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J Biol Chem, Vol. 274, Issue 41, 28909-28915, October 8, 1999
From the Department of Physiology, Tufts University School of
Medicine, Boston, Massachusetts 02111
The vacuolar (H+)-ATPases (or
V-ATPases) are structurally related to the F1F0
ATP synthases of mitochondria, chloroplasts and bacteria, being
composed of a peripheral (V1) and an integral (V0) domain. To further investigate the arrangement of
subunits in the V-ATPase complex, covalent cross-linking has been
carried out on the V-ATPase from clathrin-coated vesicles using three different cross-linking reagents. Cross-linked products were identified by molecular weight and by Western blot analysis using polyclonal antibodies raised against individual V-ATPase subunits. In the intact
V1V0 complex, evidence for cross-linking of
subunits C and E, D and F, as well as E and G by disuccinimidyl
glutarate was obtained, while in the free V1 domain,
cross-linking of subunits H and E was also observed. Subunits C and E
as well as D and E could be cross-linked by
1-ethyl-3-(dimethylaminopropyl)carbodiimide, while subunits a and E
could be cross-linked by 4-(N-maleimido)benzophenone. It
was further demonstrated that it is possible to treat the V-ATPase with
potassium iodide and MgATP in such a way that while subunits A, B, and
H are nearly quantitatively removed, significant amounts of subunits C,
D, E, and F remain attached to the membrane, suggesting that one or
more of these latter subunits are in contact with the V0
domain. In addition, treatment of the V-ATPase with cystine, which
modifies Cys-254 of the catalytic A subunit, results in dissociation of
subunit H, suggesting communication between the catalytic nucleotide
binding site and subunit H. Finally, the stoichiometry of subunits F,
G, and H were determined by quantitative amino acid analysis. Based on
these and previous observations, a new structural model of the V-ATPase
from clathrin-coated vesicles is proposed.
The vacuolar (H+)-ATPases (or
V-ATPases)1 are a family of
ATP-dependent proton pumps that carry out proton transport
across both intracellular membranes and, in some cases, the plasma
membrane (1-6). Acidification of intracellular compartments is
important for such processes as protein degradation, intracellular
protein targeting, and receptor-mediated endocytosis (1-6), while
V-ATPases in the plasma membrane function in renal acidification, bone
resorption, and tumor metastasis (7-9).
The V-ATPase is a heteroligomeric complex of molecular mass
approximately 800 kDa composed of at least 13 different subunits arranged into two separate domains (1-6). The peripheral
V1 domain has a molecular mass of about 570 kDa and
contains eight different subunits of molecular mass 70 (A), 60 (B), 57 (H), 40 (C), 34 (D), 33 (E), 14 (F), and 16 (G) kDa. The integral
V0 domain has a molecular mass of 260 kDa and contains five
different subunits of molecular mass 100 (a), 38 (d), 19 (c"), and 17 (c, c') kDa. Functional studies indicate that the V1 domain
is responsible for ATP hydrolysis while the V0 domain
carries out proton transport (1-6). We have previously demonstrated
that each V-ATPase complex contains three copies each of the A and B
subunits, six copies of the 17-kDa subunits (c, c'), and single copies
of the C, D, E, a, d, and c" subunits (10). The number of copies of
subunits F, G, and H per complex has not been reliably determined.
The V-ATPases are known to be structurally and evolutionarily related
to the ATP synthases (or F-ATPases) of mitochondria, chloroplasts and
bacteria (11-13). Thus the nucleotide binding subunits of the V-ATPase
(A and B) are homologous to the corresponding While the V-ATPase complex is thought to resemble the F-ATPases,
electron micrographs have revealed significant differences (24, 25),
and very little is known concerning the arrangement of subunits in the
V-ATPase complex. In the current study, we have employed covalent
cross-linking and Western blot analysis to identify subunit contacts
within the V-ATPase. In addition, we have reevaluated the effects of
treatment of the enzyme with cystine or potassium iodide on
dissociation of specific subunits from the complex. Finally, we have
determined the stoichiometry of subunits F, G, and H by quantitative
amino acid analysis. These studies have allowed us to construct a new
model for the structure of the V-ATPases.
Materials--
Calf brains were obtained fresh from a local
slaughterhouse. Disuccinimidyl glutarate (DSG),
1-ethyl-3-(dimethylaminopropyl)carbodiimide hydrochloride (EDC), and
N-hydroxysulfosuccinimide (NHS) were from Pierce. SDS,
nitrocellulose membranes (0.2-µm pore size), Tween 20, and
horseradish peroxidase-conjugated goat anti-rabbit IgG were from
Bio-Rad. L-1-Tosylamido-2-phenylethyl chloromethyl ketone-treated trypsin, soybean trypsin inhibitor,
4-(N-maleimido)benzophenone (MBP), and most common chemicals
were obtained from Sigma. The chemiluminescence substrate for
horseradish peroxidase was from KPL Laboratories and prestained
SDS-PAGE marker proteins were from Amersham Pharmacia Biotech.
