# Topological Energetics and the Cellular Quality Control of Integral Membrane Proteins

> **NIH NIH R01** · TRUSTEES OF INDIANA UNIVERSITY · 2022 · $304,304

## Abstract

ABSTRACT
Nearly all biological processes require proper production and degradation of cellular proteins. Maintaining this
balance in protein homeostasis (proteostasis) is therefore essential to cellular fitness. Furthermore, a lapse in
cellular proteostasis has been linked to the molecular basis of a wide variety of genetic diseases. Nevertheless,
the manner by which the cell buffers adaptive swings in proteostasis and the impact of mutations on this process
remains poorly understood. This is especially true concerning integral membrane proteins, which account for a
quarter of the human proteome and the majority of current drug targets. Emerging evidence suggests the
production of folded, functional, and properly localized membrane proteins in the cell is typically inefficient and
sensitive to the effects of mutations. The interaction of nascent membrane proteins with molecular chaperones
and other components of the cellular quality control (QC) network seems to play a central role in the efficiency
of membrane protein biosynthesis and trafficking. However, the structural properties of co-translational folding
intermediates as well as the nature of their interactions with molecular chaperones remain poorly understood.
Nevertheless, the formation of these interactions implies that conformational defects are common among
nascent membrane proteins. Based on the physicochemical mechanisms of cotranslational membrane protein
folding, we hypothesize that the formation of non-native topomers during biosynthesis drives the QC-mediated
retention of nascent proteins in the ER. Using the G-protein coupled receptor rhodopsin as a model system, we
have employed a novel protein engineering approach to demonstrate that the activity of cellular QC is sensitive
to the topological energetics. Moreover, we provide preliminary evidence that the pathogenic misfolding of
rhodopsin, which is associated with retinitis pigmentosa, can arise from the stabilization of a non-native topomer.
Using this approach, we will probe the nature of the interface between the topological energy landscape and the
activity of the cellular QC network. To gain insights into the generality of these findings and the evolutionary
trade-offs between folding and function, we will employ a novel adaptation of deep mutational scanning to survey
the proteostatic effects of every possible point mutation in rhodopsin. The results will reveal whether the
conformational equilibria of rhodopsin has evolved to be metastable or to maximize the efficiency of biosynthesis.
Computational analysis of the results will also provide insights into the nature of the structural defects that give
rise to proteostatic perturbations. Finally, we provide preliminary evidence that the constraints of cotranslational
folding impose a contact order bias in the native structural ensembles of integral membrane proteins. To explore
this paradigm, computational analyses of polytopic membrane proteins of known structure in con...

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10437748
- **Project number:** 5R01GM129261-05
- **Recipient organization:** TRUSTEES OF INDIANA UNIVERSITY
- **Principal Investigator:** Jonathan Patrick Schlebach
- **Activity code:** R01 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2022
- **Award amount:** $304,304
- **Award type:** 5
- **Project period:** 2018-09-15 → 2023-06-30

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10437748

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10437748, Topological Energetics and the Cellular Quality Control of Integral Membrane Proteins (5R01GM129261-05). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-23 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10437748. Licensed CC0.

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