Peripheral membrane proteins, or extrinsic membrane proteins, are membrane proteins that adhere only temporarily to the biological membrane with which they are associated. These proteins attach to integral membrane proteins, or penetrate the peripheral regions of the lipid bilayer. The regulatory protein subunits of many ion channels and transmembrane receptors, for example, may be defined as peripheral membrane proteins. In contrast to integral membrane proteins, peripheral membrane proteins tend to collect in the water-soluble component, or fraction, of all the proteins extracted during a protein purification procedure. Proteins with GPI anchors are an exception to this rule and can have purification properties similar to those of integral membrane proteins.
Sterol regulatory element-binding proteins (SREBPs) are transcription factors that bind to the sterol regulatory element DNA sequence TCACNCCAC. Mammalian SREBPs are encoded by the genes SREBF1 and SREBF2. SREBPs belong to the basic-helix-loop-helix leucine zipper class of transcription factors. Unactivated SREBPs are attached to the nuclear envelope and endoplasmic reticulum membranes. In cells with low levels of sterols, SREBPs are cleaved to a water-soluble N-terminal domain that is translocated to the nucleus. These activated SREBPs then bind to specific sterol regulatory element DNA sequences, thus upregulating the synthesis of enzymes involved in sterol biosynthesis. Sterols in turn inhibit the cleavage of SREBPs and therefore synthesis of additional sterols is reduced through a negative feed back loop.
The steroidogenic acute regulatory protein, commonly referred to as StAR (STARD1), is a transport protein that regulates cholesterol transfer within the mitochondria, which is the rate-limiting step in the production of steroid hormones. It is primarily present in steroid-producing cells, including theca cells and luteal cells in the ovary, Leydig cells in the testis and cell types in the adrenal cortex.
ABCG5 and ABCG8 genes encode for two proteins sterolin-1 and -2, respectively. Sterolin-1 and –2 are two ‘half’ adenosine triphosphate binding (ATP) cassette (ABC) transporters which found to be indispensable for the regulation of sterol absorption and excretion. Mutations in either genes result in a lipid disorder, sitosterolemia.
Thiolases, also known as acetyl-coenzyme A acetyltransferases (ACAT), are enzymes which convert two units of acetyl-CoA to acetoacetyl CoA in the mevalonate pathway.
Phosphatidylinositol transfer protein (PITP) or priming in exocytosis protein 3 (PEP3) is a ubiquitous cytosolic domain involved in transport of phospholipids from their site of synthesis in the endoplasmic reticulum and Golgi to other cell membranes.
Sterol regulatory element-binding transcription factor 1 (SREBF1) also known as sterol regulatory element-binding protein 1 (SREBP-1) is a protein that in humans is encoded by the SREBF1 gene.
Sterol regulatory element-binding protein 2 (SREBP-2) also known as sterol regulatory element binding transcription factor 2 (SREBF2) is a protein that in humans is encoded by the SREBF2 gene.
Non-specific lipid-transfer protein also known as sterol carrier protein 2 (SCP-2) or propanoyl-CoA C-acyltransferase is a protein that in humans is encoded by the SCP2 gene.
Membrane-bound transcription factor site-1 protease, or site-1 protease (S1P) for short, also known as subtilisin/kexin-isozyme 1 (SKI-1), is an enzyme that in humans is encoded by the MBTPS1 gene. S1P cleaves the endoplasmic reticulum loop of sterol regulatory element-binding protein (SREBP) transcription factors.
The oxysterol-binding protein (OSBP)-related proteins (ORPs) are a family of lipid transfer proteins (LTPs). Concretely, they constitute a family of sterol and phosphoinositide binding and transfer proteins in eukaryotes that are conserved from yeast to humans. They are lipid-binding proteins implicated in many cellular processes related with oxysterol, including signaling, vesicular trafficking, lipid metabolism, and nonvesicular sterol transport.
Oxysterol-binding protein 1 is a protein that in humans is encoded by the OSBP gene.
