Structure of the N-terminal segment of human retinol dehydrogenase 11 and its preferential lipid binding using model membranes

•The N-terminal segment of RDH11 adopts an α-helical conformation.•The Long-peptide has a more ordered α-helical structure than the Short-peptide.•The Long-peptide displays preferential binding to phosphoethanolamine.•The N-terminal segment of RDH11 has properties typical of transmembrane domains.•Membrane anchoring of RDH11 is likely driven by its N-terminal segment.

Retinol dehydrogenase 11 (RDH11) has been postulated to be anchored to membranes by means of its N-terminal segment in retinal pigment epithelial (RPE) cells where it participates to the visual cycle. The analysis of the primary sequence of RDH11 revealed that its N-terminal hydrophobic segment could be involved in the anchoring of this enzyme to membranes. However, no information is yet available on the properties of this N-terminal segment to support this role. The secondary structure and membrane binding of two N-terminal peptides of RDH11 with different lengths have thus been investigated to provide this information. Online tools allowed predicting an α-helical secondary structure for both peptides. Infrared spectroscopy and circular dichroism have shown that the α-helix of the Long-peptide (35 amino acids) is longer and more rigid than that of the Short-peptide (25 amino acids) regardless of the type of solvent. Langmuir monolayers have been used as a model membrane to study lipid–peptide interactions. Values of maximum insertion pressure and synergy suggested a preferential binding of the Long-peptide to lipids with a phosphoethanolamine polar head group, which are abundant in the RPE. Furthermore, infrared spectroscopy in monolayers has shown that the α-helical structure of the Long-peptide is more stable in the presence of saturated phospholipids whereas the structure of the Short-peptide is mainly disordered. Altogether, the present data demonstrate that the α-helical hydrophobic core of the N-terminal segment of RDH11 displays properties typical of transmembrane domains, in agreement with its postulated role in the membrane anchoring of this protein.

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