Jl. Yang et al., IDENTIFICATION OF AN 11-RESIDUE PORTION OF CTP-PHOSPHOCHOLINE CYTIDYLYLTRANSFERASE THAT IS REQUIRED FOR ENZYME-MEMBRANE INTERACTIONS, Biochemical journal, 325, 1997, pp. 29-38
CTP-phosphocholine cytidylyltransferase (CT) is a key regulatory enzym
e in the biosynthesis of phosphatidylcholine (PC) in many cells. Enzym
e-membrane interactions appear to play an important role in CT activat
ion. A putative membrane-binding domain appears to be located between
residues 236 and 293 from the N-terminus. To map the membrane-binding
domain more precisely, glutathione S-transferase fusion proteins were
prepared that contained deletions of various domains in this putative
lipid-binding region. The fusion proteins were assessed for their bind
ing of [H-3]PC/oleic acid vesicles. Fusion proteins encompassing resid
ues 267-277 bound to PC/oleic acid vesicles, whereas fragments lacking
this region exhibited no specific binding to the lipid vesicles. The
membrane-binding characteristics of the CT fusion proteins were also e
xamined using intact lung microsomes. Only fragments encompassing resi
dues 267-277 competed with full-length I-125-labelled CT, expressed in
recombinant Sf9 insect cells, for microsomal membrane binding. To inv
estigate the role of this region in PC biosynthesis, A549 and L2 cells
were transfected with cDNA for CT mutants under the control of a gluc
ocorticoid-inducible long terminal repeat (LTR) promoter. Induction of
CT mutants containing residues 267-277 in transfectants resulted in r
educed PC synthesis. The decrease in PC synthesis was accompanied by a
shift in endogenous CT activity from the particulate to the soluble f
raction. Expression of CT mutants lacking this region in A549 and L2 c
ells did not affect PC formation and subcellular distribution of CT ac
tivity. These results suggest that the CT region located between resid
ues 267 and 277 from the N-terminus is required for the interaction of
CT with membranes.