Functional analyses of phosphatidylserine/PI(4)P exchangers with diverse lipid species and membrane contexts set unanticipated rules on lipid transfer

Abstract

Several members of the oxysterol-binding protein-related proteins (ORPs)/oxysterol-binding homology (Osh) family exchange phosphatidylserine (PS) and phosphatidylinositol 4-phosphate (PI(4)P) at the endoplasmic reticulum/plasma membrane (PM) interface. It is unclear whether they preferentially exchange PS and PI(4)P with specific acyl chains to tune the features of the PM, whether they use phosphatidylinositol 4,5-bisphosphate (PI(4,5)P2) instead of PI(4)P for exchange processes and whether their activity is influenced by the association of PS with sterol in the PM. Here, we measured in vitro how the yeast Osh6p and human ORP8 transported diverse PS and PI(4)P subspecies, including major cellular species, between membranes. We established how their activity is impacted by the length and unsaturation degree of these lipids. Surprisingly, the speed at which they individually transfer these ligands inversely depends on their affinity for them. To be fast, the transfer of high-affinity ligands requires their exchange for a counterligand of equivalent affinity. Besides, we determined that Osh6p and ORP8 cannot use PI(4,5)P2 for intracellular lipid exchange, as they have a low affinity for this lipid compared to PI(4)P, and do not transfer more PS into sterol-rich membranes. This study provides insights into PS/PI(4)P exchangers and sets unanticipated rules on how the activity of lipid transfer proteins relates to their affinity for ligands.