Oxidative folding: recent developments

2011 ◽  
Vol 2 (5) ◽  
pp. 379-390 ◽  
Author(s):  
András Szarka ◽  
Gábor Bánhegyi

AbstractDisulfide bond formation in proteins is an effective tool of both structure stabilization and redox regulation. The prokaryotic periplasm and the endoplasmic reticulum of eukaryotes were long considered as the only compartments for enzyme mediated formation of stable disulfide bonds. Recently, the mitochondrial intermembrane space has emerged as the third protein-oxidizing compartment. The classic view on the mechanism of oxidative folding in the endoplasmic reticulum has also been reshaped by new observations. Moreover, besides the structure stabilizing function, reversible disulfide bridge formation in some proteins of the endoplasmic reticulum, seems to play a regulatory role. This review briefly summarizes the present knowledge of the redox systems supporting oxidative folding, emphasizing recent developments.

2013 ◽  
Vol 24 (5) ◽  
pp. 543-554 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lidia Wrobel ◽  
Agata Trojanowska ◽  
Malgorzata E. Sztolsztener ◽  
Agnieszka Chacinska

The mitochondrial intermembrane space assembly (MIA) pathway is generally considered to be dedicated to the redox-dependent import and biogenesis of proteins localized to the intermembrane space of mitochondria. The oxidoreductase Mia40 is a central component of the pathway responsible for the transfer of disulfide bonds to intermembrane space precursor proteins, causing their oxidative folding. Here we present the first evidence that the function of Mia40 is not restricted to the transport and oxidative folding of intermembrane space proteins. We identify Tim22, a multispanning membrane protein and core component of the TIM22 translocase of inner membrane, as a protein with cysteine residues undergoing oxidation during Tim22 biogenesis. We show that Mia40 is involved in the biogenesis and complex assembly of Tim22. Tim22 forms a disulfide-bonded intermediate with Mia40 upon import into mitochondria. Of interest, Mia40 binds the Tim22 precursor also via noncovalent interactions. We propose that Mia40 not only is responsible for disulfide bond formation, but also assists the Tim22 protein in its integration into the inner membrane of mitochondria.


2008 ◽  
Vol 411 (1) ◽  
pp. 115-122 ◽  
Author(s):  
Bruce Morgan ◽  
Hui Lu

All small Tim proteins of the mitochondrial intermembrane space contain two conserved CX3C motifs, which form two intramolecular disulfide bonds essential for function, but only the cysteine-reduced, but not oxidized, proteins can be imported into mitochondria. We have shown that Tim10 can be oxidized by glutathione under cytosolic concentrations. However, it was unknown whether oxidative folding of other small Tims can occur under similar conditions and whether oxidative folding competes kinetically with mitochondrial import. In the present study, the effect of glutathione on the cysteine-redox state of Tim9 was investigated, and the standard redox potential of Tim9 was determined to be approx. −0.31 V at pH 7.4 and 25 °C with both the wild-type and Tim9F43W mutant proteins, using reverse-phase HPLC and fluorescence approaches. The results show that reduced Tim9 can be oxidized by glutathione under cytosolic concentrations. Next, we studied the rate of mitochondrial import and oxidative folding of Tim9 under identical conditions. The rate of import was approx. 3-fold slower than that of oxidative folding of Tim9, resulting in approx. 20% of the precursor protein being imported into an excess amount of mitochondria. A similar correlation between import and oxidative folding was obtained for Tim10. Therefore we conclude that oxidative folding and mitochondrial import are kinetically competitive processes. The efficiency of mitochondrial import of the small Tim proteins is controlled, at least partially in vitro, by the rate of oxidative folding, suggesting that a cofactor is required to stabilize the cysteine residues of the precursors from oxidation in vivo.


2012 ◽  
Vol 23 (20) ◽  
pp. 3957-3969 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lena Böttinger ◽  
Agnieszka Gornicka ◽  
Tomasz Czerwik ◽  
Piotr Bragoszewski ◽  
Adrianna Loniewska-Lwowska ◽  
...  

The intermembrane space of mitochondria accommodates the essential mitochondrial intermembrane space assembly (MIA) machinery that catalyzes oxidative folding of proteins. The disulfide bond formation pathway is based on a relay of reactions involving disulfide transfer from the sulfhydryl oxidase Erv1 to Mia40 and from Mia40 to substrate proteins. However, the substrates of the MIA typically contain two disulfide bonds. It was unclear what the mechanisms are that ensure that proteins are released from Mia40 in a fully oxidized form. In this work, we dissect the stage of the oxidative folding relay, in which Mia40 binds to its substrate. We identify dynamics of the Mia40–substrate intermediate complex. Our experiments performed in a native environment, both in organello and in vivo, show that Erv1 directly participates in Mia40–substrate complex dynamics by forming a ternary complex. Thus Mia40 in cooperation with Erv1 promotes the formation of two disulfide bonds in the substrate protein, ensuring the efficiency of oxidative folding in the intermembrane space of mitochondria.


