Modeling the membrane binding mechanism of a lipid transport protein Osh4 to single membranes

All-atom (AA) molecular dynamics simulations are used to unravel the binding mechanism of yeast oxysterol binding protein (Osh4) to model membranes with varying anionic lipid concentration using AA and the highly mobile membrane mimetic (HMMM) representations. For certain protein-lipid interactions, an improved forcefield description is used (CUFIX) to accurately describe lipid-protein electrostatic interactions. Our detailed computational studies have identified a single, beta-crease oriented, membrane-bound conformation of Osh4 for all anionic membranes. The penetration of the PHE-239 residue below the membrane phosphate plane is the characteristic signature of the membrane-bound state of Osh4. As the phenylalanine loop anchors itself deeply in the membrane; the other regions of the Osh4, namely, ALPS motif, beta 6- beta 7 loop, beta 14- beta 15 loop, and beta 16- beta 17 loop, maximize their contact with the membrane. Furthermore, loose lipid packing and higher mobility of HMMM enable stronger association of the ALPS motif with the membrane lipids through its hydrophobic surface. After the HMMM is converted to AA and equilibrated, the binding is two to three times stronger compared with simulations started with the AA representation, yielding the major importance of the ALPS motif to binding. Quantitative estimation of binding energy revealed that the phenylalanine loop plays a crucial role in stable membrane attachment of Osh4 and contributes significantly toward overall binding process. The CUFIX parameters provide a more balanced picture of hydrophobic and electrostatic interactions between the protein and the membrane, which differs from our past work that showed salt bridges alone stabilized Osh4-membrane contact. Our study provides a comprehensive picture of the binding mechanism of Osh4 with model single membranes and, thus, understanding of the initial interactions is important for elucidating the biological function of this protein to shuttle lipids between organelles.