Assembly of eukaryotic class III (N-out, C-in) membrane proteins into the Escherichia coli cytoplasmic membrane.

Class III membrane proteins lack cleavable signal peptides but adopt an N-out, C-in topology with respect to their native membranes. We have analysed the fate of two eukaryotic class III plasma membrane proteins, human erythrocyte glycophorin C and influenza A virus M2 protein, in Escherichia coli. The N-terminal domains of both proteins were efficiently localised to the extracytoplasmic side of the bacterial cytoplasmic membrane. When beta-lactamase was fused to the C-terminus of glycophorin C it was localised to the cytoplasm, and protease treatment of spheroplasts caused a reduction in size of the fusion protein consistent with glycophorin C adopting its native topology in E. coli.