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    Functional Delineation of a Protein–Membrane Interaction Hotspot Site on the HIV-1 Neutralizing Antibody 10E8
    (Basel : Molecular Diversity Preservation International (MDPI), 2022) Insausti, Sara; Garcia-Porras, Miguel; Torralba, Johana; Morillo, Izaskun; Ramos-Caballero, Ander; de la Arada, Igor; Apellaniz, Beatriz; Caaveiro, Jose M. M.; Carravilla, Pablo; Eggeling, Christian; Rujas, Edurne; Nieva, Jose L.
    Antibody engagement with the membrane-proximal external region (MPER) of the envelope glycoprotein (Env) of HIV-1 constitutes a distinctive molecular recognition phenomenon, the full appreciation of which is crucial for understanding the mechanisms that underlie the broad neutralization of the virus. Recognition of the HIV-1 Env antigen seems to depend on two specific features developed by antibodies with MPER specificity: (i) a large cavity at the antigen-binding site that holds the epitope amphipathic helix; and (ii) a membrane-accommodating Fab surface that engages with viral phospholipids. Thus, besides the main Fab–peptide interaction, molecular recognition of MPER depends on semi-specific (electrostatic and hydrophobic) interactions with membranes and, reportedly, on specific binding to the phospholipid head groups. Here, based on available cryo-EM structures of Fab–Env complexes of the anti-MPER antibody 10E8, we sought to delineate the functional antibody–membrane interface using as the defining criterion the neutralization potency and binding affinity improvements induced by Arg substitutions. This rational, Arg-based mutagenesis strategy revealed the position-dependent contribution of electrostatic interactions upon inclusion of Arg-s at the CDR1, CDR2 or FR3 of the Fab light chain. Moreover, the contribution of the most effective Arg-s increased the potency enhancement induced by inclusion of a hydrophobic-at-interface Phe at position 100c of the heavy chain CDR3. In combination, the potency and affinity improvements by Arg residues delineated a protein–membrane interaction site, whose surface and position support a possible mechanism of action for 10E8-induced neutralization. Functional delineation of membrane-interacting patches could open new lines of research to optimize antibodies of therapeutic interest that target integral membrane epitopes.
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    Nanoparticles Can Wrap Epithelial Cell Membranes and Relocate Them Across the Epithelial Cell Layer
    (Washington, DC : ACS Publ., 2018-7-24) Urbančič, Iztok; Garvas, Maja; Kokot, Boštjan; Majaron, Hana; Umek, Polona; Cassidy, Hilary; Škarabot, Miha; Schneider, Falk; Galiani, Silvia; Arsov, Zoran; Koklic, Tilen; Matallanas, David; Čeh, Miran; Muševič, Igor; Eggeling, Christian; Štrancar, Janez
    Although the link between the inhalation of nanoparticles and cardiovascular disease is well established, the causal pathway between nanoparticle exposure and increased activity of blood coagulation factors remains unexplained. To initiate coagulation tissue factor bearing epithelial cell membranes should be exposed to blood, on the other side of the less than a micrometre thin air-blood barrier. For the inhaled nanoparticles to promote coagulation, they need to bind lung epithelial-cell membrane parts and relocate them into the blood. To assess this hypothesis, we use advanced microscopy and spectroscopy techniques to show that the nanoparticles wrap themselves with epithelial-cell membranes, leading to the membrane’s disruption. The membrane-wrapped nanoparticles are then observed to freely diffuse across the damaged epithelial cell layer relocating epithelial cell membrane parts over the epithelial layer. Proteomic analysis of the protein content in the nanoparticles wraps/corona finally reveals the presence of the coagulation-initiating factors, supporting the proposed causal link between the inhalation of nanoparticles and cardiovascular disease.
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    The cortical actin network regulates avidity-dependent binding of hyaluronan by the lymphatic vessel endothelial receptor LYVE-1
    (Bethesda, Md. : ASBMB Publications, 2020) Stanly, Tess A.; Fritzsche, Marco; Banerji, Suneale; Shrestha, Dilip; Schneider, Falk; Eggeling, Christian; Jackson, David G.
