Mitochondrial targeting of yeast apoiso-1-cytochrome c is mediated through functionally independent structural domains

1990 ◽  
Vol 10 (11) ◽  
pp. 5763-5771
Author(s):  
S H Nye ◽  
R C Scarpulla
Keyword(s):  
Cytochrome C ◽  
Mitochondrial Membrane ◽  
Structural Information ◽  
Alpha Helix ◽  
Initial Step ◽  
Intermembrane Space ◽  
Mitochondrial Targeting ◽  
Structural Determinants ◽  
Amino Terminal

An iso-1-cytochrome c-chloramphenicol acetyltransferase fusion protein (iso-1/CAT) was expressed in Saccharomyces cerevisiae and used to delineate two stages in the cytochrome c import pathway in vivo (S. H. Nye and R. C. Scarpulla, Mol. Cell. Biol. 10:5753-5762, 1990 [this issue]). Fusion proteins with the CAT reporter domain in its native conformation were arrested at the initial stage of mitochondrial membrane recognition and insertion. In contrast, those with a deletional disruption of the CAT moiety were relieved of this block and allowed to translocate to the intermembrane space, where they functioned in respiratory electron transfer. In the present study, iso-1/CAT was used to map structural determinants in apoiso-1-cytochrome c involved in the initial step of targeting to the mitochondrial membrane. Carboxy-terminal deletions revealed that one of these determinants consisted of the amino-terminal 68 residues. Deletion mutations either within or at the ends of this determinant destroyed mitochondrial targeting activity, suggesting that functionally important information spans the length of this fragment. Disruption of an alpha-helix near the amino terminus by a helix-breaking proline substitution for leucine 14 also eliminated the targeting activity of the 1 to 68 determinant, suggesting a contribution from this structure. A second, functionally independent targeting determinant was found in the carboxy half of the apoprotein between residues 68 and 85. This determinant coincided with a stretch of 11 residues that are invariant in nearly 100 eucaryotic cytochromes c. Therefore, in lieu of an amino-terminal presequence, apocytochrome c has redundant structural information located in both the amino and carboxy halves of the molecule that can function independently to specify mitochondrial targeting and membrane insertion in vivo.

scholarly journals Mitochondrial targeting of yeast apoiso-1-cytochrome c is mediated through functionally independent structural domains.

1990 ◽  
Vol 10 (11) ◽  
pp. 5763-5771 ◽  
Author(s):  
S H Nye ◽  
R C Scarpulla
Keyword(s):  
Cytochrome C ◽  
Mitochondrial Membrane ◽  
Structural Information ◽  
Alpha Helix ◽  
Initial Step ◽  
Intermembrane Space ◽  
Mitochondrial Targeting ◽  
Structural Determinants ◽  
Amino Terminal

An iso-1-cytochrome c-chloramphenicol acetyltransferase fusion protein (iso-1/CAT) was expressed in Saccharomyces cerevisiae and used to delineate two stages in the cytochrome c import pathway in vivo (S. H. Nye and R. C. Scarpulla, Mol. Cell. Biol. 10:5753-5762, 1990 [this issue]). Fusion proteins with the CAT reporter domain in its native conformation were arrested at the initial stage of mitochondrial membrane recognition and insertion. In contrast, those with a deletional disruption of the CAT moiety were relieved of this block and allowed to translocate to the intermembrane space, where they functioned in respiratory electron transfer. In the present study, iso-1/CAT was used to map structural determinants in apoiso-1-cytochrome c involved in the initial step of targeting to the mitochondrial membrane. Carboxy-terminal deletions revealed that one of these determinants consisted of the amino-terminal 68 residues. Deletion mutations either within or at the ends of this determinant destroyed mitochondrial targeting activity, suggesting that functionally important information spans the length of this fragment. Disruption of an alpha-helix near the amino terminus by a helix-breaking proline substitution for leucine 14 also eliminated the targeting activity of the 1 to 68 determinant, suggesting a contribution from this structure. A second, functionally independent targeting determinant was found in the carboxy half of the apoprotein between residues 68 and 85. This determinant coincided with a stretch of 11 residues that are invariant in nearly 100 eucaryotic cytochromes c. Therefore, in lieu of an amino-terminal presequence, apocytochrome c has redundant structural information located in both the amino and carboxy halves of the molecule that can function independently to specify mitochondrial targeting and membrane insertion in vivo.

scholarly journals Role of cytochrome c heme lyase in mitochondrial import and accumulation of cytochrome c in Saccharomyces cerevisiae.

