scholarly journals ­­Mitochondrial ATP synthase dimers spontaneously associate due to a long-range membrane-induced force­

2018 ◽  
Vol 150 (5) ◽  
pp. 763-770 ◽  
Author(s):  
Claudio Anselmi ◽  
Karen M. Davies ◽  
José D. Faraldo-Gómez

Adenosine triphosphate (ATP) synthases populate the inner membranes of mitochondria, where they produce the majority of the ATP required by the cell. From yeast to vertebrates, cryoelectron tomograms of these membranes have consistently revealed a very precise organization of these enzymes. Rather than being scattered throughout the membrane, the ATP synthases form dimers, and these dimers are organized into rows that extend for hundreds of nanometers. The rows are only observed in the membrane invaginations known as cristae, specifically along their sharply curved edges. Although the presence of these macromolecular structures has been irrefutably linked to the proper development of cristae morphology, it has been unclear what drives the formation of the rows and why they are specifically localized in the cristae. In this study, we present a quantitative molecular-simulation analysis that strongly suggests that the dimers of ATP synthases organize into rows spontaneously, driven by a long-range attractive force that arises from the relief of the overall elastic strain of the membrane. The strain is caused by the V-like shape of the dimers, unique among membrane protein complexes, which induces a strong deformation in the surrounding membrane. The process of row formation is therefore not a result of direct protein–protein interactions or a specific lipid composition of the membrane. We further hypothesize that, once assembled, the ATP synthase dimer rows prime the inner mitochondrial membrane to develop folds and invaginations by causing macroscopic membrane ridges that ultimately become the edges of cristae. In this way, mitochondrial ATP synthases would contribute to the generation of a morphology that maximizes the surface area of the inner membrane, and thus ATP production. Finally, we outline key experiments that would be required to verify or refute this hypothesis.

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Claudio Anselmi ◽  
Karen M. Davies ◽  
José D. Faraldo-Gómez

AbstractATP synthases populate the inner membranes of mitochondria, where they produce the majority of the ATP required by the cell. Cryo-electron tomograms of these membranes from yeast to vertebrates have consistently revealed a very precise organization of these enzymes. Rather than being scattered throughout the membrane, the ATP synthases form dimers, and these dimers are organized into rows that extend for hundreds of nanometers. These rows are only observed in the membrane invaginations known as cristae, specifically along their sharply curved edges. Although the presence of these macromolecular structures has been irrefutably linked to the proper development of cristae morphology, it has been unclear what drives the formation of the rows and why they are specifically localized in the cristae. We present the result of a quantitative molecular-simulation analysis that strongly suggests that the ATP synthase dimers organize into rows spontaneously, driven by a long-ranged attractive force that results from relief in the overall elastic strain of the membrane. This strain is caused by the V-like shape of the dimers, unique among membrane-protein complexes, which induces a strong deformation in the surrounding membrane. The process of row formation is therefore not a result of protein-protein interactions, or of a specific lipid composition of the membrane. We further hypothesize that once assembled, the ATP synthase dimer rows prime the inner mitochondrial membrane to develop folds and invaginations, by causing macroscopic membrane ridges that ultimately become the cristae edges. In this view, mitochondrial ATP synthases would contribute to the generation of a morphology that maximizes the surface area of the inner membrane, and thus ATP production. Finally, we outline the key experiments that would be required to verify or refute this hypothesis.


Cells ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 10 (2) ◽  
pp. 197
Author(s):  
Stephanie Gladyck ◽  
Siddhesh Aras ◽  
Maik Hüttemann ◽  
Lawrence I. Grossman