Antibody Production and Purification--
The bovine cDNAs
encoding the full-length forms of subunits C, D, and E were cloned into
the pET-21d(+) expression vector and expressed in BL-21 cells.
Expression of the His-tagged proteins was induced by incubation in 1 mM isopropyl-1-thio- Preparation of Clathrin-coated Vesicles and Purification of the
V-ATPase--
Clathrin-coated vesicles were prepared from calf brain
as described previously (27). Vesicles were stripped of their clathrin coat using 0.5 M Tris (pH 7.0), 2 mM EDTA and
the V-ATPase was solubilized with C12E9 and
purified by glycerol density gradient centrifugation as described
(27).
Preparation of the V1(-Subunit C)
Subcomplex--
Stripped vesicles (1.0 mg of protein/ml) were treated
first with 0.2 M KI for 1 h at 4 °C, followed by
sedimentation for 1 h at 100,000 × g and
resuspension in 0.36 M KI and 2.5 mM MgATP, incubation for 1 h at 4 °C, and sedimentation. The supernatant was dialyzed overnight versus two changes of 100 volumes of
solubilization buffer (50 mM NaCl, 30 mM KCl,
20 mM HEPES (pH 7.0), 0.2 mM EGTA, 10%
glycerol) to allow reassembly of the V1(-subunit C)
subcomplex (referred to as the V1 subcomplex). The
V1 subcomplex was then isolated by sedimentation for
16 h at 175,000 × g on 15-30% glycerol density
gradients as described previously (28).
Covalent Cross-linking of the Purified V-ATPase and
V1 Subcomplex--
For DSG, the purified V-ATPase or
V1 subcomplex were concentrated to approximately 50 µg of
protein/ml using a Centricon-30 microconcentrator and incubated with
0.2 mM DSG for 30 min at 23 °C. The reaction was stopped
by addition of 50 mM ammonium acetate (pH 8.0). For EDC,
the purified V-ATPase or V1 subcomplex (50 µg of
protein/ml) was incubated with 5 mM EDC together with 5 mM NHS for 20 min at 23 °C. The reaction was stopped by
addition of 50 mM Tris-HCl (pH 6.8). For MBP, the reagent
dissolved in dimethylformamide at 100 mM was added to the
purified V-ATPase or V1 subcomplex at a final concentration
of 1 mM, followed by incubation in the dark for 30 min at
23 °C. The unreacted MBP was quenched by addition of 10 mM dithiothreitol. The samples were dialyzed against two
changes of 200 volumes of solubilization buffer for a total of 4 h, followed by irradiation with a long wavelength ultraviolet lamp for
20 min at 4 °C.
Trypsin Treatment of the Purified V-ATPase--
Where indicated,
the purified V-ATPase was concentrated to 50 µg of protein/ml and
treated with 1 µg of trypsin/ml for 2 h at 23 °C. Proteolysis
was stopped by addition of 5-fold (w/w) soybean trypsin inhibitor.
Electrophoresis and Immunoblotting--
For analysis of
cross-linked products, SDS-PAGE was performed using 8% or 15%
acrylamide gels according to the method of Laemmli (29). After
electrophoresis, the samples were electrophoretically transferred to
nitrocellulose membranes for 16 h at 100 mA. The blots were then
cut into strips, which were used in Western blot analysis as described
previously (30). Protein A-Sepharose-purified antibodies were used at a
dilution of 1:1000, and blots were developed using a chemiluminescent
detection method from Kirkegaard and Perry Laboratories.
Determination of Subunit Stoichiometry--
The stoichiometry of
subunits F, G, and H and the 45-kDa glycoprotein were determined by
quantitative amino acid analysis as described previously (10). The
purified V-ATPase (10-50 µg of protein) was concentrated using a
Centricon-30 microconcentrator and DEAE-Sepharose chromatography
followed by dialysis against 0.02% C12E9 and
lyophilization. The lyophilized enzyme was then dissolved in 100 µl
of Laemmli sample buffer. For subunit H and the 45-kDa glycoprotein,
samples were applied to a 10% polyacrylamide gel and separated by the
method of Laemmli (29). For subunits F and G, samples were applied to a
16.5%/10% discontinuous acrylamide gel prepared and run according to
the method of Schägger and von Jagow (31). This Schägger
gel system was employed for subunits F and G because it provided
greater resolution of lower molecular weight polypeptides. Following
electrophoresis, proteins were electrophoretically transferred to
Immobilon for 4.5 h at 380 mA, followed by staining with Coomassie
Blue and destaining of the membrane as described previously (10).
