scholarly journals Deep mutational scanning reveals characteristics important for targeting of the tail-anchored protein Fis1

2016 ◽  
Author(s):  
Abdurrahman Keskin ◽  
Emel Akdoğan ◽  
Cory D. Dunn
Keyword(s):  
Protein Import ◽  
Mitochondrial Dynamics ◽  
Global Analysis ◽  
Mitochondrial Protein ◽  
Membrane Insertion ◽  
Mitochondrial Targeting ◽  
Charged Residues ◽  
High Resolution Analysis ◽  
Positively Charged

ABSTRACTProteins localized to mitochondria by a carboxyl-terminal tail anchor (TA) play roles in apoptosis, mitochondrial dynamics, and mitochondrial protein import. To reveal characteristics of TAs that may be important for mitochondrial targeting, we focused our attention upon the TA of the Saccharomyces cerevisiae Fis1 protein. Specifically, we generated a library of Fis1p TA variants fused to the Gal4 transcription factor, then, using next-generation sequencing, revealed which Fis1p TA mutations inhibited membrane insertion and allowed Gal4p activity in the nucleus. Prompted by our global analysis, we subsequently analyzed the ability of individual Fis1p TA mutants to localize to mitochondria. Our findings suggest that the membrane-associated domain of Fis1p TA may be bipartite in nature, and we encountered evidence that the positively charged patch at the carboxyl-terminus of Fis1p is required for both membrane insertion and organelle specificity. Furthermore, lengthening or shortening the Fis1 TA by up to three amino acids did not inhibit mitochondrial targeting, arguing against a model in which TA length directs insertion of TAs at specific organelles. Most importantly, positively charged residues were more acceptable at several positions within the membrane-associated domain of the Fis1p TA than negatively charged residues. These findings, emerging from the first high-resolution analysis of an organelle targeting sequence by deep mutational scanning, provide strong, in vivo evidence that lysine and arginine can “snorkel,” or become stably incorporated within a lipid bilayer by placing terminal charges of their side chains at the membrane interface.AbbreviationsTAtail anchorOMouter membraneMADmembrane-anchoring domain3-AT3-aminotriazoleCHXcycloheximide

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 Novel Role of Calmodulin in Regulating Protein Transport to Mitochondria in a Unicellular Eukaryote

2013 ◽  
Vol 33 (22) ◽  
pp. 4579-4593 ◽  
Author(s):  
Abhishek Aich ◽  
Chandrima Shaha
Keyword(s):  
Leishmania Donovani ◽  
Protein Transport ◽  
Mitochondrial Protein ◽  
Unicellular Eukaryote ◽  
Mitochondrial Targeting ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Mitochondrial Translocation ◽  
Tryparedoxin Peroxidase

Lower eukaryotes like the kinetoplastid parasites are good models to study evolution of cellular pathways during steps to eukaryogenesis. In this study, a kinetoplastid parasite,Leishmania donovani, was used to understand the process of mitochondrial translocation of a nucleus-encoded mitochondrial protein, the mitochondrial tryparedoxin peroxidase (mTXNPx). We report the presence of an N-terminal cleavable mitochondrial targeting signal (MTS) validated through deletion and grafting experiments. We also establish a novel finding of calmodulin (CaM) binding to the MTS of mTXNPx through specific residues. Mutation of CaM binding residues, keeping intact the residues involved in mitochondrial targeting and biochemical inhibition of CaM activity bothin vitroandin vivo, prevented mitochondrial translocation. Through reconstituted import assays, we demonstrate obstruction of mitochondrial translocation either in the absence of CaM or Ca2+or in the presence of CaM inhibitors. We also demonstrate the prevention of temperature-driven mTXNPx aggregation in the presence of CaM. These findings establish the idea that CaM is required for the transport of the protein to mitochondria through maintenance of translocation competence posttranslation.

scholarly journals In Vivo Structure-Function Analysis and Redox Interactomes of Leishmania tarentolae Erv

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Gino L. Turra ◽  
Linda Liedgens ◽  
Frederik Sommer ◽  
Luzia Schneider ◽  
David Zimmer ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Protein Import ◽  
Function Analysis ◽  
Mitochondrial Protein ◽  
Intermembrane Space ◽  
Mitochondrial Protein Import ◽  
Redox Biology ◽  
Oxidative Protein Folding ◽  
Mitochondrial Intermembrane Space ◽  
New Research

