OlyA6 is an aegerolysin protein from the fungal genus Pleurotus, which binds to the sphingolipid enriched in invertebrates, ceramide phosphoethanolamine (CPE). OlyA6 and its mutant OlyA6 E69A differ in a single amino acid where glutamate at position 69 is replaced by alanine. OlyA6 binds to pre-formed SM/cholesterol lipid complexes in the membranes, while OlyA6 E69A can also bind to SM in cholesterol-free lipid membranes. Within this master thesis, the OlyA6 E69A protein was isolated and its interaction with CPE-containing lipid vesicles with or without cholesterol was analyzed. Using lipid vesicles, we also checked the lytic potential of OlyA6 E69A in combination with its protein partner pleurotolysin B (PlyB). We observed that protein complex OlyA6 E69A/PlyB binds better to vesicles, does not require cholesterol for binding, and permeabilizes the membranes more efficiently than the protein complex OlyA6/PlyB. The binding and permeabilization are also affected by the amount of CPE or SM, as mutant binding is better when higher amounts of these lipids are present in the membranes.
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