Quantitation of subunit H and the 45-kDa glycoprotein was done relative
to subunit A, which we previously showed was present in three copies
per complex, while quantitation of subunits F and G was done relative
to the 40-kDa C subunit, which is present in one copy per complex (10). In all cases, the bands were excised and subjected to quantitative amino acid analysis using a Waters Pico-tag work station and high performance liquid chromatography. Transfer efficiency was determined by quantitation of the amount of residual protein remaining in the
acrylamide gel for each subunit relative to known standards, and agreed
well with the values obtained using
125I-Bolton-Hunter-labeled protein described previously
(10).
Other Assays--
Protein concentration was determined by the
method of Lowry et al. (32). ATP-dependent
proton transport was measured by fluorescence quenching using
9-amino-6-chloro-2-methoxyacridine as described previously (33).
Covalent Cross-linking of the Coated Vesicle V-ATPase--
To
facilitate identification of products following covalent cross-linking
of the purified V-ATPase, polyclonal antibodies were prepared in
rabbits against either full-length recombinant proteins expressed in
Escherichia coli (subunits C, D, and E) or 15-19-amino acid
synthetic peptides conjugated to keyhole limpet hemocyanin (subunits B,
F, G, and H). Antibodies were purified by protein A-Sepharose
chromatography and tested for specificity by Western blot analysis
against the purified coated vesicle V-ATPase. As can be seen from Fig.
1, all antibodies showed specific
recognition of the corresponding subunit by Western blot with the
exception of the antisera raised against subunit G, which did not show
significant reaction (data not shown). The antisera against subunit H
recognized two bands of molecular mass 50-57 kDa, consistent with
previous reports on the existence of two isoforms of subunit H in the
coated vesicle enzyme (34).
The first cross-linking reagent employed was DSG, a bifunctional
amino-reactive reagent containing a 7.7-Å linker arm. Cross-linking by
DSG was tested in both the intact V1V0 complex
and the free V1 domain isolated by glycerol density
gradient sedimentation following dissociation with potassium iodide and
MgATP (28). As can be seen in Fig. 2, a
cross-linked product of molecular mass 50 kDa showed cross-reaction
with antibodies against both subunits D and F and was observed in both
the intact V1V0 complex and the free
V1 domain. The migration of this product agrees well with
the predicted molecular mass of a complex containing one copy each of
subunits D and F (48 kDa). While a band at 50 kDa could also be
observed in the V1 lane (and more faintly in the V1V0 lane) with antibodies against subunit E,
experiments described below suggest that this band does not represent
cross-linking of subunits E and F. However, a 46-kDa cross-linked
product that reacted with the anti-E subunit antibody but did not react
with the anti-F subunit antibody was also observed in both
V1V0 and V1, and likely represents
cross-linking of subunits E and G (predicted molecular mass 46 kDa).
In addition to the above complexes, cross-linking by DSG gave rise to a
90-kDa product in V1 that reacted with antibodies against
subunits H and E (predicted molecular mass 87-90 kDa) and a 75-kDa
product in V1V0 that was recognized by
antibodies against subunits C and E (predicted molecular mass 73 kDa).
Finally, a doublet around 70 kDa was observed in the V1
lane with both the anti-H and anti-F antibodies (predicted molecular
mass 68-71 kDa). It should be noted that treatment with DSG appears to
cause some internal cross-linking of subunit E, such that a second (or even a third) band appears with slightly lower mobility. This may
account for the additional band observed at 50 kDa with the anti-E
subunit antibody.
To further test the identity of the observed cross-linked products, the
V1V0 complex was first treated with trypsin
prior to cross-linking with DSG. Under these conditions, subunits D, F,
and H were largely digested. As can be seen in Fig.
3, the product at 75 kDa recognized by
the antibodies against subunits C and E and the product at 46 kDa
recognized by the anti-E subunit antibody were unaffected, confirming
that these products do not include subunits D, F, or H.
The second cross-linking reagent employed was EDC, which, following
treatment with NHS, results in cross-linking of amino and carboxyl
groups. As can be seen in Fig. 4,
treatment of the V1V0 complex with EDC/NHS gave
rise to a pair of products around 75 kDa that reacted with both the
anti-C and anti-E subunit antibodies (similar to that observed for DSG)
and a new product of molecular mass 67 kDa that was recognized by both
the anti-D and anti-E subunit antibodies. The predicted molecular mass
of a complex between subunits D and E is 67 kDa.
The final cross-linking reagent tested was MBP, which is a
photoactivatible maleimide that has a linker arm of 10 Å (Fig. 5). Reaction with MBP in the dark
followed by irradiation with ultraviolet light gave rise to a 135-kDa
product that was recognized by the antibody against subunit E. The size
of this complex is consistent with cross-linking of subunit E and
subunit a of the V0 domain. We have recently shown that
subunit a contains a large soluble domain at the amino terminus, which
is exposed on the cytoplasmic side of the membrane and is therefore
situated to interact with the V1 domain (35).
Dissociation of V1 Subunits by Potassium Iodide and
MgATP--
We have previously demonstrated that treatment of
clathrin-coated vesicles with potassium iodide and MgATP results in the release of the V1 subunits from the membrane (36, 37).
