scholarly journals The study of cell-death proteins in the outer mitochondrial membrane by chemical cross-linking

1997 ◽  
Vol 325 (2) ◽  
pp. 321-324 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sohail T. ALI ◽  
John R. COGGINS ◽  
Howard T. JACOBS

Chemical cross-linking was used to study the interactions of the anti-cell-death protein Bcl2 with other proteins in the outer mitochondrial membrane. Cross-linking of mitochondrial surface proteins produced a large Bcl2-containing complex (> 200 kDa), and a Bcl2-derived peptide was shown to cross-link specifically with a mitochondrial protein identified by immunoblotting as Raf-1 kinase.

2002 ◽  
Vol 22 (1) ◽  
pp. 47-58 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yoshihide Tsujimoto

An increase in the permeability of outer mitochondrial membrane is central to apoptotic cell death, and results in the release of several apoptogenic factors such as cytochrome c into the cytoplasm to activate downstream destructive programs. The voltage-dependent anion channel (VDAC or mitochondrial porin) plays an essential role in disrupting the mitochondrial membrane barrier and is regulated directly by members of the Bcl-2 family proteins. Anti-apoptotic Bcl-2 family members interact with and close the VDAC, whereas some, but not all, proapoptotic members interact with VDAC to open protein-conducting pore through which apoptogenic factors pass. Although the VDAC is involved directly in breaking the mitochondrial membrane barrier and is a known component of the permeability transition pore complex, VDAC-dependent increase in outer membrane permeability can be independent of the permeability transition event such as mitochondrial swelling followed by rupture of the outer mitochondrial membrane. VDAC interacts not only with Bcl-2 family members but also with proteins such as gelsolin, an actin regulatory protein, and appears to be a convergence point for a variety of cell survival and cell death signals.


2007 ◽  
Vol 113 (12) ◽  
pp. 459-466 ◽  
Author(s):  
José Magalhães ◽  
Rita Ferreira ◽  
Maria J. Neuparth ◽  
Paulo J. Oliveira ◽  
Franklim Marques ◽  
...  

In the present study, the effect of vitamin E (α-tocopherol) on mice skeletal muscle mitochondrial dysfunction and oxidative damage induced by an in vivo acute and severe hypobaric hypoxic insult (48 h at a barometric pressure equivalent to 8500 m) has been investigated. Male mice (n=24) were randomly divided into the following four groups (n=6): control (C), hypoxia (H), vitamin E (VE; 60 mg/kg of body weight intraperitoneally, three times/week for 3 weeks) and hypoxia+VE (HVE). A significant increase in mitochondrial protein CGs (carbonyl groups) was found in the H group compared with the C group. Confirming previous observations from our group, hypoxia induced mitochondrial dysfunction, as identified by altered respiratory parameters. Hypoxia exposure increased Bax content and decreased the Bcl-2/Bax ratio, whereas Bcl-2 remained unchanged. Inner and outer mitochondrial membrane integrity were significantly affected by hypoxia exposure; however, vitamin E treatment attenuated the effect of hypoxia on mitochondrial oxidative phosphorylation and on the levels of CGs. Vitamin E supplementation also prevented the Bax and Bcl-2/Bax ratio impairments caused by hypoxia, as well as the decrease in inner and outer mitochondrial membrane integrity. In conclusion, the results suggest that vitamin E prevents the loss of mitochondrial integrity and function, as well as the increase in Bax content, which suggests that mitochondria are involved in increased cell death induced by severe hypobaric hypoxia in mice skeletal muscle.


2020 ◽  
Vol 36 (1) ◽  
pp. 141-164
Author(s):  
Lan Wang ◽  
Peter Walter

Mitochondrial function depends on the efficient import of proteins synthesized in the cytosol. When cells experience stress, the efficiency and faithfulness of the mitochondrial protein import machinery are compromised, leading to homeostatic imbalances and damage to the organelle. Yeast Msp1 (mitochondrial sorting of proteins 1) and mammalian ATAD1 (ATPase family AAA domain–containing 1) are orthologous AAA proteins that, fueled by ATP hydrolysis, recognize and extract mislocalized membrane proteins from the outer mitochondrial membrane. Msp1 also extracts proteins that have become stuck in the import channel. The extracted proteins are targeted for proteasome-dependent degradation or, in the case of mistargeted tail-anchored proteins, are given another chance to be routed correctly. In addition, ATAD1 is implicated in the regulation of synaptic plasticity, mediating the release of neurotransmitter receptors from postsynaptic scaffolds to allow their trafficking. Here we discuss how structural and functional specialization imparts the unique properties that allow Msp1/ATAD1 ATPases to fulfill these diverse functions and also highlight outstanding questions in the field.


2004 ◽  
Vol 279 (44) ◽  
pp. 45701-45707 ◽  
Author(s):  
Masatoshi Esaki ◽  
Hidaka Shimizu ◽  
Tomoko Ono ◽  
Hayashi Yamamoto ◽  
Takashi Kanamori ◽  
...  

