Interfacial binding and aggregation of lamin A tail domains associated with Hutchinson-Gilford progeria syndrome

Hutchinson-Gilford progeria syndrome is a premature aging disorder associated with the expression of Δ50 lamin A (Δ50LA), a mutant form of the nuclear structural protein lamin A (LA). Δ50LA is missing 50 amino acids from the tail domain and retains a C-terminal farnesyl group that is cleaved from the wild-type LA. Many of the cellular pathologies of HGPS are thought to be a consequence of protein-membrane association mediated by the retained farnesyl group. To better characterize the protein-membrane interface, we quantified binding of purified recombinant Δ50LA tail domain (Δ50LA-TD) to tethered bilayer membranes composed of phosphatidylserine and phosphocholine using surface plasmon resonance. Farnesylated Δ50LA-TD binds to the membrane interface only in the presence of Ca^{2 +} or Mg^{2 +} at physiological ionic strength. At extremely low ionic strength, both the farnesylated and non-farnesylated forms of Δ50LA-TD bind to the membrane surface in amounts that exceed those expected for a densely packed protein monolayer. Interestingly, the wild-type LA-TD with no farnesylation also associates with membranes at low ionic strength but forms only a single layer. We suggest that electrostatic interactions are mediated by charge clusters with a net positive charge that we calculate on the surface of the LA-TDs. These studies suggest that the accumulation of Δ50LA at the inner nuclear membrane observed in cells is due to a combination of aggregation and membrane association rather than simple membrane binding; electrostatics plays an important role in mediating this association.