    Lymphatic vessel endothelial hyaluronan receptor 1 (LYVE-1) mediates the docking and entry of dendritic cells to lymphatic vessels through selective adhesion to its ligand hyaluronan in the leukocyte surface glycocalyx. To bind hyaluronan efficiently, LYVE-1 must undergo surface clustering, a process that is induced efficiently by the large cross-linked assemblages of glycosaminoglycan present within leukocyte pericellular matrices but is induced poorly by the shorter polymer alone. These properties suggested that LYVE-1 may have limited mobility in the endothelial plasma membrane, but no biophysical investigation of these parameters has been carried out to date. Here, using super-resolution fluorescence microscopy and spectroscopy combined with biochemical analyses of the receptor in primary lymphatic endothelial cells, we provide the first evidence that LYVE-1 dynamics are indeed restricted by the submembranous actin network. We show that actin disruption not only increases LYVE-1 lateral diffusion but also enhances hyaluronan- binding activity. However, unlike the related leukocyte HA receptor CD44, which uses ERM and ankyrin motifs within its cytoplasmic tail to bind actin, LYVE-1 displays little if any direct interaction with actin, as determined by co-immunoprecipitation. Instead, as shown by super-resolution stimulated emission depletion microscopy in combination with fluorescence correlation spectroscopy, LYVE-1 diffusion is restricted by transient entrapment within submembranous actin corrals. These results point to an actin-mediated constraint on LYVE-1 clustering in lymphatic endothelium that tunes the receptor for selective engagement with hyaluronan assemblages in the glycocalyx that are large enough to cross-bridge the corral-bound LYVE-1 molecules and thereby facilitate leukocyte adhesion and transmigration. © 2020 Stanly et al.
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    Nanoscale Spatiotemporal Diffusion Modes Measured by Simultaneous Confocal and Stimulated Emission Depletion Nanoscopy Imaging
    (Washington, DC : ACS Publ., 2018-6-12) Schneider, Falk; Waithe, Dominic; Galiani, Silvia; Bernardino de la Serna, Jorge; Sezgin, Erdinc; Eggeling, Christian
    The diffusion dynamics in the cellular plasma membrane provide crucial insights into molecular interactions, organization, and bioactivity. Beam-scanning fluorescence correlation spectroscopy combined with super-resolution stimulated emission depletion nanoscopy (scanning STED–FCS) measures such dynamics with high spatial and temporal resolution. It reveals nanoscale diffusion characteristics by measuring the molecular diffusion in conventional confocal mode and super-resolved STED mode sequentially for each pixel along the scanned line. However, to directly link the spatial and the temporal information, a method that simultaneously measures the diffusion in confocal and STED modes is needed. Here, to overcome this problem, we establish an advanced STED–FCS measurement method, line interleaved excitation scanning STED–FCS (LIESS–FCS), that discloses the molecular diffusion modes at different spatial positions with a single measurement. It relies on fast beam-scanning along a line with alternating laser illumination that yields, for each pixel, the apparent diffusion coefficients for two different observation spot sizes (conventional confocal and super-resolved STED). We demonstrate the potential of the LIESS–FCS approach with simulations and experiments on lipid diffusion in model and live cell plasma membranes. We also apply LIESS–FCS to investigate the spatiotemporal organization of glycosylphosphatidylinositol-anchored proteins in the plasma membrane of live cells, which, interestingly, show multiple diffusion modes at different spatial positions.
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    Nanoscale dynamics of cholesterol in the cell membrane
    (Bethesda, Md. : ASBMB Publications, 2019) Pinkwart, Kerstin; Schneider, Falk; Lukoseviciute, Martyna; Sauka-Spengler, Tatjana; Lyman, Edward; Eggeling, Christian; Sezgin, Erdinc
    Cholesterol constitutes ~30-40% of the mammalian plasma membrane, a larger fraction than of any other single component. It is a major player in numerous signaling processes as well as in shaping molecular membrane architecture. However, our knowledge of the dynamics of cholesterol in the plasma membrane is limited, restricting our understanding of the mechanisms regulating its involvement in cell signaling. Here, we applied advanced fluorescence imaging and spectroscopy approaches on in vitro (model membranes) and in vivo (live cells and embryos) membranes as well as in silico analysis to systematically study the nanoscale dynamics of cholesterol in biological membranes. Our results indicate that cholesterol diffuses faster than phospholipids in live membranes, but not in model membranes. Interestingly, a detailed statistical diffusion analysis suggested two-component diffusion for cholesterol in the plasma membrane of live cells. One of these components was similar to a freely diffusing phospholipid analogue, whereas the other one was significantly faster. When a cholesterol analogue was localized to the outer leaflet only, the fast diffusion of cholesterol disappeared, and it diffused similarly to phospholipids. Overall, our results suggest that cholesterol diffusion in the cell membrane is heterogeneous and that this diffusional heterogeneity is due to cholesterol's nanoscale interactions and localization in the membrane. © 2019 Pinkwart et al. Published by The American Society for Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Inc.