2009 ◽  
Vol 20 (15) ◽  
pp. 3481-3490 ◽  
Author(s):  
Heather L. Tienson ◽  
Deepa V. Dabir ◽  
Sonya E. Neal ◽  
Rachel Loo ◽  
Samuel A. Hasson ◽  
...  

Mia40 and Erv1 execute a disulfide relay to import the small Tim proteins into the mitochondrial intermembrane space. Here, we have reconstituted the oxidative folding pathway in vitro with Tim13 as a substrate and determined the midpoint potentials of Mia40 and Tim13. Specifically, Mia40 served as a direct oxidant of Tim13, and Erv1 was required to reoxidize Mia40. During oxidation, four electrons were transferred from Tim13 with the insertion of two disulfide bonds in succession. The extent of Tim13 oxidation was directly dependent on Mia40 concentration and independent of Erv1 concentration. Characterization of the midpoint potentials showed that electrons flowed from Tim13 with a more negative midpoint potential of −310 mV via Mia40 with an intermediate midpoint potential of −290 mV to the C130-C133 pair of Erv1 with a positive midpoint potential of −150 mV. Intermediary complexes between Tim13-Mia40 and Mia40-Erv1 were trapped. Last, mutating C133 of the catalytic C130-C133 pair or C30 of the shuttle C30-C33 pair in Erv1 abolished oxidation of Tim13, whereas mutating the cysteines in the redox-active CPC motif, but not the structural disulfide linkages of the CX9C motif of Mia40, prevented Tim13 oxidation. Thus, we demonstrate that Mia40, Erv1, and oxygen are the minimal machinery for Tim13 oxidation.


2014 ◽  
Vol 289 (14) ◽  
pp. 9852-9864 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hugo Fraga ◽  
Joan-Josep Bech-Serra ◽  
Francesc Canals ◽  
Gabriel Ortega ◽  
Oscar Millet ◽  
...  

eLife ◽  
2016 ◽  
Vol 5 ◽  
Author(s):  
Valentina Peleh ◽  
Emmanuelle Cordat ◽  
Johannes M Herrmann

Many proteins of the mitochondrial IMS contain conserved cysteines that are oxidized to disulfide bonds during their import. The conserved IMS protein Mia40 is essential for the oxidation and import of these proteins. Mia40 consists of two functional elements: an N-terminal cysteine-proline-cysteine motif conferring substrate oxidation, and a C-terminal hydrophobic pocket for substrate binding. In this study, we generated yeast mutants to dissect both Mia40 activities genetically and biochemically. Thereby we show that the substrate-binding domain of Mia40 is both necessary and sufficient to promote protein import, indicating that trapping by Mia40 drives protein translocation. An oxidase-deficient Mia40 mutant is inviable, but can be partially rescued by the addition of the chemical oxidant diamide. Our results indicate that Mia40 predominantly serves as a trans-site receptor of mitochondria that binds incoming proteins via hydrophobic interactions thereby mediating protein translocation across the outer membrane by a ‘holding trap’ rather than a ‘folding trap’ mechanism.


2010 ◽  
Vol 1797 ◽  
pp. 107
Author(s):  
Judith M. Müller ◽  
Dusanka Milenkovic ◽  
Diana Stojanovski ◽  
Lena Böttinger ◽  
Thomas Ramming ◽  
...  

2016 ◽  
Vol 473 (19) ◽  
pp. 3205-3219 ◽  
Author(s):  
Elena Butturini ◽  
Giovanni Gotte ◽  
Daniele Dell'Orco ◽  
Giulia Chiavegato ◽  
Valerio Marino ◽  
...  

Signal transducer and activator of transcription 3 (STAT3) is a transcription factor activated by the phosphorylation of tyrosine 705 in response to many cytokines and growth factors. Recently, the roles for unphosphorylated STAT3 (U-STAT3) have been described in response to cytokine stimulation, in cancers, and in the maintenance of heterochromatin stability. It has been reported that U-STAT3 dimerizes, shuttles between the cytoplasm and nucleus, and binds to DNA, thereby driving genes transcription. Although many reports describe the active role of U-STAT3 in oncogenesis in addition to phosphorylated STAT3, the U-STAT3 functional pathway remains elusive. In this report, we describe the molecular mechanism of U-STAT3 dimerization, and we identify the presence of two intermolecular disulfide bridges between Cys367 and Cys542 and Cys418 and Cys426, respectively. Recently, we reported that the same cysteines contribute to the redox regulation of STAT3 signaling pathway both in vitro and in vivo. The presence of these disulfides is here demonstrated to largely contribute to the structure and the stability of U-STAT3 dimer as the dimeric form rapidly dissociates upon reduction in the S–S bonds. In particular, the Cys367–Cys542 disulfide bridge is shown to be critical for U-STAT3 DNA-binding activity. Mutation of the two Cys residues completely abolishes the DNA-binding capability of U-STAT3. Spectroscopic investigations confirm that the noncovalent interactions are sufficient for proper folding and dimer formation, but that the interchain disulfide bonds are crucial to preserve the functional dimer. Finally, we propose a reaction scheme of U-STAT3 dimerization with a first common step followed by stabilization through the formation of interchain disulfide bonds.


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