1991 ◽  
Vol 11 (11) ◽  
pp. 5487-5496 ◽  
Author(s):  
M E Dumont ◽  
T S Cardillo ◽  
M K Hayes ◽  
F Sherman
Keyword(s):  
Saccharomyces Cerevisiae ◽  
Cytochrome C ◽  
Mitochondrial Membrane ◽  
Intermembrane Space ◽  
Inner Mitochondrial Membrane ◽  
Yeast Saccharomyces Cerevisiae ◽  
Apocytochrome C ◽  
Cytochrome C Heme Lyase

Heme is covalently attached to cytochrome c by the enzyme cytochrome c heme lyase. To test whether heme attachment is required for import of cytochrome c into mitochondria in vivo, antibodies to cytochrome c have been used to assay the distributions of apo- and holocytochromes c in the cytoplasm and mitochondria from various strains of the yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae. Strains lacking heme lyase accumulate apocytochrome c in the cytoplasm. Similar cytoplasmic accumulation is observed for an altered apocytochrome c in which serine residues were substituted for the two cysteine residues that normally serve as sites of heme attachment, even in the presence of normal levels of heme lyase. However, detectable amounts of this altered apocytochrome c are also found inside mitochondria. The level of internalized altered apocytochrome c is decreased in a strain that completely lacks heme lyase and is greatly increased in a strain that overexpresses heme lyase. Antibodies recognizing heme lyase were used to demonstrate that the enzyme is found on the outer surface of the inner mitochondrial membrane and is not enriched at sites of contact between the inner and outer mitochondrial membranes. These results suggest that apocytochrome c is transported across the outer mitochondrial membrane by a freely reversible process, binds to heme lyase in the intermembrane space, and is then trapped inside mitochondria by an irreversible conversion to holocytochrome c accompanied by folding to the native conformation. Altered apocytochrome c lacking the ability to have heme covalently attached accumulates in mitochondria only to the extent that it remains bound to heme lyase.

scholarly journals In vivo expression and mitochondrial targeting of yeast apoiso-1-cytochrome c fusion proteins.

1990 ◽  
Vol 10 (11) ◽  
pp. 5753-5762 ◽  
Author(s):  
S H Nye ◽  
R C Scarpulla
Keyword(s):  
Saccharomyces Cerevisiae ◽  
Cytochrome C ◽  
Fusion Proteins ◽  
Intermembrane Space ◽  
Heme Binding ◽  
Mitochondrial Targeting ◽  
Carboxy Terminus ◽  
Coding Region ◽  
Respiratory Growth

To define the import pathway for apoiso-1-cytochrome c in vivo, the coding region for bacterial chloramphenicol acetyltransferase (CAT) or yeast copper metallothionein (CuMT) was fused to the carboxy terminus of the apoiso-1-cytochrome c (iso-1) coding region. When the resulting iso-1/CAT and iso-1/CuMT fusion proteins were individually expressed in Saccharomyces cerevisiae, they were specifically targeted to the mitochondria and protected from trypsin digestion. Although iso-1/CAT was accessible to heme modification, it remained membrane associated because of the folded conformation of the CAT domain. A small deletion disrupting CAT structure resulted in the translocation of the resulting fusion protein, iso-1/CAT delta, to the intermembrane space, where it functioned efficiently in respiratory electron transfer. Similarly, iso-1/CuMT was heme modified and nearly identical to iso-1 in its ability to support respiratory growth, indicating that the CuMT domain was compatible with translocation to the IMS. Inclusion of copper in the growth medium, which converts the loosely structured apo-CuMT to a tightly folded holo-CuMT, inhibited both heme attachment and respiratory growth without affecting mitochondrial targeting. Thus, by altering the folded conformation of the reporter moiety of these fusion proteins, it was possible to differentiate between those molecules arrested at the mitochondrial targeting step of the cytochrome c import pathway and those translocated to the intermembrane space. By replacing the heme-binding cysteine residues with serines, this system was used to demonstrate that the import requirement for heme attachment operated at the level of membrane translocation and not on mitochondrial targeting in vivo.

