Trimerization of an in vitro synthesized OmpF porin of Escherichia coli outer membrane.

The assembly of outer membrane proteins of Escherichia coli was examined using the OmpF porin as a model. Since this protein is made as a precursor, which is processed to a protein of Mr 37,000 before being assembled into trimers in the outer membrane, we synthesized a modified OmpF, which lacked 16 out of 22 amino acid residues from its signal sequence, in a coupled transcription-translation system. This modified protein resembled the unfolded, monomeric OmpF in its electrophoretic behavior, but much of the protein apparently existed in a more tightly folded conformation as it was recognized by a monoclonal antibody specific to a surface epitope of the native, trimeric OmpF porin. At least some conformers of this protein could be further incorporated into outer membrane or lipopolysaccharide bilayers, and assembled into trimers. The trimers formed were trypsin-resistant and heat-stable in sodium dodecyl sulfate up to 70 degrees C, thus showing the characteristics of the native trimeric protein. These results extend our earlier observation that OmpF monomer secreted by spheroplasts of E. coli can be trimerized in vitro (Sen, K., and Nikaido, H (1990) Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S. A 87, 743-747) and show that the trimerization can occur, albeit at a low efficiency, with porin monomers synthesized in vitro, presumably not contaminated by membrane fragments or other components of the cell envelope. However, comparison of trimerization efficiency of the nascent in vitro product with that of the same product already exposed to aqueous medium, as well as with that of the spheroplast-secreted product, leads us to the working hypothesis that the trimerization process in intact cells is accelerated either by accessory components or by the conformational changes accompanying the secretion through the cytoplasmic membrane and that the reactions observed in this study represent only part of the physiological process.