scholarly journals Controlling the Mitochondrial Protonmotive Force with Light to Impact Cellular Stress Resistance

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Brandon J. Berry ◽  
Adam J. Trewin ◽  
Alexander S. Milliken ◽  
Aksana Baldzizhar ◽  
Andrea M. Amitrano ◽  
...  

ABSTRACTMitochondrial respiration generates an electrochemical proton gradient across the mitochondrial inner membrane called the protonmotive force (PMF) to drive diverse functions and make ATP. Current techniques to manipulate the PMF are limited to its dissipation; there is no precise, reversible method to increase the PMF. To address this issue, we used an optogenetic approach and engineered a mitochondria-targeted light-activated proton pumping protein we called mitochondria-ON (mtON) to selectively increase the PMF. Here, mtON increased the PMF light dose-dependently, supported ATP synthesis, increased resistance to mitochondrial toxins, and modulated energy-sensing behavior in Caenorhabditis elegans. Moreover, transient mtON activation during hypoxia prevented the well-characterized adaptive response of hypoxic preconditioning. Our novel optogenetic approach demonstrated that a decreased PMF is both necessary and sufficient for hypoxia-stimulated stress resistance. Our results show that optogenetic manipulation of the PMF is a powerful tool to modulate metabolic and cell signaling outcomes.

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Brandon J. Berry ◽  
Aksana Baldzizhar ◽  
Andrew P. Wojtovich

ABSTRACTOrganisms adapt to their environment through coordinated changes in mitochondrial function and metabolism. The mitochondrial protonmotive force (PMF) is an electrochemical gradient that powers ATP synthesis and adjusts metabolism to energetic demands via cellular signaling. It is unknown how or where transient PMF changes are sensed and signaled due to lack of precise spatiotemporal control in vivo. We addressed this by expressing a light-activated proton pump in mitochondria to spatiotemporally “turn off” mitochondrial function through PMF dissipation in tissues with light. We applied our construct – mitochondria-OFF (mtOFF) – to understand how metabolic status impacts hypoxia resistance, a response that relies on mitochondrial function. mtOFF activation induced starvation-like behavior mediated by AMP-activated protein kinase (AMPK). We found prophylactic mtOFF activation increased survival following hypoxia, and that protection relied on neuronal AMPK. Our study links spatiotemporal control of mitochondrial PMF to cellular metabolic changes that mediate behavior and stress resistance.


1979 ◽  
Vol 180 (1) ◽  
pp. 161-174 ◽  
Author(s):  
G P Archbold ◽  
C L Farrington ◽  
S A Lappin ◽  
A M McKay ◽  
F H Malpress

1. The inference, implicit in the chemiosmotic hypothesis, that protons move into the bulk phase during ATP synthesis was investigated. 2. Incubation of rat liver mitochondria in the presence of the cation exchanger CM-Sephadex C-50 caused alkalinization in the medium, though total ATP synthesis remained unchanged. The addition of N-ethylmaleimide prevented the alkalinization, but there was still no indication of protons passing into the medium. The expected proton movement [Mitchell & Moyle (1967) Biochem. J. 105, 1147–1162] was readily detected when as an equivalent acid pulse. 3. Analysis of delta H+ decay curves after O2 pulses (3 micrograms-atoms of O/g of protein) indicated the presence of fast and slow components of decay, with first-order rate constants (k) of 0.24s-1 and 0.032s-1. The fast decay was finite and was eliminated in the presence of N-ethylmaleimide. 4. These observations are interpreted as evidence for the development of unmasking of fixed charges on the outer surface of the mitochondrial inner membrane during energization and for the existence of proton-retentive electrical fields (rho-zones) on this surface. The charge concentration is calculated as about 1 charge/10nm2. 5. A cycle of changes in a single fixed-charge molecule is proposed which mediates both Ca2+ uptake and the first step in the utilization of the rho-zone protonmotive force, delta p rho.


1997 ◽  
Vol 17 (3) ◽  
pp. 251-257 ◽  
Author(s):  
David G. Nicholls

The proton conductance of the mitochondrial inner membrane can be quantified by applying Ohm's law to the experimentally determined protonmotive force and the proton current flowing around the proton circuit in the absence of ATP synthesis or ion transport. This last parameter is derived from the rate of State 4 respiration multiplied by the H+/O stoichiometry for the substrate. When the activity of the dehydrogenase supplying electrons to the respiratory chain is progressively increased the proton conductance increases rapidly when the protonmotive force is greater than 220 mV. The consequences of this non-ohmic relationship are discussed.