Moreover, by Western blot analysis, the A subunit is released nearly
quantitatively (38). An important question, however, is whether all of
the V1 subunits are equally well released from the
membrane. To address this question, Western blot analysis was carried
out on stripped coated vesicles either before or after treatment with
potassium iodide and MgATP using the antibodies against subunits B, C,
D, E, F, and H described above. As can be seen in Fig.
6, treatment with KI and MgATP results in
nearly complete release of subunits B and H (as was previously observed
for subunit A; Ref. 38), whereas significant amounts of subunits C, D,
E, and F remain attached to the membrane. While it is likely that a
larger fraction of subunits C, D, and E were removed at the lower
protein concentration previously employed in the preparation of
V0-containing membranes (28), these results indicate that
it is possible to dissociate subunits A, B, and H while leaving behind
substantial amounts of subunits C, D, E, and F.
Release of Subunit H by Treatment with Cystine--
We have
previously observed that treatment of the V-ATPase with cystine results
in the release of the 50-kDa subunit of the AP2 adaptin complex that is
associated with the enzyme and causes loss of V-ATPase activity (39).
It has subsequently been reported that an active V-ATPase completely
lacking the AP50 polypeptide could be isolated, but that removal of
subunit H by urea treatment resulted in loss of ATPase activity (34).
We therefore wished to determine whether cystine treatment of the
V-ATPase also led to loss of subunit H, which on SDS-PAGE has a
molecular mass similar to AP50. Stripped vesicles were treated with 1 mM cystine at 4 °C as described previously and the
V-ATPase then solubilized with C12E9, purified
by density gradient sedimentation and subjected to SDS-PAGE on a 10%
acrylamide gel and Western blot analysis using the anti-subunit H
antiserum as described under "Experimental Procedures." As shown in
Fig. 7, cystine treatment results in almost complete loss of the lower
cross-reactive band as well as some loss of the upper cross-reactive
band. Under the conditions employed, cystine treatment led to loss of
approximately 93% of V-ATPase activity. Thus, cystine treatment of the
V-ATPase leads to loss of at least one of the two isoforms of subunit H.
Stoichiometry of Subunits F, G, and H--
We previously
demonstrated using quantitative amino acid analysis that the V-ATPase
complex contains three copies each of the A and B subunits, six copies
of subunit c, and single copies of subunits C, D, E, a, d, and c" (10).
At the time, subunits F, G, and H had not been identified. We therefore
wished to determine the copy number of these additional V-ATPase
subunits. To avoid interference from the 50-kDa subunit of the AP2
adaptin complex, the V-ATPase was isolated from coated vesicles that
had been stripped of their clathrin using 0.5 M Tris (pH
7.0), under which conditions the V-ATPase can be purified free of the
AP50 polypeptide (data not shown). To measure the stoichiometry of
subunit H, the purified V-ATPase was separated on a 10% acrylamide gel
according to the method of Laemmli (29), while, for measurement of the
copy number of subunits F and G, the purified enzyme was separated on a
16.5/10% Schägger gel (31), which provides greater resolution of
lower molecular mass polypeptides. Following gel electrophoresis, the proteins were transferred to Immobilon for quantitative amino acid
analysis, with the efficiency of transfer measured as described under
"Experimental Procedures." The copy number of subunit H is
expressed relative to subunit A (which had previously been shown to be
present in three copies per complex; Ref. 10), while subunits F and G
are expressed relative to subunit C (which is present in a single copy
per complex; Ref. 10). As can be seen from the data in Table
I, there is one copy of subunit H as well as a single copy of subunit F per V-ATPase complex, while subunit G is
present in two copies per complex. While the upper isoform of subunit H
could not be adequately resolved from subunit B for its stoichiometry
to be determined independently, the fact that equal amounts of these
two isoforms were observed in Western blot analysis (Fig.
7) suggests that each V-ATPase complex
contains one copy of each isoform of subunit H. Also shown are the data obtained for a 45-kDa glycoprotein, which copurifies with the V-ATPase
and which had previously been cloned for the chromaffin granule
V-ATPase (40). Unlike the other subunits, this polypeptide is present
in only about 0.5 copies per complex, and thus appears to be present in
only a subpopulation of the V-ATPases isolated from clathrin-coated
vesicles.
Table II summarizes the results of
the cross-linking experiments described in this paper. As can be seen,
both DSG and EDC were able to cross-link subunits C and E in the intact
V1V0 complex. This result is consistent with
our previous observation that subunits C and E could be
coimmunoprecipitated from a mixture of dissociated V1
subunits using a monoclonal antibody directed against the E subunit
(28), and extends this finding by demonstrating the proximity of these
subunits in the intact complex. This contact is of particular interest
since subunit C does not tightly associate with the V1
complex, as evidenced by its absence from a V1 complex reassembled in vitro (28) and by its absence from various
V1 subcomplexes observed in vivo (41, 42). Thus
subunit E may represent a principal contact of subunit C with the
remainder of the V1 domain.