StAR-related lipid transfer protein 5 is a protein that in humans is encoded by the STARD5 gene. The protein is a 213 amino acids long, consisting almost entirely of a StAR-related transfer (START) domain. It is also part of the StarD4 subfamily of START domain proteins, sharing 34% sequence identity with STARD4.
Membrane contact sites (MCS) are close appositions between two organelles. Ultrastructural studies typically reveal an intermembrane distance in the order of the size of a single protein, as small as 10 nm or wider, with no clear upper limit. These zones of apposition are highly conserved in evolution. These sites are thought to be important to facilitate signalling, and they promote the passage of small molecules, including ions, lipids and reactive oxygen species. MCS are important in the function of the endoplasmic reticulum (ER), since this is the major site of lipid synthesis within cells. The ER makes close contact with many organelles, including mitochondria, Golgi, endosomes, lysosomes, peroxisomes, chloroplasts and the plasma membrane. Both mitochondria and sorting endosomes undergo major rearrangements leading to fission where they contact the ER. Sites of close apposition can also form between most of these organelles most pairwise combinations. First mentions of these contact sites can be found in papers published in the late 1950s mainly visualized using electron microscopy (EM) techniques. Copeland and Dalton described them as “highly specialized tubular form of endoplasmic reticulum in association with the mitochondria and apparently in turn, with the vascular border of the cell”.
Plant lipid transfer proteins, also known as plant LTPs or PLTPs, are a group of highly-conserved proteins of about 7-9kDa found in higher plant tissues. As its name implies, lipid transfer proteins facilitate the shuttling of phospholipids and other fatty acid groups between cell membranes. LTPs are divided into two structurally related subfamilies according to their molecular masses: LTP1s (9 kDa) and LTP2s (7 kDa). Various LTPs bind a wide range of ligands, including fatty acids with a C10–C18 chain length, acyl derivatives of coenzyme A, phospho- and galactolipids, prostaglandin B2, sterols, molecules of organic solvents, and some drugs.
Sorting nexins are a large group of proteins that are localized in the cytoplasm and have the potential for membrane association either through their lipid-binding PX domain or through protein–protein interactions with membrane-associated protein complexes Some members of this family have been shown to facilitate protein sorting.
START is a lipid-binding domain in StAR, HD-ZIP and signalling proteins. The archetypical domain is found in StAR, a mitochondrial protein that is synthesized in steroid-producing cells. StAR initiates steroid production by mediating the delivery of cholesterol to the first enzyme in the steroidogenic pathway. The START domain is critical for this activity, perhaps through the binding of cholesterol. Following the discovery of StAR, 15 START-domain-containing proteins were subsequently identified in vertebrates as well as other that are related.
In molecular biology, autophagy related 3 (Atg3) is the E2 enzyme for the LC3 lipidation process. It is essential for autophagy. The super protein complex, the Atg16L complex, consists of multiple Atg12-Atg5 conjugates. Atg16L has an E3-like role in the LC3 lipidation reaction. The activated intermediate, LC3-Atg3 (E2), is recruited to the site where the lipidation takes place.
Solute carrier family 25 member 46 is a protein that in humans is encoded by the SLC25A46 gene. This protein is a member of the SLC25 mitochondrial solute carrier family. It is a transmembrane protein located in the mitochondrial outer membrane involved in lipid transfer from the endoplasmic reticulum (ER) to mitochondria. Mutations in this gene result in neuropathy and optic atrophy.
VAD1 analog of StAR-related lipid transfer (VASt) is a steroidogenic acute regulatory protein‐related lipid transfer (StART)-like lipid-binding domain first identified in the vad1 protein in Arabidopsis thaliana. Proteins containing these domains are found in eukaryotes and usually contain another lipid-binding domain, typically the GRAM domain and sometimes the C2 domain in plants and the integral peroxisomal membrane peroxin Pex24p domain in oomycetes.