2006 ◽  
Vol 26 (3) ◽  
pp. 231-243 ◽  
Author(s):  
Frances H. Blaikie ◽  
Stephanie E. Brown ◽  
Linda M. Samuelsson ◽  
Martin D. Brand ◽  
Robin A. J. Smith ◽  
...  

The protonmotive force (Δp) across the mitochondrial inner membrane drives ATP synthesis. In addition, the energy stored in Δp can be dissipated by proton leak through the inner membrane, contributing to basal metabolic rate and thermogenesis. Increasing mitochondrial proton leak pharmacologically should decrease the efficiency of oxidative phosphorylation and counteract obesity by enabling fatty acids to be oxidised with decreased ATP production. While protonophores such as 2,4-dinitrophenol (DNP) increase mitochondrial proton leak and have been used to treat obesity, a slight increase in DNP concentration above the therapeutically effective dose disrupts mitochondrial function and leads to toxicity. Therefore we set out to develop a less toxic protonophore that would increase proton leak significantly at high Δp but not at low Δp. Our design concept for a potential self-limiting protonophore was to couple the DNP moiety to the lipophilic triphenylphosphonium (TPP) cation and this was achieved by the preparation of 3-(3,5-dinitro-4-hydroxyphenyl)propyltriphenylphosphonium methanesulfonate (MitoDNP). TPP cations accumulate within mitochondria driven by the membrane potential (Δψ), the predominant component of Δp. Our hypothesis was that MitoDNP would accumulate in mitochondria at high Δψ where it would act as a protonophore, but that at lower Δψ the accumulation and uncoupling would be far less. We found that MitoDNP was extensively taken into mitochondria driven by Δψ. However MitoDNP did not uncouple mitochondria as judged by its inability to either increase respiration rate or decrease Δψ. Therefore MitoDNP did not act as a protonophore, probably because the efflux of deprotonated MitoDNP was inhibited.


1996 ◽  
Vol 318 (1) ◽  
pp. 343-349 ◽  
Author(s):  
Susan K BUCHANAN ◽  
John E. WALKER

A new chromatographic procedure has been developed for the isolation of F1Fo-ATPase and NADH:ubiquinone oxidoreductase (complex I) from a single batch of bovine heart mitochondria. The method employed dodecyl β-Δ-maltoside, a monodisperse, homogeneous detergent in which many respiratory complexes exhibit high activity, for solubilization and subsequent purification by ammonium sulphate fractionation and column chromatography. A combination of anion-exchange, gel-filtration, and dye-ligand affinity chromatography was used to purify both complexes to homogeneity. The F1Fo-ATPase preparation contains only the 16 known subunits of the enzyme. It has oligomycin-sensitive ATP hydrolysis activity and, as demonstrated elsewhere, when reconstituted into lipid vesicles it is capable of ATP-dependent proton pumping and of ATP synthesis driven by a proton gradient [Groth and Walker (1996) Biochem. J. 318, 351–357]. The complex I preparation contains all of the subunits identified in other preparations of the enzyme, and has rotenone-sensitive NADH:ubiquinone oxidoreductase and NADH:ferricyanide oxidoreductase activities. The procedure is rapid and reproducible, yielding 50–80 mg of purified F1Fo-ATPase and 20–40 mg of purified complex I from 1 g of mitochondrial membranes. Both preparations are devoid of phospholipids, and gel filtration and dynamic light scattering experiments indicate that they are monodisperse. Therefore, the preparations fulfil important prerequisites for structural analysis.


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
André F. Camargo ◽  
Sina Saari ◽  
Geovana S. Garcia ◽  
Marina M. Chioda ◽  
Murilo F. Othonicar ◽  
...  

