的拓扑结构和分子运动,这是通过单颗粒冷冻电子显微镜 (cryo-EM) 和高速原子力显微镜 (HS-AFM) 来解决的。我们的研究结果表明,与胆固醇酯 (CE) 排列相比,LDL 核心组织的模型需要进行修正。此外,还可以在接近扁平极点的位置识别出一个高密度区域,该区域可能富含游离胆固醇。最显著的新细节是 LDL 表面的两个突起,归因于蛋白质 apo B-100。HS-AFM 增加了时间维度,并首次实时揭示了 LDL 的高度动态直接描述,我们可以实时跟踪突起的大域波动。为了解决 LDL 固有的灵活性和异质性问题,还通过 3D 可变性分析进一步评估了 cryo-EM 图谱。我们的研究详细解释了如何处理包含脂质和蛋白质的复杂系统的固有灵活性。
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