Gating and selectivity mechanisms for the lysosomal K+channel TMEM175
Abstract
Transmembrane protein 175 (TMEM175) is a K+-selective ion channel expressed in lysosomal membranes, where it establishes a membrane potential essential for lysosomal function and its dysregulation is associated with the development of Parkinson's Disease. TMEM175 is evolutionarily distinct from all known channels, predicting novel ion-selectivity and gating mechanisms. Here we present cryo-EM structures of human TMEM175 in open and closed conformations, enabled by resolutions up to 2.6Å. Human TMEM175 adopts a homodimeric architecture with a central ion-conduction pore lined by the side chains of the pore-lining helices. Conserved isoleucine residues in the center of the pore serve as the gate in the closed conformation. In the widened channel in the open conformation, these same residues establish a constriction essential for K+ selectivity. These studies reveal the mechanisms of permeation, selectivity and gating and lay the groundwork for understanding the role of TMEM175 in lysosomal function.
Data availability
Cryo-EM maps and atomic coordinates have been deposited with the EMDB and PDB under accession codes EMDB-21603 and PDB 6WC9 for Class 1 TMEM175 in K+, codes EMDB-21604 and PDB 6WCA for Class 2 TMEM175 in K+, codes EMDB-21605 and PDB 6WCB Class 1 TMEM175 in Cs+ and codes EMDB-21606 and PDB 6WCC for Class 2 TMEM175 in Cs+ All other reagents are available from the corresponding author upon reasonable request.
-
Cryo-EM structure of human TMEM175 in an open state in K+Protein Data Bank, 6WC9.
-
Cryo-EM structure of human TMEM175 in an closed state in K+Protein Data Bank, 6WCA.
-
Cryo-EM structure of human TMEM175 in an open state in Cs+Protein Data Bank, 6WCB.
-
Cryo-EM structure of human TMEM175 in an closed state in Cs+Protein Data Bank, 6WCC.
Article and author information
Author details
Funding
Searle Scholars Program
- Richard K Hite
Josie Robertson Investigators Program
- Richard K Hite
The funders had no role in study design, data collection and interpretation, or the decision to submit the work for publication.
Copyright
© 2020, Oh et al.
This article is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License permitting unrestricted use and redistribution provided that the original author and source are credited.
Metrics
-
- 8,539
- views
-
- 1,251
- downloads
-
- 28
- citations
Views, downloads and citations are aggregated across all versions of this paper published by eLife.
Download links
Downloads (link to download the article as PDF)
Open citations (links to open the citations from this article in various online reference manager services)
Cite this article (links to download the citations from this article in formats compatible with various reference manager tools)
Further reading
-
- Computational and Systems Biology
- Structural Biology and Molecular Biophysics
Viral adhesion to host cells is a critical step in infection for many viruses, including monkeypox virus (MPXV). In MPXV, the H3 protein mediates viral adhesion through its interaction with heparan sulfate (HS), yet the structural details of this interaction have remained elusive. Using AI-based structural prediction tools and molecular dynamics (MD) simulations, we identified a novel, positively charged α-helical domain in H3 that is essential for HS binding. This conserved domain, found across orthopoxviruses, was experimentally validated and shown to be critical for viral adhesion, making it an ideal target for antiviral drug development. Targeting this domain, we designed a protein inhibitor, which disrupted the H3-HS interaction, inhibited viral infection in vitro and viral replication in vivo, offering a promising antiviral candidate. Our findings reveal a novel therapeutic target of MPXV, demonstrating the potential of combination of AI-driven methods and MD simulations to accelerate antiviral drug discovery.
-
- Chromosomes and Gene Expression
- Structural Biology and Molecular Biophysics
Type II nuclear receptors (T2NRs) require heterodimerization with a common partner, the retinoid X receptor (RXR), to bind cognate DNA recognition sites in chromatin. Based on previous biochemical and overexpression studies, binding of T2NRs to chromatin is proposed to be regulated by competition for a limiting pool of the core RXR subunit. However, this mechanism has not yet been tested for endogenous proteins in live cells. Using single-molecule tracking (SMT) and proximity-assisted photoactivation (PAPA), we monitored interactions between endogenously tagged RXR and retinoic acid receptor (RAR) in live cells. Unexpectedly, we find that higher expression of RAR, but not RXR, increases heterodimerization and chromatin binding in U2OS cells. This surprising finding indicates the limiting factor is not RXR but likely its cadre of obligate dimer binding partners. SMT and PAPA thus provide a direct way to probe which components are functionally limiting within a complex TF interaction network providing new insights into mechanisms of gene regulation in vivo with implications for drug development targeting nuclear receptors.