Ca2+-dependent lipid scrambling and ion transport by TMEM16 proteins

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Members of the TMEM16 family of integral membrane proteins are Ca2+-dependent phospholipid scramblases. Because mechanisms of lipid scrambling by the TMEM16s remain poorly understood, the ability to interpret their function in human physiology and to design targeted pharmacological interventions that would selectively manipulate the activity of these proteins, is limited. Our goal is to overcome these limitations by determining how the TMEM16 scramblases are activated in response to Ca2+ binding, how and for what purpose they remodel cellular membranes, and how they are affected by specific components of these membranes. We address this mechanistic goal with an integrated strategy combining experimentation with structural, functional, and computational approaches. To understand how these proteins are modulated in vivo we will focus on ceramides as the first class of molecules found to inhibit the function of TMEM16 scramblases and to be associated in vivo with excessive exposure of PS in endothelial cells. Our 1st aim is to determine the Ca2+- dependent gating mechanism of the TMEM16 scramblases using a combination of cryo-electron microscopy (cryoEM), molecular dynamics (MD) simulations and functional assays. These experiments will reveal the allosteric coupling mechanism between the Ca2+ binding site and the structural elements gating the lipid pathway. Our 2nd aim is to determine how the TMEM16 scramblases interact with, and alter the structure of, their surrounding membrane environment in support of their function. Using structure determination with cryoEM we will visualize afTMEM16 complexes with membranes with a variety of physicochemical properties and compositions, in different functional states. In combination with MD simulations and functional assays we will identify the energetic and molecular determinants for membrane-protein interactions and membrane remodeling, and their role in scrambling. Our 3rd aim is to determine the mechanism and in vivo role of ceramide regulation of TMEM16 scramblases using functional assays to identify the molecular determinants of ceramide inhibition, and structural and computational experiments to determine their mechanism of action, and the role of specific ceramides in the in vivo regulation of TMEM16F.