Despite the beneficial effects shown when the mitochondrial alternative oxidase AOX from Ciona intestinalis (Tunicata: Ascidiacea) is xenotopically expressed in mammalian and insect models, important detrimental outcomes have also been reported, raising concerns regarding its envisioned deployment as a therapy enzyme for human mitochondrial and related diseases. Because of its non-proton pumping terminal oxidase activity, AOX can bypass the cytochrome c segment of the respiratory chain and alleviate the possible overload of electrons that occurs upon oxidative phosphorylation (OXPHOS) dysfunction, not contributing though to the proton-motive force needed for mitochondrial ATP synthesis. We have shown previously that AOX-expressing flies present a dramatic drop in pupal viability when the larvae are cultured on a low nutrient diet, indicating that AOX interferes with normal developmental metabolism. Here, we applied combined omics analyses to show that the interaction between low nutrient diet and AOX expression causes a general alteration of larval amino acid metabolism and lipid accumulation, which are associated with functional and morphological alterations of the larval digestive tract and with a drastic decrease in larval biomass accumulation. Pupae at the pre-lethality stage present a general downregulation of mitochondrial metabolism and a signature for starvation and deregulated signaling processes. This AOX-induced lethality is partially rescued when the low nutrient diet is supplemented with tryptophan and/or methionine. The developmental dependence on these amino acids, associated with elevated levels of lactate dehydrogenase, lactate, 2-hydroxyglutarate, choline-containing metabolites and breakdown products of membrane phospholipids, indicates that AOX expression promotes tissue proliferation and growth of the Drosophila larvae, but this is ultimately limited by energy dissipation via mitochondrial uncoupling. We speculate that the combination of diet and AOX expression may be used for the metabolic regulation of proliferative tissues, such as tumors.


2001 ◽  
Vol 114 (21) ◽  
pp. 3915-3921 ◽  
Author(s):  
Stefan J. Kerscher ◽  
Andrea Eschemann ◽  
Pamela M. Okun ◽  
Ulrich Brandt

Alternative NADH:ubiquinone oxidoreductases are single subunit enzymes capable of transferring electrons from NADH to ubiquinone without contributing to the proton gradient across the respiratory membrane. The obligately aerobic yeast Yarrowia lipolytica has only one such enzyme, encoded by the NDH2 gene and located on the external face of the mitochondrial inner membrane. In sharp contrast to ndh2 deletions, deficiencies in nuclear genes for central subunits of proton pumping NADH:ubiquinone oxidoreductases (complex I) are lethal. We have redirected NDH2 to the internal face of the mitochondrial inner membrane by N-terminally attaching the mitochondrial targeting sequence of NUAM, the largest subunit of complex I. Lethality of complex I mutations was rescued by the internal, but not the external version of alternative NADH:ubiquinone oxidoreductase. Internal NDH2 also permitted growth in the presence of complex I inhibitors such as 2-decyl-4-quinazolinyl amine (DQA). Functional expression of NDH2 on both sides of the mitochondrial inner membrane indicates that alternative NADH:ubiquinone oxidoreductase requires no additional components for catalytic activity. Our findings also demonstrate that shuttle mechanisms for the transfer of redox equivalents from the matrix to the cytosolic side of the mitochondrial inner membrane are insufficient in Y. lipolytica.


EMBO Reports ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 21 (4) ◽  
Author(s):  
Brandon J Berry ◽  
Adam J Trewin ◽  
Alexander S Milliken ◽  
Aksana Baldzizhar ◽  
Andrea M Amitrano ◽  
...  

2018 ◽  
Vol 399 (11) ◽  
pp. 1249-1264 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tomoko Ohnishi ◽  
S. Tsuyoshi Ohnishi ◽  
John C. Salerno

AbstractNADH-quinone oxidoreductase (complex I) is the largest and most complicated enzyme complex of the mitochondrial respiratory chain. It is the entry site into the respiratory chain for most of the reducing equivalents generated during metabolism, coupling electron transfer from NADH to quinone to proton translocation, which in turn drives ATP synthesis. Dysfunction of complex I is associated with neurodegenerative diseases such as Parkinson’s and Alzheimer’s, and it is proposed to be involved in aging. Complex I has one non-covalently bound FMN, eight to 10 iron-sulfur clusters, and protein-associated quinone molecules as electron transport components. Electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR) has previously been the most informative technique, especially in membranein situanalysis. The structure of complex 1 has now been resolved from a number of species, but the mechanisms by which electron transfer is coupled to transmembrane proton pumping remains unresolved. Ubiquinone-10, the terminal electron acceptor of complex I, is detectable by EPR in its one electron reduced, semiquinone (SQ) state. In the aerobic steady state of respiration the semi-ubiquinone anion has been observed and studied in detail. Two distinct protein-associated fast and slow relaxing, SQ signals have been resolved which were designated SQNfand SQNs. This review covers a five decade personal journey through the field leading to a focus on the unresolved questions of the role of the SQ radicals and their possible part in proton pumping.


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