The discovery of the redox proteins Mia40/CHCHD4 and Erv1/ALR, as well as the elucidation of their relevance for oxidative protein folding in the mitochondrial intermembrane space of yeast and mammals, founded a new research topic in redox biology and mitochondrial protein import. The lack of Mia40/CHCHD4 in protist lineages raises fundamental and controversial questions regarding the conservation and evolution of this essential pathway.

scholarly journals Arginine mutations within a transmembrane domain of Tar, an Escherichia coli aspartate receptor, can drive homodimer dissociation and heterodimer association in vivo

2004 ◽  
Vol 385 (1) ◽  
pp. 29-36 ◽  
Author(s):  
Neta SAL-MAN ◽  
Yechiel SHAI
Keyword(s):  
Amino Acids ◽  
Transmembrane Domain ◽  
Genetic Diseases ◽  
Ion Pairs ◽  
Aspartate Receptor ◽  
Charged Residues ◽  
Arginine Residues ◽  
Tm Domain ◽  
Positively Charged

The interactions between the TM (transmembrane) domains of many membrane proteins are important for their proper functioning. Mutations of residues into positively charged ones within TM domains were reported to be involved in many genetic diseases, possibly because these mutations affect the self- and/or hetero-assembly of the corresponding proteins. To our knowledge, despite significant progress in understanding the role of various amino acids in TM–TM interactions in vivo, the direct effect of positively charged residues on these interactions has not been studied. To address this issue, we employed the N-terminal TM domain of the aspartate receptor (Tar-1) as a dimerization model system. We expressed within the ToxR TM assembly system several Tar-1 constructs that dimerize via polar- or non-polar amino acid motifs, and mutated these by replacement with a single arginine residue. Our results have revealed that a mutation in each of the motifs significantly reduced the ability of the TMs to dimerize. Furthermore, a Tar-1 construct that contained two arginine residues was unable to correctly integrate itself into the membrane. Nevertheless, an exogenous synthetic Tar-1 peptide containing these two arginine residues was able to inhibit in vivo the marked dimerization of a mutant Tar-1 construct that contained two glutamate residues at similar positions. This indicates that hetero-assembly of TM domains can be mediated by the interaction of two oppositely charged residues, probably by formation of ion pairs. This study broadens our knowledge regarding the effect of positively charged residues on TM–TM interactions in vivo, and provides a potential therapeutic approach to inhibit uncontrolled dimerization of TM domains caused by mutations of polar amino acids.

scholarly journals Assembly of the Mitochondrial Protein Import Channel

2010 ◽  
Vol 21 (18) ◽  
pp. 3106-3113 ◽  
Author(s):  
Thomas Becker ◽  
Bernard Guiard ◽  
Nicolas Thornton ◽  
Nicole Zufall ◽  
David A. Stroud ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Outer Membrane ◽  
Protein Import ◽  
Mitochondrial Protein ◽  
Membrane Insertion ◽  
Outer Mitochondrial Membrane ◽  
Mitochondrial Protein Import ◽  
Transmembrane Segments ◽  
Tom Complex ◽  
Assembly Pathway ◽  
Assembly Defect

The preprotein translocase of the outer mitochondrial membrane (TOM) consists of a central β-barrel channel, Tom40, and six proteins with α-helical transmembrane segments. The precursor of Tom40 is imported from the cytosol by a pre-existing TOM complex and inserted into the outer membrane by the sorting and assembly machinery (SAM). Tom40 then assembles with α-helical Tom proteins to the mature TOM complex. The outer membrane protein Mim1 promotes membrane insertion of several α-helical Tom proteins but also affects the biogenesis of Tom40 by an unknown mechanism. We have identified a novel intermediate in the assembly pathway of Tom40, revealing a two-stage interaction of the precursor with the SAM complex. The second SAM stage represents assembly of Tom5 with the precursor of Tom40. Mim1-deficient mitochondria accumulate Tom40 at the first SAM stage like Tom5-deficient mitochondria. Tom5 promotes formation of the second SAM stage and thus suppresses the Tom40 assembly defect of mim1Δ mitochondria. We conclude that the assembly of newly imported Tom40 is directly initiated at the SAM complex by its association with Tom5. The involvement of Mim1 in Tom40 biogenesis can be largely attributed to its role in import of Tom5.