Oxidative phosphorylation is a tightly regulated process in mammals that takes place in and across the inner mitochondrial membrane and consists of the electron transport chain and ATP synthase. Complex IV, or cytochrome c oxidase (COX), is the terminal enzyme of the electron transport chain, responsible for accepting electrons from cytochrome c, pumping protons to contribute to the gradient utilized by ATP synthase to produce ATP, and reducing oxygen to water. As such, COX is tightly regulated through numerous mechanisms including protein–protein interactions. The twin CX9C family of proteins has recently been shown to be involved in COX regulation by assisting with complex assembly, biogenesis, and activity. The twin CX9C motif allows for the import of these proteins into the intermembrane space of the mitochondria using the redox import machinery of Mia40/CHCHD4. Studies have shown that knockdown of the proteins discussed in this review results in decreased or completely deficient aerobic respiration in experimental models ranging from yeast to human cells, as the proteins are conserved across species. This article highlights and discusses the importance of COX regulation by twin CX9C proteins in the mitochondria via COX assembly and control of its activity through protein–protein interactions, which is further modulated by cell signaling pathways. Interestingly, select members of the CX9C protein family, including MNRR1 and CHCHD10, show a novel feature in that they not only localize to the mitochondria but also to the nucleus, where they mediate oxygen- and stress-induced transcriptional regulation, opening a new view of mitochondrial-nuclear crosstalk and its involvement in human disease.


2019 ◽  
Vol 26 (21) ◽  
pp. 3890-3910 ◽  
Author(s):  
Branislava Gemovic ◽  
Neven Sumonja ◽  
Radoslav Davidovic ◽  
Vladimir Perovic ◽  
Nevena Veljkovic

Background: The significant number of protein-protein interactions (PPIs) discovered by harnessing concomitant advances in the fields of sequencing, crystallography, spectrometry and two-hybrid screening suggests astonishing prospects for remodelling drug discovery. The PPI space which includes up to 650 000 entities is a remarkable reservoir of potential therapeutic targets for every human disease. In order to allow modern drug discovery programs to leverage this, we should be able to discern complete PPI maps associated with a specific disorder and corresponding normal physiology. Objective: Here, we will review community available computational programs for predicting PPIs and web-based resources for storing experimentally annotated interactions. Methods: We compared the capacities of prediction tools: iLoops, Struck2Net, HOMCOS, COTH, PrePPI, InterPreTS and PRISM to predict recently discovered protein interactions. Results: We described sequence-based and structure-based PPI prediction tools and addressed their peculiarities. Additionally, since the usefulness of prediction algorithms critically depends on the quality and quantity of the experimental data they are built on; we extensively discussed community resources for protein interactions. We focused on the active and recently updated primary and secondary PPI databases, repositories specialized to the subject or species, as well as databases that include both experimental and predicted PPIs. Conclusion: PPI complexes are the basis of important physiological processes and therefore, possible targets for cell-penetrating ligands. Reliable computational PPI predictions can speed up new target discoveries through prioritization of therapeutically relevant protein–protein complexes for experimental studies.


2020 ◽  
Vol 27 (37) ◽  
pp. 6306-6355 ◽  
Author(s):  
Marian Vincenzi ◽  
Flavia Anna Mercurio ◽  
Marilisa Leone

Background:: Many pathways regarding healthy cells and/or linked to diseases onset and progression depend on large assemblies including multi-protein complexes. Protein-protein interactions may occur through a vast array of modules known as protein interaction domains (PIDs). Objective:: This review concerns with PIDs recognizing post-translationally modified peptide sequences and intends to provide the scientific community with state of art knowledge on their 3D structures, binding topologies and potential applications in the drug discovery field. Method:: Several databases, such as the Pfam (Protein family), the SMART (Simple Modular Architecture Research Tool) and the PDB (Protein Data Bank), were searched to look for different domain families and gain structural information on protein complexes in which particular PIDs are involved. Recent literature on PIDs and related drug discovery campaigns was retrieved through Pubmed and analyzed. Results and Conclusion:: PIDs are rather versatile as concerning their binding preferences. Many of them recognize specifically only determined amino acid stretches with post-translational modifications, a few others are able to interact with several post-translationally modified sequences or with unmodified ones. Many PIDs can be linked to different diseases including cancer. The tremendous amount of available structural data led to the structure-based design of several molecules targeting protein-protein interactions mediated by PIDs, including peptides, peptidomimetics and small compounds. More studies are needed to fully role out, among different families, PIDs that can be considered reliable therapeutic targets, however, attacking PIDs rather than catalytic domains of a particular protein may represent a route to obtain selective inhibitors.


Author(s):  
Rohan Dandage ◽  
Caroline M Berger ◽  
Isabelle Gagnon-Arsenault ◽  
Kyung-Mee Moon ◽  
Richard Greg Stacey ◽  
...  

