Transport mechanism of P4 ATPase phosphatidylcholine flippases

  1. Lin Bai  Is a corresponding author
  2. Qinglong You
  3. Bhawik K Jain
  4. H. Diessel Duan
  5. Amanda Kovach
  6. Todd R Graham
  7. Huilin Li  Is a corresponding author
  1. Peking University, China
  2. Van Andel Institute, United States
  3. Vanderbilt University, United States

Abstract

The P4 ATPases use ATP hydrolysis to transport large lipid substrates across lipid bilayers. The structures of the endosome- and Golgi-localized phosphatidylserine flippases—such as the yeast Drs2 and human ATP8A1—have recently been reported. However, a substrate binding site on the cytosolic side has not been found, and the transport mechanisms of P4 ATPases with other substrates are unknown. Here we report structures of the S. cerevisiae Dnf1–Lem3 and Dnf2–Lem3 complexes. We captured substrate phosphatidylcholine molecules on both the exoplasmic and cytosolic sides and found that they have similar structures. Unexpectedly, Lem3 contributes to substrate binding. The conformational transitions of these phosphatidylcholine transporters match those of the phosphatidylserine transporters, suggesting a conserved mechanism among P4 ATPases. Dnf1/Dnf2 have a unique P domain helix-turn-helix insertion that is important for function. Therefore, P4 ATPases may have retained an overall transport mechanism while evolving distinct features for different lipid substrates.

Data availability

The cryo-EM 3D maps and the corresponding atomic models of the Dnf1-Lem3 complex have been deposited at the EMDB database and the RCSB PDB with the respective accession codes of EMD-23069 and 7KY6 (apo E1), EMD-23074 and 7KYB (E1P-ADP), EMD-23077 and 7KYC (E2P). The cryo-EM 3D maps and the corresponding atomic models of the Dnf2-Lem3 complex have been deposited at the EMDB database and the RCSB PDB with the respective accession codes of EMD-23070 and 7KY7 (apo E1), EMD-23071 and 7KY8 (E1-ATP), EMD-23072 and 7KY9 (E1P-ADP), EMD-23068 and 7KY5 (E2P-transition), and EMD-23073 and 7KYA (E2P).

Article and author information

Author details

  1. Lin Bai

    Biochemistry and Biophysics, Peking University, Beijing, China
    For correspondence
    lbai@bjmu.edu.cn
    Competing interests
    The authors declare that no competing interests exist.
  2. Qinglong You

    Structural Biology, Van Andel Institute, Grand Rapids, United States
    Competing interests
    The authors declare that no competing interests exist.
  3. Bhawik K Jain

    Department of Biological Sciences, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, United States
    Competing interests
    The authors declare that no competing interests exist.
    ORCID icon "This ORCID iD identifies the author of this article:" 0000-0002-1362-6139
  4. H. Diessel Duan

    Structural Biology, Van Andel Institute, Grand Rapids, United States
    Competing interests
    The authors declare that no competing interests exist.
  5. Amanda Kovach

    Structural Biology, Van Andel Institute, Grand Rapids, United States
    Competing interests
    The authors declare that no competing interests exist.
  6. Todd R Graham

    Department of Biological Sciences, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, United States
    Competing interests
    The authors declare that no competing interests exist.
    ORCID icon "This ORCID iD identifies the author of this article:" 0000-0002-3256-2126
  7. Huilin Li

    Structural Biology Program, Van Andel Institute, Grand Rapids, United States
    For correspondence
    Huilin.Li@vai.org
    Competing interests
    The authors declare that no competing interests exist.
    ORCID icon "This ORCID iD identifies the author of this article:" 0000-0001-8085-8928

Funding

National Institutes of Health (CA231466)

  • Huilin Li

National Institutes of Health (GM107978)

  • Todd R Graham

The funders had no role in study design, data collection and interpretation, or the decision to submit the work for publication.

Reviewing Editor

  1. Christopher G Burd, Yale School of Medicine, United States

Version history

  1. Received: August 16, 2020
  2. Accepted: December 14, 2020
  3. Accepted Manuscript published: December 15, 2020 (version 1)
  4. Version of Record published: December 30, 2020 (version 2)

Copyright

© 2020, Bai 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.

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  1. Lin Bai
  2. Qinglong You
  3. Bhawik K Jain
  4. H. Diessel Duan
  5. Amanda Kovach
  6. Todd R Graham
  7. Huilin Li
(2020)
Transport mechanism of P4 ATPase phosphatidylcholine flippases
eLife 9:e62163.
https://doi.org/10.7554/eLife.62163

Share this article

https://doi.org/10.7554/eLife.62163

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