scholarly journals Mitochondria modulate programmed neuritic retraction

2018 ◽  
Vol 116 (2) ◽  
pp. 650-659 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sergei V. Baranov ◽  
Oxana V. Baranova ◽  
Svitlana Yablonska ◽  
Yalikun Suofu ◽  
Alberto L. Vazquez ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Membrane Potential ◽  
Mitochondrial Membrane Potential ◽  
Neuronal Death ◽  
Mitochondrial Membrane ◽  
Protein Import ◽  
Mitochondrial Protein ◽  
Potential Gradient ◽  
Protein Damage ◽  
Apoptosis Pathway

Neuritic retraction in the absence of overt neuronal death is a shared feature of normal aging and neurodegenerative disorders, but the intracellular mechanisms modulating this process are not understood. We propose that cumulative distal mitochondrial protein damage results in impaired protein import, leading to mitochondrial dysfunction and focal activation of the canonical apoptosis pathway in neurites. This is a controlled process that may not lead to neuronal death and, thus, we term this phenomenon “neuritosis.” Consistent with our hypothesis, we show that in primary cerebrocortical neurons, mitochondrial distance from the soma correlates with increased mitochondrial protein damage, PINK1 accumulation, reactive oxygen species production, and decreased mitochondrial membrane potential and depolarization threshold. Furthermore, we demonstrate that the distance-dependent mitochondrial membrane potential gradient exists in vivo in mice. We demonstrate that impaired distal mitochondria have a lower threshold for focal/nonlethal neuritic caspase-3 activation in normal neurons that is exacerbated in aging, stress, and neurodegenerative conditions, thus delineating a fundamental mechanistic underpinning for synaptic vulnerability.

scholarly journals Mitochondrial protein import is regulated by p17/PERMIT to mediate lipid metabolism and cellular stress

2019 ◽  
Vol 5 (9) ◽  
pp. eaax1978 ◽  
Author(s):  
Natalia Oleinik ◽  
Jisun Kim ◽  
Braden M. Roth ◽  
Shanmugam Panneer Selvam ◽  
Monika Gooz ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Lipid Metabolism ◽  
Protein Import ◽  
Acute Stress ◽  
Cellular Stress ◽  
Mitochondrial Protein ◽  
Ceramide Synthase ◽  
Mitochondrial Protein Import ◽  
Genetic Ablation ◽  
Ceramide Generation

How lipid metabolism is regulated at the outer mitochondrial membrane (OMM) for transducing stress signaling remains largely unknown. We show here that this process is controlled by trafficking of ceramide synthase 1 (CerS1) from the endoplasmic reticulum (ER) to the OMM by a previously uncharacterized p17, which is now renamed protein that mediates ER-mitochondria trafficking (PERMIT). Data revealed that p17/PERMIT associates with newly translated CerS1 on the ER surface to mediate its trafficking to the OMM. Cellular stress induces Drp1 nitrosylation/activation, releasing p17/PERMIT to retrieve CerS1 for its OMM trafficking, resulting in mitochondrial ceramide generation, mitophagy and cell death. In vivo, CRISPR-Cas9–dependent genetic ablation of p17/PERMIT prevents acute stress-mediated CerS1 trafficking to OMM, attenuating mitophagy in p17/PERMIT−/− mice, compared to controls, in various metabolically active tissues, including brain, muscle, and pancreas. Thus, these data have implications in diseases associated with accumulation of damaged mitochondria such as cancer and/or neurodegeneration.

Altered mitochondrial morphology and defective protein import reveal novel roles for Bax and/or Bak in skeletal muscle

2013 ◽  
Vol 305 (5) ◽  
pp. C502-C511 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yuan Zhang ◽  
Sobia Iqbal ◽  
Michael F. N. O'Leary ◽  
Keir J. Menzies ◽  
Ayesha Saleem ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Skeletal Muscle ◽  
Mitochondrial Function ◽  
Protein Import ◽  
Mitochondrial Dynamics ◽  
Mitochondrial Protein ◽  
Heat Shock Protein 90 ◽  
Mitochondrial Morphology ◽  
Double Knockout ◽  
Mitochondrial Protein Import ◽  
Protein Components