Abstract Hybrids between species often show extreme phenotypes, including some that take place at the molecular level. In this study, we investigated the phenotypes of an interspecies diploid hybrid in terms of protein-protein interactions inferred from protein correlation profiling. We used two yeast species, Saccharomyces cerevisiae and Saccharomyces uvarum, which are interfertile, but yet have proteins diverged enough to be differentiated using mass spectrometry. Most of the protein-protein interactions are similar between hybrid and parents, and are consistent with the assembly of chimeric complexes, which we validated using an orthogonal approach for the prefoldin complex. We also identified instances of altered protein-protein interactions in the hybrid, for instance in complexes related to proteostasis and in mitochondrial protein complexes. Overall, this study uncovers the likely frequent occurrence of chimeric protein complexes with few exceptions, which may result from incompatibilities or imbalances between the parental proteins.


Author(s):  
Marco Fiorillo ◽  
Cristian Scatena ◽  
Antonio Giuseppe Naccarato ◽  
Federica Sotgia ◽  
Michael P. Lisanti

AbstractHere, we provide evidence that high ATP production by the mitochondrial ATP-synthase is a new therapeutic target for anticancer therapy, especially for preventing tumor progression. More specifically, we isolated a subpopulation of ATP-high cancer cells which are phenotypically aggressive and demonstrate increases in proliferation, stemness, anchorage-independence, cell migration, invasion and multi-drug resistance, as well as high antioxidant capacity. Clinically, these findings have important implications for understanding treatment failure and cancer cell dormancy. Using bioinformatic analysis of patient samples, we defined a mitochondrial-related gene signature for metastasis, which features the gamma-subunit of the mitochondrial ATP-synthase (ATP5F1C). The relationship between ATP5F1C protein expression and metastasis was indeed confirmed by immunohistochemistry. Next, we used MDA-MB-231 cells as a model system to functionally validate these findings. Importantly, ATP-high MDA-MB-231 cells showed a nearly fivefold increase in metastatic capacity in vivo. Consistent with these observations, ATP-high cells overexpressed (i) components of mitochondrial complexes I–V, including ATP5F1C, and (ii) markers associated with circulating tumor cells (CTCs) and metastasis, such as EpCAM and VCAM1. Knockdown of ATP5F1C expression significantly reduced ATP-production, anchorage-independent growth, and cell migration, as predicted. Similarly, therapeutic administration of the FDA-approved drug, Bedaquiline, downregulated ATP5F1C expression in vitro and prevented spontaneous metastasis in vivo. In contrast, Bedaquiline had no effect on the growth of non-tumorigenic mammary epithelial cells (MCF10A) or primary tumors in vivo. Taken together, our results suggest that mitochondrial ATP depletion is a new therapeutic strategy for metastasis prophylaxis, to avoid treatment failure. In summary, we conclude that mitochondrial ATP5F1C is a promising new biomarker and molecular target for future drug development, for the prevention of metastatic disease progression.


Genetics ◽  
2000 ◽  
Vol 154 (1) ◽  
pp. 147-154 ◽  
Author(s):  
Douglas J Kominsky ◽  
Peter E Thorsness

Abstract Organisms that can grow without mitochondrial DNA are referred to as “petite-positive” and those that are inviable in the absence of mitochondrial DNA are termed “petite-negative.” The petite-positive yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae can be converted to a petite-negative yeast by inactivation of Yme1p, an ATP- and metal-dependent protease associated with the inner mitochondrial membrane. Suppression of this yme1 phenotype can occur by virtue of dominant mutations in the α- and γ-subunits of mitochondrial ATP synthase. These mutations are similar or identical to those occurring in the same subunits of the same enzyme that converts the petite-negative yeast Kluyveromyces lactis to petite-positive. Expression of YME1 in the petite-negative yeast Schizosaccharomyces pombe converts this yeast to petite-positive. No sequence closely related to YME1 was found by DNA-blot hybridization to S. pombe or K. lactis genomic DNA, and no antigenically related proteins were found in mitochondrial extracts of S. pombe probed with antisera directed against Yme1p. Mutations that block the formation of the F1 component of mitochondrial ATP synthase are also petite-negative. Thus, the F1 complex has an essential activity in cells lacking mitochondrial DNA and Yme1p can mediate that activity, even in heterologous systems.


