scholarly journals The GDP-Bound State of Mitochondrial Mfn1 Induces Membrane Adhesion of Apposing Lipid Vesicles through a Cooperative Binding Mechanism

Biomolecules ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 10 (7) ◽  
pp. 1085 ◽  
Author(s):  
Andrés Tolosa-Díaz ◽  
Víctor G. Almendro-Vedia ◽  
Paolo Natale ◽  
Iván López-Montero

Mitochondria are double-membrane organelles that continuously undergo fission and fusion. Outer mitochondrial membrane fusion is mediated by the membrane proteins mitofusin 1 (Mfn1) and mitofusin 2 (Mfn2), carrying a GTP hydrolyzing domain (GTPase) and two coiled-coil repeats. The detailed mechanism on how the GTP hydrolysis allows Mfns to approach adjacent membranes into proximity and promote their fusion is currently under debate. Using model membranes built up as giant unilamellar vesicles (GUVs), we show here that Mfn1 promotes membrane adhesion of apposing lipid vesicles. The adhesion forces were sustained by the GDP-bound state of Mfn1 after GTP hydrolysis. In contrast, the incubation with the GDP:AlF 4 − , which mimics the GTP transition state, did not induce membrane adhesion. Due to the flexible nature of lipid membranes, the adhesion strength depended on the surface concentration of Mfn1 through a cooperative binding mechanism. We discuss a possible scenario for the outer mitochondrial membrane fusion based on the modulated action of Mfn1.

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jiuwei Lu ◽  
Kevin Chan ◽  
Leiye Yu ◽  
Jun Fan ◽  
Yujia Zhai ◽  
...  

ABSTRACTCardiolipin plays many important roles for mitochondrial physiological function and is synthesized from phosphatidic acid (PA) at inner mitochondrial membrane (IMM). PA synthesized from endoplasmic reticulum needs to transfer to IMM via outer mitochondrial membrane (OMM). The transfer of PA between IMM and OMM is mediated by Ups1/Mdm35 protein family. Although there are many structures of this family available, the detailed molecular mechanism of how PA is transferred between membranes is yet unknown. Here, we report another crystal structures of Ups1/Mdm35 in the authentic monomeric apo state and the DHPA bound state. By combining subsequent all-atom molecular dynamics simulations, extensive structural comparisons and biophysical assays, we discovered the conformational changes of Ups1/Mdm35, identified key structural elements and residues during membrane binding and PA entry. We found the monomeric Ups1 on membrane is an important transit for the success of PA transfer, and the equilibrium between monomeric Ups1 and Ups1/Mdm35 complex on membrane affects the PA transfer rate and can be regulated by many factors including environmental pH.


Author(s):  
Alyssa M. English ◽  
Benoît Kornmann ◽  
Janet M. Shaw ◽  
Adam L. Hughes

AbstractMitochondria are dynamic organelles with essential roles in signaling and metabolism. We recently identified a new cellular structure called the mitochondrial-derived compartment (MDC) that is generated from mitochondria in response to amino acid elevation. MDCs protect cells from amino acid toxicity, but how cells form MDCs is unclear. Here, we show that MDCs are micron-sized, lumen-containing organelles that form at sites of contact between the ER and mitochondria. Upon formation, MDCs stably persist at ER-mitochondria contacts for extended periods of time. MDC formation requires the ER-mitochondria encounter structure (ERMES) and GTP hydrolysis by the conserved GTPase Gem1. Unexpectedly, MDC formation is not linked to the role of ERMES/Gem1 in the maintenance of mitochondrial phospholipid homeostasis. Our results identify an important role for ER-mitochondria contacts in the biogenesis of MDCs.Abbreviations used in this paper: ERMES, ER-mitochondria encounter structure; IMM, inner mitochondrial membrane; MDC, mitochondrial-derived compartment; OMM, outer mitochondrial membrane.SummaryEnglish et al. use super-resolution imaging to show that mitochondrial-derived compartments are lumen-containing organelles that form at sites of contact between the ER and mitochondria. Mitochondrial-derived compartment biogenesis requires a noncanonical function of the ERMES complex and the conserved GTPase Gem1.


Author(s):  
Krishan K. Arora ◽  
Glenn L. Decker ◽  
Peter L. Pedersen

Hexokinase (ATP: D-hexose 6-phophotransferase EC 2.7.1.1) is the first enzyme of the glycolytic pathway which commits glucose to catabolism by catalyzing the phosphorylation of glucose with ATP. Previous studies have shown diat hexokinase activity is markedly elevated in rapidly growing tumor cells exhibiting high glucose catabolic rates. A large fraction (50-80%) of this enzyme activity is bound to the mitochondrial fraction (1,2) where it has preferred access to ATP (3). In contrast,the hexokinase activity of normal tissues is quite low, with one exception being brain which is a glucose-utilizing tissue (4). Biochemical evidence involving rigorous subfractionation studies have revealed striking differences between the subcellular distribution of hexokinase in normal and tumor cells [See review by Arora et al (4)].In the present report, we have utilized immunogold labeling techniques to evaluate die subcellular localization of hexokinase in highly glycolytic AS-30D hepatoma cells and in the tissue of its origin, i.e., rat liver.


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