Cross-linking by DSG also revealed contacts between subunit D and F as
well as a likely complex between subunits E and G. The latter
assignment is tentative since the presence of subunit G in the
cross-linked product could not be demonstrated directly due to the
unavailability of an anti-G subunit antibody. However, the molecular
mass of the cross-linked product (46 kDa) together with the fact that
it does not react with the anti-F subunit antibody makes it likely that
it does reflect a contact between subunits E and G. These observations
are consistent with previous findings that a subcomplex containing at
least subunits E and G as well as a subcomplex containing at least
subunits D and F could be isolated from a variety of yeast strains
deleted in various vma genes (42, 43), and demonstrate that
these contacts are preserved in both the V1V0
and V1 complexes.
Information was also obtained in these studies about subunits in
contact with subunit H. Subunit H can be cross-linked by DSG to both
subunits E and F, although these products are observed only in the
isolated V1 domain, suggesting that these contacts may be
shielded in the intact V-ATPase. Alternatively, the V1 complex may distort relative to V1V0 to allow
some subunit contacts to occur that do not normally occur in the intact
complex. Because V-ATPase complexes lacking subunit H can be isolated
both in vitro (39, 34) and in vivo in a yeast
strain lacking the corresponding gene product (Vma13p) (44), it is
likely that subunit H is located near the periphery of the complex. In
fact, the VMA13 gene product is unique in being the only V-ATPase
subunit whose absence does not disrupt assembly of the V-ATPase.
The final information obtained from the cross-linking studies presented
concerns subunit E. Because EDC/NHS is a zero-length cross-linking
reagent, the cross-linking of subunits D and E suggests that these
subunits are, at least part of the time, in close contact with each
other. A contact between subunit E and the 100-kDa subunit a of the
V0 domain is also suggested by the appearance of a product of the appropriate size on cross-linking of the intact complex (but not
the V1 domain) with MBP. While this assignment is again tentative pending the availability of an antibody that recognizes the a
subunit by Western blot, it suggests that subunit E may play an
important role in bridging the peripheral and integral domains of the protein.
We have suggested, based on mutagenesis studies (30, 45), that the
100-kDa subunit corresponds to the V-ATPase homolog of the F-ATPase a
subunit, which functions not only in proton translocation (12, 46, 47)
but as part of the stator that is held rigid relative to the
We had previously suggested, based on cross-linking by the reversible
cross-linking reagent DTSSP and analysis by two-dimensional gel
electrophoresis that subunits C, D, and E were in contact with subunit
c of the V0 domain (36). Because of the similarity in
molecular mass of subunits c, F, and G, the results in the current
study suggest the possibility that the products observed previously
actually represented complexes between subunits C, D, or E and subunits
F or G. Nevertheless, the observation that treatment of stripped
vesicles with potassium iodide and MgATP can result in nearly complete
removal of subunits B and H (Fig. 6) as well as subunit A (38) while
leaving behind substantial amounts of subunits C, D, E, and F suggests
that one or more of these latter subunits likely form part of the
bridge between the V1 and V0 domains.
We had previously reported that treatment of the V-ATPase with cystine
results in dissociation of AP50 (the 50-kDa subunit of the AP2 adaptin
complex) and loss of activity (39). AP50 was identified by
NH2-terminal sequence analysis, and the number of copies of
the protein migrating at this position was measured using quantitative
amino acid analysis (48). We have subsequently observed that only about
10-15% of the protein at this position actually corresponds to AP50,
the remainder corresponding to the lower molecular weight form of
subunit H, which is not detected by NH2-terminal sequencing
because it is blocked at the amino terminus. We therefore wished to
determine whether treatment of the V-ATPase with cystine also resulted
in the loss of subunit H. As shown in Fig. 7, cystine treatment caused
nearly complete loss of the lower molecular weight form of subunit H
with a partial reduction in the higher molecular weight form. Because
this treatment results in nearly complete loss of activity, it appears
that loss of either isoform of subunit H is sufficient to inactivate
the enzyme. These two isoforms appear to be the product of alternative splicing of a single gene (34).
We have previously shown that cystine selectively modifies Cys-254 of
the V-ATPase A subunit, leading to inactivation of the enzyme that can
be reversed by treatment with dithiothreitol (33). It should be noted,
however, that the activity of the V-ATPase depleted of subunit H by
cystine treatment cannot be restored by dithiothreitol (39) and this
loss of activity is therefore not a direct result of the active site
modification but rather loss of subunit H. Nevertheless, the results
clearly indicate that there is intramolecular communication between the
catalytic site of the enzyme (located on subunit A; Ref. 33) and the
contact region between subunit H and the remainder of the complex. Such conformational cross-talk may play an important role in regulation of
assembly or activity of the V-ATPases.