2017 ◽  
Vol 114 (9) ◽  
pp. 2224-2229 ◽  
Author(s):  
Daniel A. Weisz ◽  
Haijun Liu ◽  
Hao Zhang ◽  
Sundarapandian Thangapandian ◽  
Emad Tajkhorshid ◽  
...  

Photosystem II (PSII), a large pigment protein complex, undergoes rapid turnover under natural conditions. During assembly of PSII, oxidative damage to vulnerable assembly intermediate complexes must be prevented. Psb28, the only cytoplasmic extrinsic protein in PSII, protects the RC47 assembly intermediate of PSII and assists its efficient conversion into functional PSII. Its role is particularly important under stress conditions when PSII damage occurs frequently. Psb28 is not found, however, in any PSII crystal structure, and its structural location has remained unknown. In this study, we used chemical cross-linking combined with mass spectrometry to capture the transient interaction of Psb28 with PSII. We detected three cross-links between Psb28 and the α- and β-subunits of cytochrome b559, an essential component of the PSII reaction-center complex. These distance restraints enable us to position Psb28 on the cytosolic surface of PSII directly above cytochrome b559, in close proximity to the QB site. Protein–protein docking results also support Psb28 binding in this region. Determination of the Psb28 binding site and other biochemical evidence allow us to propose a mechanism by which Psb28 exerts its protective effect on the RC47 intermediate. This study also shows that isotope-encoded cross-linking with the “mass tags” selection criteria allows confident identification of more cross-linked peptides in PSII than has been previously reported. This approach thus holds promise to identify other transient protein–protein interactions in membrane protein complexes.


2018 ◽  
Vol 46 (6) ◽  
pp. 1593-1603 ◽  
Author(s):  
Chenkang Zheng ◽  
Patricia C. Dos Santos

Iron–sulfur (Fe–S) clusters are ubiquitous cofactors present in all domains of life. The chemistries catalyzed by these inorganic cofactors are diverse and their associated enzymes are involved in many cellular processes. Despite the wide range of structures reported for Fe–S clusters inserted into proteins, the biological synthesis of all Fe–S clusters starts with the assembly of simple units of 2Fe–2S and 4Fe–4S clusters. Several systems have been associated with the formation of Fe–S clusters in bacteria with varying phylogenetic origins and number of biosynthetic and regulatory components. All systems, however, construct Fe–S clusters through a similar biosynthetic scheme involving three main steps: (1) sulfur activation by a cysteine desulfurase, (2) cluster assembly by a scaffold protein, and (3) guided delivery of Fe–S units to either final acceptors or biosynthetic enzymes involved in the formation of complex metalloclusters. Another unifying feature on the biological formation of Fe–S clusters in bacteria is that these systems are tightly regulated by a network of protein interactions. Thus, the formation of transient protein complexes among biosynthetic components allows for the direct transfer of reactive sulfur and Fe–S intermediates preventing oxygen damage and reactions with non-physiological targets. Recent studies revealed the importance of reciprocal signature sequence motifs that enable specific protein–protein interactions and consequently guide the transactions between physiological donors and acceptors. Such findings provide insights into strategies used by bacteria to regulate the flow of reactive intermediates and provide protein barcodes to uncover yet-unidentified cellular components involved in Fe–S metabolism.


eLife ◽  
2016 ◽  
Vol 5 ◽  
Author(s):  
José Ignacio Garzón ◽  
Lei Deng ◽  
Diana Murray ◽  
Sagi Shapira ◽  
Donald Petrey ◽  
...  

We present a database, PrePPI (Predicting Protein-Protein Interactions), of more than 1.35 million predicted protein-protein interactions (PPIs). Of these at least 127,000 are expected to constitute direct physical interactions although the actual number may be much larger (~500,000). The current PrePPI, which contains predicted interactions for about 85% of the human proteome, is related to an earlier version but is based on additional sources of interaction evidence and is far larger in scope. The use of structural relationships allows PrePPI to infer numerous previously unreported interactions. PrePPI has been subjected to a series of validation tests including reproducing known interactions, recapitulating multi-protein complexes, analysis of disease associated SNPs, and identifying functional relationships between interacting proteins. We show, using Gene Set Enrichment Analysis (GSEA), that predicted interaction partners can be used to annotate a protein’s function. We provide annotations for most human proteins, including many annotated as having unknown function.


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