Role of cytochrome c heme lyase in mitochondrial import and accumulation of cytochrome c in Saccharomyces cerevisiae

1991 ◽  
Vol 11 (11) ◽  
pp. 5487-5496
Author(s):  
M E Dumont ◽  
T S Cardillo ◽  
M K Hayes ◽  
F Sherman
Keyword(s):  
Saccharomyces Cerevisiae ◽  
Cytochrome C ◽  
Mitochondrial Membrane ◽  
Intermembrane Space ◽  
Inner Mitochondrial Membrane ◽  
Yeast Saccharomyces Cerevisiae ◽  
Apocytochrome C ◽  
Cytochrome C Heme Lyase

Heme is covalently attached to cytochrome c by the enzyme cytochrome c heme lyase. To test whether heme attachment is required for import of cytochrome c into mitochondria in vivo, antibodies to cytochrome c have been used to assay the distributions of apo- and holocytochromes c in the cytoplasm and mitochondria from various strains of the yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae. Strains lacking heme lyase accumulate apocytochrome c in the cytoplasm. Similar cytoplasmic accumulation is observed for an altered apocytochrome c in which serine residues were substituted for the two cysteine residues that normally serve as sites of heme attachment, even in the presence of normal levels of heme lyase. However, detectable amounts of this altered apocytochrome c are also found inside mitochondria. The level of internalized altered apocytochrome c is decreased in a strain that completely lacks heme lyase and is greatly increased in a strain that overexpresses heme lyase. Antibodies recognizing heme lyase were used to demonstrate that the enzyme is found on the outer surface of the inner mitochondrial membrane and is not enriched at sites of contact between the inner and outer mitochondrial membranes. These results suggest that apocytochrome c is transported across the outer mitochondrial membrane by a freely reversible process, binds to heme lyase in the intermembrane space, and is then trapped inside mitochondria by an irreversible conversion to holocytochrome c accompanied by folding to the native conformation. Altered apocytochrome c lacking the ability to have heme covalently attached accumulates in mitochondria only to the extent that it remains bound to heme lyase.

In vivo expression and mitochondrial targeting of yeast apoiso-1-cytochrome c fusion proteins

1990 ◽  
Vol 10 (11) ◽  
pp. 5753-5762
Author(s):  
S H Nye ◽  
R C Scarpulla
Keyword(s):  
Saccharomyces Cerevisiae ◽  
Cytochrome C ◽  
Fusion Proteins ◽  
Intermembrane Space ◽  
Heme Binding ◽  
Mitochondrial Targeting ◽  
Carboxy Terminus ◽  
Coding Region ◽  
Respiratory Growth

To define the import pathway for apoiso-1-cytochrome c in vivo, the coding region for bacterial chloramphenicol acetyltransferase (CAT) or yeast copper metallothionein (CuMT) was fused to the carboxy terminus of the apoiso-1-cytochrome c (iso-1) coding region. When the resulting iso-1/CAT and iso-1/CuMT fusion proteins were individually expressed in Saccharomyces cerevisiae, they were specifically targeted to the mitochondria and protected from trypsin digestion. Although iso-1/CAT was accessible to heme modification, it remained membrane associated because of the folded conformation of the CAT domain. A small deletion disrupting CAT structure resulted in the translocation of the resulting fusion protein, iso-1/CAT delta, to the intermembrane space, where it functioned efficiently in respiratory electron transfer. Similarly, iso-1/CuMT was heme modified and nearly identical to iso-1 in its ability to support respiratory growth, indicating that the CuMT domain was compatible with translocation to the IMS. Inclusion of copper in the growth medium, which converts the loosely structured apo-CuMT to a tightly folded holo-CuMT, inhibited both heme attachment and respiratory growth without affecting mitochondrial targeting. Thus, by altering the folded conformation of the reporter moiety of these fusion proteins, it was possible to differentiate between those molecules arrested at the mitochondrial targeting step of the cytochrome c import pathway and those translocated to the intermembrane space. By replacing the heme-binding cysteine residues with serines, this system was used to demonstrate that the import requirement for heme attachment operated at the level of membrane translocation and not on mitochondrial targeting in vivo.

scholarly journals A discrete pathway for the transfer of intermembrane space proteins across the outer membrane of mitochondria

2014 ◽  
Vol 25 (25) ◽  
pp. 3999-4009 ◽  
Author(s):  
Agnieszka Gornicka ◽  
Piotr Bragoszewski ◽  
Piotr Chroscicki ◽  
Lena-Sophie Wenz ◽  
Christian Schulz ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Outer Membrane ◽  
Mitochondrial Membrane ◽  
Alternative Pathway ◽  
Intermembrane Space ◽  
Outer Mitochondrial Membrane ◽  
Membrane Translocation ◽  
Tom Complex ◽  
Precursor Proteins ◽  
Core Components