Our previous measurement of the subunit stoichiometry of the V-ATPase
complex revealed that each V-ATPase molecule contains three copies of
subunit A, three copies of subunit B, six copies of subunit c, and
single copies of subunits C, D, E, a, d, and c" (10). At the time,
subunits F, G, and H had not been discovered and it was not known that
the V-ATPase contained an additional proteolipid subunit of molecular
mass 17 kDa (c'), as demonstrated first for the V-ATPase of yeast (17).
In addition, it has been reported that the V-ATPase from chromaffin
granules contains a 45-kDa integral membrane glycoprotein that has been
cloned and sequenced (40). We have observed the presence of this
polypeptide in the intact V-ATPase of clathrin-coated vesicles (49), as well as in the isolated V0 domain, but there has been no
report of a corresponding vma gene in yeast, despite the
completion of the genome sequencing. We therefore wished to determine
the copy number of the more recently discovered subunits of the
V-ATPase and to determine whether the 45-kDa glycoprotein was in fact
present in stoichiometric amounts in our preparation. Because different polypeptides display very different staining efficiencies, relative staining of proteins is a very unreliable method for determining subunit stoichiometry. Instead, we employed the method we had previously used involving electrophoretic separation and transfer to
Immobilon followed by quantitative amino acid analysis (10). As shown
in Table I, subunit F and the lower molecular weight isoform of subunit
H are present in single copies while subunit G is present in two copies
per complex. Because Western blotting analysis suggests that the two
isoforms of subunit H are present in equal amounts (Fig. 7), these
results suggest that both isoforms of subunit H are present in one copy
per complex. This result is consistent with the observation noted above
that removal of just one of the subunit H isoforms is sufficient to
lead to complete loss of activity, since if the two isoforms were
present in different populations of V-ATPase, a less dramatic effect on
activity would have been predicted. In addition, we find that the
45-kDa glycoprotein is present at a substoichiometric level, suggesting
that it is only present in a subpopulation of the V-ATPases from coated
vesicles. This is not entirely surprising, however, given that
clathrin-coated vesicles are derived from both the plasma membrane and
the Golgi, and that this 45-kDa polypeptide may be present in only one
of these two populations.
Fig. 8 shows a revised structural model
of the V-ATPase, incorporating both previous findings and the data
presented in the current paper. Electron microscopic analysis of the
V-ATPase from Clostridium fervidus (25) and from
clathrin-coated vesicles2
indicates that the peripheral V1 domain is attached to the
integral V0 domain both by a central stalk and by a
peripheral stalk, as has been observed for the F-ATPases (20). In the
case of the F-ATPases, the central stalk is composed of the *
This work was supported by National Institutes of Health
Grant GM 34478.The costs of publication of this
article were defrayed in part by the
payment of page charges. The article
must therefore be hereby marked
"advertisement" in
accordance with 18 U.S.C. Section
1734 solely to indicate this fact.
2
S. Wilkens and M. Forgac, submitted for publication.
The abbreviations used are:
V-ATPase, vacuolar
proton-translocating adenosine 5'-triphosphatase;
F-ATPase, F1F0 ATP synthase;
DSG, disuccinimidyl
glutarate;
EDC, 1-ethyl-3-(dimethylaminopropyl)-carbodiimide;
MBP, 4-(N-maleimido)benzophenone;
NHS, N-hydroxysuccinimide;
PAGE, polyacrylamide gel
electrophoresis.
Subunit Interactions in the Clathrin-coated Vesicle Vacuolar
(H+)-ATPase Complex*
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ABSTRACT
TOP
ABSTRACT
INTRODUCTION
EXPERIMENTAL PROCEDURES
RESULTS
DISCUSSION
REFERENCES
![]()
INTRODUCTION
TOP
ABSTRACT
INTRODUCTION
EXPERIMENTAL PROCEDURES
RESULTS
DISCUSSION
REFERENCES
and
subunits of
F1 (14, 15), while the proteolipid subunits of the two
complexes are also homologous (16, 17). The structure of the peripheral
F1 domain of the mitochondrial F-ATPase has been determined
by x-ray crystallography and shown to consist of a hexamer of
alternating
and
subunits surrounding a central cavity
containing the highly
-helical
subunit (18, 19). F1
appears to be attached to the F0 domain via both a central stalk (believed to include both the
and
subunits) and a
peripheral stalk (composed of the
subunit and the soluble portions
of subunit b) (20, 21). The F0 domain contains a ring of c
subunits with the a and b subunits to one side (12, 23).
