Silvia Meneghelli

University of Milan, Milano, Lombardy, Italy

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Publications (4)13.54 Total impact

  • Article: Single point mutations in the small cytoplasmic loop of ACA8, a plasma membrane Ca2+-ATPase of Arabidopsis thaliana, generate partially deregulated pumps.
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    ABSTRACT: ACA8 is a type 2B Ca(2+)-ATPase having a regulatory N terminus whose auto-inhibitory action can be suppressed by binding of calmodulin (CaM) or of acidic phospholipids. ACA8 N terminus is able to interact with a region of the small cytoplasmic loop connecting transmembrane domains 2 and 3. To determine the role of this interaction in auto-inhibition we analyzed single point mutants produced by mutagenesis of ACA8 Glu(252) to Asn(345) sequence. Mutation to Ala of any of six tested acidic residues (Glu(252), Asp(273), Asp(291), Asp(303), Glu(302), or Asp(332)) renders an enzyme that is less dependent on CaM for activity. These results highlight the relevance in ACA8 auto-inhibition of a negative charge of the surface area of the small cytoplasmic loop. The most deregulated of these mutants is D291A ACA8, which is less activated by controlled proteolysis or by acidic phospholipids; the D291A mutant has an apparent affinity for CaM higher than wild-type ACA8. Moreover, its phenotype is stronger than that of D291N ACA8, suggesting a more direct involvement of this residue in the mechanism of auto-inhibition. Among the other produced mutants (I284A, N286A, P289A, P322A, V344A, and N345A), only P322A ACA8 is less dependent on CaM for activity than the wild type. The results reported in this study provide the first evidence that the small cytoplasmic loop of a type 2B Ca(2+)-ATPase plays a role in the attainment of the auto-inhibited state.
    Journal of Biological Chemistry 10/2009; 284(45):30881-8. · 4.77 Impact Factor
  • Article: Dual mechanism of activation of plant plasma membrane Ca2+-ATPase by acidic phospholipids: evidence for a phospholipid binding site which overlaps the calmodulin-binding site.
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    ABSTRACT: The effect of phospholipids on the activity of isoform ACA8 of Arabidopsis thaliana plasma membrane (PM) Ca2+-ATPase was evaluated in membranes isolated from Saccharomyces cerevisiae strain K616 expressing wild type or mutated ACA8 cDNA. Acidic phospholipids stimulated the basal Ca2+-ATPase activity in the following order of efficiency: phosphatidylinositol 4-monophosphate > phosphatidylserine > phosphatidylcholine approximately = phosphatidylethanolamine approximately = 0. Acidic phospholipids increased V(max-Ca2+) and lowered the value of K(0.5-Ca2+) below the value measured in the presence of calmodulin (CaM). In the presence of CaM acidic phospholipids activated ACA8 by further decreasing its K(0.5-Ca2+) value. Phosphatidylinositol 4-monophosphate and, with lower efficiency, phosphatidylserine bound peptides reproducing ACA8 N-terminus (aa 1-116). Single point mutation of three residues (A56, R59 and Y62) within the sequence A56-T63 lowered the apparent affinity of ACA8 for phosphatidylinositol 4-monophosphate by two to three fold, indicating that this region contains a binding site for acidic phospholipids. However, the N-deleted mutant Delta74-ACA8 was also activated by acidic phospholipids, indicating that acidic phospholipids activate ACA8 through a complex mechanism, involving interaction with different sites. The striking similarity between the response to acidic phospholipids of ACA8 and animal plasma membrane Ca2+-ATPase provides new evidence that type 2B Ca2+-ATPases share common regulatory properties independently of structural differences such as the localization of the terminal regulatory region at the N- or C-terminal end of the protein.
    Molecular Membrane Biology 11/2008; 25(6-7):539-46. · 2.86 Impact Factor
  • Article: Heparin stimulates a plasma membrane Ca2+-ATPase of Arabidopsis thaliana.
    Silvia Meneghelli, Laura Luoni, Maria Ida De Michelis
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    ABSTRACT: We have studied the effect of heparin, a glycosaminoglycan widely used in releasing tags from fusion proteins, on isoform 8 of Arabidopsis thaliana PM Ca(2+)-ATPase (ACA8) expressed in Saccharomyces cerevisiae strain K616. Heparin stimulates hydrolytic activity of ACA8 with an estimated K(0.5) value for the complex of 15 +/- 1 microg ml(-1), which is unaffected by free [Ca(2+)]. Heparin increases V(max) up to 3-fold while it does not significantly affect the apparent K(m) for free Ca(2+) and for the nucleoside triphosphate substrate. The heparin effect is not additive with that of exogenous calmodulin and heparin is ineffective on a mutant devoid of the N-terminal auto-inhibitory domain (Delta74-ACA8). Altogether, these results indicate that heparin activation is due to partial suppression of the auto-inhibitory function of ACA8 N-terminus. Pull-down assays using heparin-agarose gel show that heparin directly interacts with ACA8. Binding to the heparin-agarose gel occurs also with a peptide reproducing ACA8 sequence (1)M-I(116). Several single-point mutations within ACA8 sequence A56-T63 significantly alter the enzyme response to heparin, suggesting that heparin interaction with this site may be involved in ACA8 activation. These results highlight a new difference between the plant PM Ca(2+)-ATPase and its animal counterpart, which is inhibited by heparin.
    Journal of Biochemistry 03/2008; 143(2):253-9. · 2.37 Impact Factor
  • Article: Auto-inhibition of Arabidopsis thaliana plasma membrane Ca2+-ATPase involves an interaction of the N-terminus with the small cytoplasmic loop.
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    ABSTRACT: Type IIB Ca2+-ATPases have a terminal auto-inhibitory, domain the action of which is suppressed by calmodulin (CaM) binding. Here, we show that a peptide (6His-1M-I116) corresponding to the first 116 aminoacids (aa) of At-ACA8, the first cloned isoform of Arabidopsis thaliana plasma membrane Ca2+-ATPase, inhibits the activity of the enzyme deprived of the N-terminus by controlled trypsin treatment 10-fold more efficiently than a peptide (41I-T63) corresponding only to the CaM-binding site. A peptide (268E-W348) corresponding to 81 aa of the small cytoplasmic loop of At-ACA8 binds peptide 6His-1M-I116 immobilized on Ni-NTA agarose. Peptide 268E-W348 stimulates Ca2+-ATPase activity. Its effect is not additive with that of CaM and is suppressed by tryptic cleavage of the N-terminus. These results provide the first functional identification of a site of intramolecular interaction with the terminal auto-inhibitory domain of type IIB Ca2+-ATPases.
    FEBS Letters 10/2004; 574(1-3):20-4. · 3.54 Impact Factor

Institutions

  • 2008–2009
    • University of Milan
      • Department of Anesthesia, Intensive Care and Dermatologic Sciences
      Milano, Lombardy, Italy