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Role of Cholesterol in Transmembrane Dimerization of the ErbB2 Growth Factor Receptor

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Abstract

The association of ErbB2 growth factor receptors is critical for cell growth and potentiates tumor proliferation in several cancer types. An important aspect in ErbB2 association is the role of lipids such as cholesterol, especially since their metabolism is often reprogrammed in cancer cells. Here, we have coupled metadynamics with coarse-grain simulations to identify cholesterol effects in the transmembrane dimerization of ErbB2 receptors. Overall, cholesterol interactions are observed with the receptor that directly tunes the association energetics. Several dimer conformations are identified both in the presence and absence of cholesterol, although the dimer regime appears to be more favorable in the presence of cholesterol. We observe an overall modulation of the underlying energy profile and the symmetric active and inactive conformational states are not distinguished in the presence of cholesterol. We show that cholesterol binds to the receptor transmembrane domain at a site (CRAC motif) that overlaps with the dimer interface (SmXXXSm motif). The competition between the transmembrane interactions and cholesterol interactions decides the final conformational landscape. Our work is an important step toward characterizing cholesterol effects in ErbB2 membrane receptor function.

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Acknowledgements

D.S. gratefully acknowledges the support of the Ramalingaswami Fellowship from the Dept. of Biotechnology (D.B.T) Govt. of India. A.P. gratefully acknowledges the Senior research fellowship (SRF) from CSIR.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. CSIR-National Chemical Laboratory, Dr. Homi Bhabha Road, Pune, 411008, India

    Aiswarya B. Pawar & Durba Sengupta

  2. Academy of Scientific and Innovative Research (AcSIR), Ghaziabad, 201002, India

    Aiswarya B. Pawar & Durba Sengupta

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  1. Aiswarya B. Pawar
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  2. Durba Sengupta
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DS and AP designed the research and performed the simulations and analysis.

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Correspondence to Durba Sengupta.

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Pawar, A.B., Sengupta, D. Role of Cholesterol in Transmembrane Dimerization of the ErbB2 Growth Factor Receptor. J Membrane Biol 254, 301–310 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00232-021-00168-z

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