Protein translocation across the outer mitochondrial membrane is mediated by the translocator called the TOM (translocase of the outer mitochondrial membrane) complex. The TOM complex possesses two presequence binding sites on the cytosolic side (thecissite) and on the intermembrane space side (thetranssite). Here we analyzed the requirement of presequence elements and subunits of the TOM complex for presequence binding to thecisandtranssites of the TOM complex. The N-terminal 14 residues of the presequence of subunit 9 of F0-ATPase are required for binding to thetranssite. The interaction between the presequence and thecissite is not sufficient to anchor the precursor protein to the TOM complex. Tom7 constitutes or is close to thetranssite and has overlapping functions with the C-terminal intermembrane space domain of Tom22 in the mitochondrial protein import.


Cells ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 9 (10) ◽  
pp. 2147
Author(s):  
Bruno Seitaj ◽  
Felicia Maull ◽  
Li Zhang ◽  
Verena Wüllner ◽  
Christina Wolf ◽  
...  

The Transmembrane Bax Inhibitor-1 motif (TMBIM)-containing protein family is evolutionarily conserved and has been implicated in cell death susceptibility. The only member with a mitochondrial localization is TMBIM5 (also known as GHITM or MICS1), which affects cristae organization and associates with the Parkinson’s disease-associated protein CHCHD2 in the inner mitochondrial membrane. We here used CRISPR-Cas9-mediated knockout HAP1 cells to shed further light on the function of TMBIM5 in physiology and cell death susceptibility. We found that compared to wild type, TMBIM5-knockout cells were smaller and had a slower proliferation rate. In these cells, mitochondria were more fragmented with a vacuolar cristae structure. In addition, the mitochondrial membrane potential was reduced and respiration was attenuated, leading to a reduced mitochondrial ATP generation. TMBIM5 did not associate with Mic10 and Mic60, which are proteins of the mitochondrial contact site and cristae organizing system (MICOS), nor did TMBIM5 knockout affect their expression levels. TMBIM5-knockout cells were more sensitive to apoptosis elicited by staurosporine and BH3 mimetic inhibitors of Bcl-2 and Bcl-XL. An unbiased proteomic comparison identified a dramatic downregulation of proteins involved in the mitochondrial protein synthesis machinery in TMBIM5-knockout cells. We conclude that TMBIM5 is important to maintain the mitochondrial structure and function possibly through the control of mitochondrial biogenesis.


1998 ◽  
Vol 142 (4) ◽  
pp. 1135-1144 ◽  
Author(s):  
Maria Nurminskaya ◽  
Cordula Magee ◽  
Dmitry Nurminsky ◽  
Thomas F. Linsenmayer

We previously used subtractive hybridization to isolate cDNAs for genes upregulated in chick hypertrophic chondrocytes (Nurminskaya, M., and T.F. Linsenmayer. 1996. Dev. Dyn. 206:260–271). Certain of these showed homology with the “A” subunit of human plasma transglutaminase (factor XIIIA), a member of a family of enzymes that cross-link a variety of intracellular and matrix molecules. We now have isolated a full-length cDNA for this molecule, and confirmed that it is avian factor XIIIA. Northern and enzymatic analyses confirm that the molecule is upregulated in hypertrophic chondrocytes (as much as eightfold). The enzymatic analyses also show that appreciable transglutaminase activity in the hypertrophic zone becomes externalized into the extracellular matrix. This externalization most likely is effected by cell death and subsequent lysis—effected by the transglutaminase itself. When hypertrophic chondrocytes are transfected with a cDNA construct encoding the zymogen of factor XIIIA, the cells convert the translated protein to a lower molecular weight form, and they initiate cell death, become permeable to macromolecules and eventually undergo lysis. Non-hypertrophic cells transfected with the same construct do not show these degenerative changes. These results suggest that hypertrophic chondrocytes have a novel, tissue-specific cascade of mechanisms that upregulate the synthesis of plasma transglutaminase and activate its zymogen. This produces autocatalytic cell death, externalization of the enzyme, and presumably cross-linking of components within the hypertrophic matrix. These changes may in turn regulate the removal and/or calcification of this hypertrophic matrix, which are its ultimate fates.


Circulation ◽  
2014 ◽  
Vol 130 (suppl_2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Takaaki Furihata ◽  
Shintaro Kinugawa ◽  
Shouji Matsushima ◽  
Shingo Takada ◽  
Arata Fukushima ◽  
...  