The function Bax and/or Bak in constituting a gateway for mitochondrial apoptosis in response to apoptotic stimuli has been unequivocally demonstrated. However, recent work has suggested that Bax/Bak may have unrecognized nonapoptotic functions related to mitochondrial function in nonstressful environments. Wild-type (WT) and Bax/Bak double knockout (DKO) mice were used to determine alternative roles for Bax and Bak in mitochondrial morphology and protein import in skeletal muscle. The absence of Bax and/or Bak altered mitochondrial dynamics by regulating protein components of the organelle fission and fusion machinery. Moreover, DKO mice exhibited defective mitochondrial protein import, both into the matrix and outer membrane compartments, which was consistent with our observations of impaired membrane potential and attenuated expression of protein import machinery (PIM) components in intermyofibrillar mitochondria. Furthermore, the cytosolic chaperones heat-shock protein 90 (Hsp90) and binding immunoglobulin protein (BiP) were markedly increased with the deletion of Bax/Bak, indicating that the cytosolic environment related to protein folding may be changed in DKO mice. Interestingly, endurance training fully restored the deficiency of protein import in DKO mice, likely via the upregulation of PIM components and through improved cytosolic chaperone protein expression. Thus our results emphasize novel roles for Bax and/or Bak in mitochondrial function and provide evidence, for the first time, of a curative function of exercise training in ameliorating a condition of defective mitochondrial protein import.

scholarly journals Tim23p Contains Separate and Distinct Signals for Targeting to Mitochondria and Insertion into the Inner Membrane

1998 ◽  
Vol 9 (9) ◽  
pp. 2577-2593 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alison J. Davis ◽  
Kathleen R. Ryan ◽  
Robert E. Jensen
Keyword(s):  
Protein Import ◽  
Mitochondrial Protein ◽  
Yeast Cells ◽  
Mitochondrial Protein Import ◽  
Inner Membrane ◽  
Amino Terminal ◽  
Transmembrane Segments ◽  
Charged Amino Acids ◽  
The Matrix ◽  
Positively Charged

The Tim23 protein is an essential inner membrane (IM) component of the yeast mitochondrial protein import pathway. Tim23p does not carry an amino-terminal presequence; therefore, the targeting information resides within the mature protein. Tim23p is anchored in the IM via four transmembrane segments and has two positively charged loops facing the matrix. To identify the import signal for Tim23p, we have constructed several altered versions of the Tim23 protein and examined their function and import in yeast cells, as well as their import into isolated mitochondria. We replaced the positively charged amino acids in one or both loops with alanine residues and found that the positive charges are not required for import into mitochondria, but at least one positively charged loop is required for insertion into the IM. Furthermore, we find that the signal to target Tim23p to mitochondria is carried in at least two of the hydrophobic transmembrane segments. Our results suggest that Tim23p contains separate import signals: hydrophobic segments for targeting Tim23p to mitochondria, and positively charged loops for insertion into the IM. We therefore propose that Tim23p is imported into mitochondria in at least two distinct steps.

scholarly journals Residues of Tim44 Involved in both Association with the Translocon of the Inner Mitochondrial Membrane and Regulation of Mitochondrial Hsp70 Tethering

2008 ◽  
Vol 28 (13) ◽  
pp. 4424-4433 ◽  
Author(s):  
Dirk Schiller ◽  
Yu Chin Cheng ◽  
Qinglian Liu ◽  
William Walter ◽  
Elizabeth A. Craig
Keyword(s):  
Amino Acid ◽  
Protein Import ◽  
Protein Translocation ◽  
Mitochondrial Protein ◽  
Inner Mitochondrial Membrane ◽  
The Matrix ◽  
Mitochondrial Hsp70 ◽  
Amino Acid Segment

ABSTRACT Translocation of proteins from the cytosol across the mitochondrial inner membrane is driven by the action of the import motor, which is associated with the translocon on the matrix side of the membrane. It is well established that an essential peripheral membrane protein, Tim44, tethers mitochondrial Hsp70 (mtHsp70), the core of the import motor, to the translocon. This Tim44-mtHsp70 interaction, which can be recapitulated in vitro, is destabilized by binding of mtHsp70 to a substrate polypeptide. Here we report that the N-terminal 167-amino-acid segment of mature Tim44 is sufficient for both interaction with mtHsp70 and destabilization of a Tim44-mtHsp70 complex caused by client protein binding. Amino acid alterations within a 30-amino-acid segment affected both the release of mtHsp70 upon peptide binding and the interaction of Tim44 with the translocon. Our results support the idea that Tim44 plays multiple roles in mitochondrial protein import by recruiting Ssc1 and its J protein cochaperone to the translocon and coordinating their interactions to promote efficient protein translocation in vivo.

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