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EXPERIMENTAL PROCEDURES
TOP
ABSTRACT
INTRODUCTION
EXPERIMENTAL PROCEDURES
RESULTS
DISCUSSION
REFERENCES
-D-galactopyranoside, and disruption of cells was carried out using lysozyme and Triton X-100
as described previously (26). The recombinant proteins were recovered
from inclusion bodies by sedimentation and solubilized with 8 M urea followed by dialysis against phosphate-buffered saline. The His-tagged proteins were then isolated by nickel-affinity chromatography and sent to Covance Inc. for production of polyclonal antibodies in rabbits. For subunits B, F, and H, the following synthetic peptides were prepared: subunit B, CPTSGPLAGSREQAL; subunit
F, CPSEKHPYDAAKDSILRR; subunit H, CHKSEKFNRENPARLNEKN. The peptides
were conjugated to keyhole limpet hemocyanin via the cysteine residues
at the amino termini and were also sent to Covance, Inc. for production
of polyclonal antibodies in rabbits. Antibodies were isolated from
rabbit antisera using protein A-Sepharose affinity chromatography.
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RESULTS
TOP
ABSTRACT
INTRODUCTION
EXPERIMENTAL PROCEDURES
RESULTS
DISCUSSION
REFERENCES

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Fig. 1.
Analysis of specificity of rabbit polyclonal
antibodies raised against V-ATPase subunits by Western blot. The
purified V-ATPase (2 µg/lane) was applied to either a 15% (for
subunit F) or 8% (the remaining subunits) polyacrylamide gel, followed
by electrophoretic transfer to nitrocellulose. The nitrocellulose was
cut into strips, and Western blotting was carried out using protein
A-Sepharose purified antibodies (1:1000 dilution) prepared against the
individual subunits indicated as described under "Experimental
Procedures." The numbers shown represent the molecular
mass of the individual subunits in kDa.

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Fig. 2.
Cross-linking of the purified V-ATPase and
V1 subcomplex using DSG. The purified
V-ATPase and V1 subcomplex (50 µg of protein/ml) in
solubilization buffer were incubated with 0.2 mM DSG for 30 min at 23 °C. The reaction was stopped by addition of 50 mM ammonium acetate, and the cross-linked products were
separated on an 8% acrylamide gel according to the method of Laemmli
(29). The proteins were transferred to nitrocellulose and the
nitrocellulose cut into strips and the strips subjected to Western blot
analysis using protein A-Sepharose purified antibodies against the
indicated subunits. Blots were developed using the chemiluminescence
system described under "Experimental Procedures." The molecular
mass of particular cross-linked products is indicated by the
bars next to the individual lanes and was
determined relative to standards of known molecular mass. The 90-kDa
product in V1 is observed to contain both subunits H and E,
the 75-kDa product in V1V0 contains subunits C
and E, the 70-kDa product in V1 contains subunits H and F,
the 50-kDa product in both V1V0 and
V1 contains subunits D and F and the 46-kDa product
observed in both V1V0 and V1
contains, most likely, subunits E and G.

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Fig. 3.
DSG cross-linking of trypsin-treated
V-ATPase. The purified V-ATPase (50 µg of protein/ml) was
digested by incubation with trypsin (1 µg/ml) for 2 h at
23 °C, and proteolysis was then stopped by addition of 5-fold (w/w)
soybean trypsin inhibitor. Cross-linking of the trypsin-treated
V-ATPase by DSG, gel electrophoresis, and Western blot analysis were
then carried out as described in the legend to Fig. 2. Both subunits D
and F were extensively digested under these conditions, whereas
subunits C and E as well as the 75-kDa (C/E) and 46-kDa (E/G)
cross-linked products were unaffected.

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Fig. 4.
Cross-linking of the purified V-ATPase by
EDC. The purified V-ATPase (50 µg of protein/ml) was incubated
with 5 mM EDC and NHS for 20 min at 23 °C. The reaction
was stopped by addition of 50 mM Tris-HCl (pH 6.8), and the
samples were applied to an 8% acrylamide gel and subjected to SDS-PAGE
according to the method of Laemmli (29). Transfer to nitrocellulose and
Western blotting using the indicated antibodies was carried out as
described under "Experimental Procedures." Both a 75-kDa product
containing subunits C and E and a 67-kDa product containing subunits D
and E were observed.

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Fig. 5.
Cross-linking of the purified V-ATPase and
V1 subcomplex using MBP. The purified
V-ATPase and V1 subcomplex (50 µg of protein/ml) were
incubated with 1 mM MBP for 30 min at 23 °C. The excess
MBP was quenched by addition of 10 mM dithiothreitol, and
the samples were then dialyzed against solubilization buffer for 4 h prior to irradiation with a long wavelength ultraviolet lamp for 20 min at 4 °C. The samples were applied to an 8% acrylamide gel and
subjected to SDS-PAGE according to the method of Laemmli (29). Proteins
were then transferred to nitrocellulose and Western blotting using the
antibodies against the indicated subunits carried out as described
under "Experimental Procedures." A cross-linked product of
molecular mass 135 kDa that cross-reacts with the antibody directed
against subunit E was observed that has a size consistent with
cross-linking of subunits a and E.

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Fig. 6.