Mitochondrial proteins are synthesized on cytosolic ribosomes and imported into mitochondria with the help of protein translocases. For the majority of precursor proteins, the role of the translocase of the outer membrane (TOM) and mechanisms of their transport across the outer mitochondrial membrane are well recognized. However, little is known about the mode of membrane translocation for proteins that are targeted to the intermembrane space via the redox-driven mitochondrial intermembrane space import and assembly (MIA) pathway. On the basis of the results obtained from an in organello competition import assay, we hypothesized that MIA-dependent precursor proteins use an alternative pathway to cross the outer mitochondrial membrane. Here we demonstrate that this alternative pathway involves the protein channel formed by Tom40. We sought a translocation intermediate by expressing tagged versions of MIA-dependent proteins in vivo. We identified a transient interaction between our model substrates and Tom40. Of interest, outer membrane translocation did not directly involve other core components of the TOM complex, including Tom22. Thus MIA-dependent proteins take another route across the outer mitochondrial membrane that involves Tom40 in a form that is different from the canonical TOM complex.

Dynamic organization of the mitochondrial protein import machinery

2016 ◽  
Vol 397 (11) ◽  
pp. 1097-1114 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sebastian P. Straub ◽  
Sebastian B. Stiller ◽  
Nils Wiedemann ◽  
Nikolaus Pfanner
Keyword(s):  
Mitochondrial Membrane ◽  
Protein Import ◽  
Mitochondrial Protein ◽  
Membrane Dynamics ◽  
Intermembrane Space ◽  
Mitochondrial Protein Import ◽  
Precursor Proteins ◽  
Dynamic Cooperation

Abstract Mitochondria contain elaborate machineries for the import of precursor proteins from the cytosol. The translocase of the outer mitochondrial membrane (TOM) performs the initial import of precursor proteins and transfers the precursors to downstream translocases, including the presequence translocase and the carrier translocase of the inner membrane, the mitochondrial import and assembly machinery of the intermembrane space, and the sorting and assembly machinery of the outer membrane. Although the protein translocases can function as separate entities in vitro, recent studies revealed a close and dynamic cooperation of the protein import machineries to facilitate efficient transfer of precursor proteins in vivo. In addition, protein translocases were found to transiently interact with distinct machineries that function in the respiratory chain or in the maintenance of mitochondrial membrane architecture. Mitochondrial protein import is embedded in a regulatory network that ensures protein biogenesis, membrane dynamics, bioenergetic activity and quality control.

scholarly journals Neuroprotective Role of the Reaper-Related Serine Protease HtrA2/Omi Revealed by Targeted Deletion in Mice

2004 ◽  
Vol 24 (22) ◽  
pp. 9848-9862 ◽  
Author(s):  
L. Miguel Martins ◽  
Alastair Morrison ◽  
Kristina Klupsch ◽  
Valentina Fedele ◽  
Nicoleta Moisoi ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Cell Death ◽  
Serine Protease ◽  
Neurodegenerative Disorder ◽  
Binding Motif ◽  
Intermembrane Space ◽  
Targeted Deletion ◽  
Amino Terminal ◽  
Its Gene ◽  
Mitochondrial Intermembrane Space

ABSTRACT The serine protease HtrA2/Omi is released from the mitochondrial intermembrane space following apoptotic stimuli. Once in the cytosol, HtrA2/Omi has been implicated in promoting cell death by binding to inhibitor of apoptosis proteins (IAPs) via its amino-terminal Reaper-related motif, thus inducing caspase activity, and also in mediating caspase-independent death through its own protease activity. We report here the phenotype of mice entirely lacking expression of HtrA2/Omi due to targeted deletion of its gene, Prss25. These animals, or cells derived from them, show no evidence of reduced rates of cell death but on the contrary suffer loss of a population of neurons in the striatum, resulting in a neurodegenerative disorder with a parkinsonian phenotype that leads to death of the mice around 30 days after birth. The phenotype of these mice suggests that it is the protease function of this protein and not its IAP binding motif that is critical. This conclusion is reinforced by the finding that simultaneous deletion of the other major IAP binding protein, Smac/DIABLO, does not obviously alter the phenotype of HtrA2/Omi knockout mice or cells derived from them. Mammalian HtrA2/Omi is therefore likely to function in vivo in a manner similar to that of its bacterial homologues DegS and DegP, which are involved in protection against cell stress, and not like the proapoptotic Reaper family proteins in Drosophila melanogaster.

scholarly journals Mitochondrial COA7 is a heme-binding protein involved in the early stages of complex IV assembly.