Background: Iron in the mitochondria is regulated to maintain mitochondrial physiological function. A loss of mitoNEET protein located in the outer mitochondrial membrane has been shown to increase mitochondrial iron content in adipocytes. However, the role of mitoNEET in iron homeostasis has not been determined in the heart. Methods and Results: MitoNEET flox/flox (mNT f/f ) mice were generated with lox-P and homologous recombination strategies. Cardiac-specific deletion of mitoNEET was achieved using αMHC-Cre (mNT -/- ). Mice, mNT -/- (n=11) and mNT f/f (n=10), were bred for 3 months. Mitochondrial iron content, measured by colorimetric method, was significantly increased in mNT -/- mice compared to mNT f/f mice (1.13±0.09 vs. 0.58±0.07 μg/dl/μg mitochondrial protein, P<0.001). In parallel, immunoblot analysis showed that mitochondrial ferritin, mitochondrial iron transporter, was significantly higher in mNT -/- than mNT f/f by 45%. Mitoferrin2, mitochondrial iron importer, and ATP-binding cassette transporter type B8, mitochondrial iron exporter, protein did not differ between groups. The activity of electron transport chain complex V, mitochondrial iron importer, was also higher in mNT -/- than mNT f/f (617±22 vs. 496±17 mM/min/mg mitochondrial protein, P<0.05). In contrast, frataxin, involved in the synthesis of iron-sulfur cluster (ISC), was significantly lower in mNT -/- by 49%. ATP-binding cassette transporter type B7, mitochondrial ISC exporter, did not differ. Body weight and heart weight were comparable between groups. Left ventricular end-diastolic diameter (2.9±0.1 vs. 2.9±0.1 mm), percent fractional shortening (55±3 vs. 55±3 %), and wall thickness (0.71±0.01 vs. 0.73±0.01 mm) measured by echocardiography were also similar. Conclusions: Cardiac specific deletion of mitoNEET protein increased mitochondrial iron content in mice, in association with the increase in iron importer and transporter and the decrease in frataxin, suggesting that mitoNEET may play an important role in the regulation of mitochondrial function via iron homeostasis in the heart.


2001 ◽  
Vol 153 (6) ◽  
pp. 1265-1276 ◽  
Author(s):  
Amotz Nechushtan ◽  
Carolyn L. Smith ◽  
Itschak Lamensdorf ◽  
Soo-Han Yoon ◽  
Richard J. Youle

Bax is a member of the Bcl-2 family of proteins known to regulate mitochondria-dependent programmed cell death. Early in apoptosis, Bax translocates from the cytosol to the mitochondrial membrane. We have identified by confocal and electron microscopy a novel step in the Bax proapoptotic mechanism immediately subsequent to mitochondrial translocation. Bax leaves the mitochondrial membranes and coalesces into large clusters containing thousands of Bax molecules that remain adjacent to mitochondria. Bak, a close homologue of Bax, colocalizes in these apoptotic clusters in contrast to other family members, Bid and Bad, which circumscribe the outer mitochondrial membrane throughout cell death progression. We found the formation of Bax and Bak apoptotic clusters to be caspase independent and inhibited completely and specifically by Bcl-XL, correlating cluster formation with cytotoxic activity. Our results reveal the importance of a novel structure formed by certain Bcl-2 family members during the process of cell death.


Cells ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 10 (5) ◽  
pp. 1164
Author(s):  
Ashley S. Pitt ◽  
Susan K. Buchanan

The central role mitochondria play in cellular homeostasis has made its study critical to our understanding of various aspects of human health and disease. Mitochondria rely on the translocase of the outer membrane (TOM) complex for the bulk of mitochondrial protein import. In addition to its role as the major entry point for mitochondrial proteins, the TOM complex serves as an entry pathway for viral proteins. TOM complex subunits also participate in a host of interactions that have been studied extensively for their function in neurodegenerative diseases, cardiovascular diseases, innate immunity, cancer, metabolism, mitophagy and autophagy. Recent advances in our structural understanding of the TOM complex and the protein import machinery of the outer mitochondrial membrane have made structure-based therapeutics targeting outer mitochondrial membrane proteins during mitochondrial dysfunction an exciting prospect. Here, we describe advances in understanding the TOM complex, the interactome of the TOM complex subunits, the implications for the development of therapeutics, and our understanding of the structure/function relationship between components of the TOM complex and mitochondrial homeostasis.


1986 ◽  
Vol 234 (3) ◽  
pp. 587-591 ◽  
Author(s):  
M J Carden ◽  
P A M Eagles

Freshly isolated intact ox neurofilaments have been incubated with copper(II)-o-phenanthroline complex to induce thiol cross-linking between the two largest (apparent Mr 205 000 and 158 000) polypeptide components. Subsequent tryptic digestion shows that the thiol bonds formed between these polypeptides are distributed exclusively among ‘rod-domain’ fragments that remain associated with intact sedimentable filaments. These observations suggest that the polypeptide chains of the two largest neurofilament components are closely arranged within the backbone but are separate from one another in more peripheral regions. Soluble protofilaments derived from neurofilament disassembly at low ionic strength and high pH have also been cross-linked via thiol bonds in order to determine the polypeptide arrangement within these structures. All three neurofilament polypeptides cross-link more readily when in the form of protofilaments than when in the form of fully assembled filaments, and the pattern of cross-linked complexes formed is different. Analysis of one of these complexes shows that at least some of the protofilaments are composed of oligomers containing both the 72 000- and the 158 000-Mr neurofilament polypeptides arranged in close proximity.


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