Dissociation of V1 subunits from
stripped vesicles by treatment with potassium iodide and MgATP.
Stripped vesicles (1 mg of protein/ml) that had been pretreated with
0.2 M KI for 1 h at 4 °C and washed by
sedimentation at 100,000 × g were then treated with
0.36 M KI and 2.5 mM MgATP for 1 h at
4 °C, followed by sedimentation for 1 h at 100,000 × g. The vesicles were resuspended in solubilization buffer
and dialyzed overnight against the same buffer. Control vesicles were
subjected to the same treatment except in the absence of KI and MgATP
during the second incubation. The membranes were solubilized in Laemmli
sample buffer, and 10 µg of protein was applied to each lane of a
15% acrylamide gel followed by SDS-PAGE according to the method of
Laemmli (29). Following transfer to nitrocellulose, Western blotting
using antibodies against the indicated subunits was carried out as
described under "Experimental Procedures." It should be noted that
the protein concentration employed during the dissociation (1 mg of
protein/ml) was higher than that used previously in the preparation of
V0 (28) in order to determine whether it is possible to
observe a differential release of subunits A, B, and H
versus subunits C, D, E, and F.
Stoichiometry of subunits H, F, and G and the 45-kDa glycoprotein in
the V-ATPase complex

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Fig. 7.
Cystine treatment causes removal of subunit H
from the V-ATPase complex. Stripped vesicles (0.1 mg of
protein/ml) were dialyzed against 1 mM cystine, 20 mM HEPES (pH 7.5), 0.2 mM EGTA for 5 days at
4 °C followed by sedimentation for 1 h at 100,000 × g and resuspension of vesicles in solubilization buffer.
Control vesicles were incubated under identical conditions but in the
absence of cystine. The V-ATPase was then solubilized with
C12E9 and purified by density gradient
sedimentation as described under "Experimental Procedures." Equal
amounts of the purified V-ATPase (2 µg of protein) from control and
cystine-treated stripped vesicles were applied to an 8% acrylamide gel
and subjected to SDS-PAGE as described by Laemmli (29). The proteins
were transferred to nitrocellulose, and Western blotting was carried
out using the antibody raised against subunit H as described under
"Experimental Procedures."
![]()
DISCUSSION
TOP
ABSTRACT
INTRODUCTION
EXPERIMENTAL PROCEDURES
RESULTS
DISCUSSION
REFERENCES
Summary of subunit contacts identified by cross-linking of the intact
V-ATPase and the V1 subcomplex
3
3 hexamer (21). Most recently we have
demonstrated that the large amino-terminal domain of the 100-kDa
subunit is oriented toward the cytoplasmic side of the membrane (35),
making it a likely candidate for forming part of the stator structure
in the V-ATPases.
and
subunits while the peripheral stalk is composed of the
subunit and
the soluble domains of subunit b (21). Because the D subunit, like
of F1, is predicted to have a very high
-helical content
(50), we suggest that subunit D is the V-ATPase homolog to
, placing subunit D, and subunit F with which it interacts, in the central stalk.
By contrast, subunits C and H can be readily dissociated, suggesting
that they form part of a peripheral structure. Both of these subunits
show interaction with subunit E, which can also be cross-linked with
subunit G in V1 and subunit a of the V0 domain. We have therefore placed subunits C, E, G and H together with the
amino-terminal soluble domain of subunit a in the peripheral stalk. We
speculate that the cross-link observed between subunits D and E in the
intact complex may represent a point of close contact between the
peripheral and central stalks which may change during the course of
catalysis. It will be important to test whether these or other subunit
contacts are in fact altered during turnover of the enzyme. Such
catalysis-dependent changes in subunit contacts have in
fact been demonstrated for the F-ATPase complex using covalent
cross-linking (22, 51). The picture presented in Fig. 8 thus represents
a working model of the structure of the V-ATPases, which can serve as
the basis for further experimental analysis.

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Fig. 8.
Structural model of the coated vesicle
V-ATPase. Subunits in the peripheral V1 domain are
shown in white, while subunits in the integral
V0 domain are shown shaded. The central stalk is
postulated to include subunits D (the likely V-ATPase
subunit
homolog) and F, while the peripheral stalk includes subunits C, E, G,
and H. The model shown includes contacts identified in the current
paper between subunits C and E, subunits D and F, subunits E and G,
subunits H and E, and subunits a and E. The model also reflects the
stoichiometry of two copies of subunit G, one copy of each isoform of
subunit H, and one copy of subunit F per V-ATPase complex. We suggest
that the observed cross-linked product between subunits H and F may be
a result of conformational distortion in V1 and that the
contact between subunits D and E may reflect a point of close approach
between the peripheral and central stalks.
![]()
FOOTNOTES
To whom correspondence should be addressed.
![]()
ABBREVIATIONS
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EXPERIMENTAL PROCEDURES
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DISCUSSION
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