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Luke E Formosa ◽  
Shadi Maghool ◽  
Alice J. Sharpe ◽  
Boris Reljic ◽  
Linden Muellner-Wong ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Cytochrome C ◽  
Cytochrome C Oxidase ◽  
Disulfide Bonds ◽  
Initial Step ◽  
Intermembrane Space ◽  
Heme Binding ◽  
Complex Iv ◽  
Assembly Factor ◽  
Mitochondrial Intermembrane Space ◽  
Methionine Residues

Cytochrome c oxidase assembly factor 7 (COA7) is a metazoan-specific assembly factor, critical for the biogenesis of mitochondrial complex IV (cytochrome c oxidase). Although mutations in COA7 have been linked in patients to complex IV assembly defects and neurological conditions such as peripheral neuropathy, ataxia and leukoencephalopathy, the precise role COA7 plays in the biogenesis of complex IV is not known. Here we show that the absence of COA7 leads to arrest of the complex IV assembly pathway at the initial step where the COX1 module is built, which requires incorporation of copper and heme cofactors. In solution, purified COA7 binds heme with micromolar affinity, through axial ligation to the central iron atom by histidine and methionine residues. Surprisingly, the crystal structure of COA7, determined to 2.4 angstroms resolution, reveals a banana-shaped molecule composed of five helix-turn-helix repeats, tethered by disulfide bonds, with a structure entirely distinct from proteins with characterized heme binding activities. We therefore propose a role for COA7 in heme binding/chaperoning in the mitochondrial intermembrane space, this activity being crucial for and providing a missing link in complex IV biogenesis.

scholarly journals Lysosomes and Fas-mediated liver cell death

2007 ◽  
Vol 403 (1) ◽  
pp. 89-95 ◽  
Author(s):  
Robert Wattiaux ◽  
Simone Wattiaux-De Coninck ◽  
Jacqueline Thirion ◽  
Mańe-Christine Gasingirwa ◽  
Michel Jadot
Keyword(s):  
Cell Death ◽  
Cytochrome C ◽  
Caspase 3 ◽  
Ex Vivo ◽  
Jurkat Cells ◽  
Intermembrane Space ◽  
Lysosomal Hydrolases ◽  
Cytochrome C Reductase ◽  
Effector Caspases

A number of studies, mostly performed ex vivo, suggest that lysosomes are involved in apoptosis as a result of a release of their cathepsins into the cytosol. These enzymes could then contribute to the permeabilization of the outer mitochondrial membrane; they could also activate effector caspases. The present study aims at testing whether the membrane of liver lysosomes is disrupted during Fas-mediated cell death of hepatocytes in vivo, a process implicated in several liver pathologies. Apoptosis was induced by injecting mice with aFas (anti-Fas antibody). The state of lysosomes was assessed by determining the proportion of lysosomal enzymes (β-galactosidase, β-glucuronidase, cathepsin C and cathepsin B) present in homogenate supernatants, devoid of intact lysosomes, and by analysing the behaviour in differential and isopycnic centrifugation of β-galactosidase. Apoptosis was monitored by measuring caspase 3 activity (DEVDase) and the release of sulfite cytochrome c reductase, an enzyme located in the mitochondrial intermembrane space. Results show that an injection of 10 μg of aFas causes a rapid and large increase in DEVDase activity and in unsedimentable sulfite cytochrome c reductase. This modifies neither the proportion of unsedimentable lysosomal enzyme in the homogenates nor the behaviour of lysosomes in centrifugation. Experiments performed with a lower dose of aFas (5 μg) indicate that unsedimentable lysosomal hydrolase activity increases in the homogenate after injection but with a marked delay with respect to the increase in DEVDase activity and in unsedimentable sulfite cytochrome c reductase. Comparative experiments ex vivo performed with Jurkat cells show an increase in unsedimentable lysosomal hydrolases, but much later than caspase 3 activation, and a release of dipeptidyl peptidase III and DEVDase into culture medium. It is proposed that the weakening of lysosomes observed after aFas treatment in vivo and ex vivo results from a necrotic process that takes place late after initiation of apoptosis.

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