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Transport mechanism of mitochondrial carriers
No full textThe inner mitochondrial membrane contains a superfamily of proteins, called mitochondrial carriers (MCs), which transport several metabolites into and out of the mitochondrial matrix. As observed in the ADP/ATP carrier structure, crystallized in complex with its powerful inhibitor carboxyatractyloside, the main structural fold of the MCs consists of a barrel of six transmembrane α-helices whose charged surfaces form the wall of a water-filled cavity. Multiple sequence alignment and 3D comparative models of mitochondrial carriers of known function have recently allowed the identification of i) a similarly located binding site located in the carrier cavity, ii) two ion pair networks or gates that are on the matrix or the cytosolic side of the carrier molecules, and iii) two Pro-Gly levels above and below the substrate binding site. As a result of the substrate–protein interactions, ‘hinged helix movements’ consisting of a tilt of the entire helical segments and a kink/swivel of the helical termini at the level of their Pro and Gly have been proposed to be fundamental for the alternative opening and closure of the gates on the matrix or the cytosolic side and thus for the translocation mechanism. The key role of residues of the binding site, gates and Pro-Gly levels in substrate translocation is supported by the localization of most missense mutations found in patients affected by diseases associated to mitochondrial carriers.
References
Klingenberg M (2007 ) Transport viewed as a catalytic process. Biochimie. 89:1042-8.
Palmieri F (2008) Diseases caused by defects of mitochondrial carriers: a review. Biochim Biophys Acta 1777: 564-57
Palmieri F, Pierri CL (2010) Structure and function of mitochondrial carriers - Role of the transmembrane helix P and G residues in the gating and transport mechanism. FEBS Lett. 584:1931-9
Pebay-Peyroula E, Dahout-Gonzalez C, Kahn R, Trézéguet V, Lauquin GJ, Brandolin G. (2003) Structure of mitochondrial ADP/ATP carrier in complex with carboxyatractyloside. Nature. 426:39-44
Robinson AJ, Kunji ER. (2006) Mitochondrial carriers in the cytoplasmic state have a common substrate binding site. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 103:2617-22
Robinson AJ, Overy C, Kunji ER. (2008) The mechanism of transport by mitochondrial carriers based on analysis of symmetry. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 105:17766-71
Wibom R, Lasorsa F, Töhönen V, Barbaro M, Sterky F, Kucinski T, Naess K, Jonsson M, Pierri CL, Palmieri F, Wedell A (2009) AGC1 deficiency associated with global cerebral hypomyelination. N Engl J Med 361: 489-49
Mitochondrial carriers and related diseases
No full textSince the end of nineties numerous mitochondrial diseases have been found to be related to mutations in nuclear genes encoding mitochondrial carriers, a family of proteins that shuttle a variety of metabolites across the mitochondrial membrane. To date eleven disorders are known to be caused by defects of mitochondrial carriers. Mutations of mitochondrial carrier genes are responsible for carnitine/acylcarnitine carrier deficiency, ornithine carrier deficiency (HHH syndrome), aspartate/glutamate isoform 1 deficiency (global cerebral hypomyelination), aspartate/glutamate isoform 2 deficiency (CTLN2 and NICCD), amish microcephaly, neonatal myoclonic epilepsy, congenital sideroblastic anemia, PiC deficiency, ADP/ATP carrier isoform 1 deficiency and involved in neuropathy and bilateral striatal necrosis and adPEO (autosomal dominant progressive external ophthalmoplegia). We propose un updated overview of these diseases. We shall also discuss the role of missense mutations in impairing mitochondrial carrier function and the consequent severe damage to the mitochondrial matrix supply with substrates destined to specific metabolic pathways. Despite the substantial progress that has been made in our understanding of the molecular bases of mitochondrial carrier associated diseases, specific pharmacological therapies are not yet available. Current therapies are symptomatic and usually based on specific dietary measures. New therapeutic approaches are under investigation for some of these diseases.
For further reading
Palmieri F. (2008) Diseases caused by defects of mitochondrial carriers: a review. Biochim Biophys Acta; 1777:564-78.
Palmieri F, Pierri CL (2010) Structure and function of mitochondrial carriers - Role of the transmembrane helix P and G residues in the gating and transport mechanism. FEBS Lett. 584:1931-9.
Tessa A, Fiermonte G, Dionisi-Vici C, Paradies E, Baumgartner MR, Chien YH,Loguercio C, de Baulny HO, Nassogne MC, Schiff M, Deodato F, Parenti G, Rutledge SL, Vilaseca MA, Melone MA, Scarano G, Aldamiz-Echevarría L, Besley G, Walter J, Martinez-Hernandez E, Hernandez JM, Pierri CL, Palmieri F, Santorelli FM. (2009) Identification of novel mutations in the SLC25A15 gene in hyperornithinemia-hyperammonemia-homocitrullinuria (HHH) syndrome: a clinical, molecular, and functional study. Human Mutation; 30:741-8.
Wibom R, Lasorsa FM, Töhönen V, Barbaro M, Sterky FH, Kucinski T, Naess K, Jonsson M, Pierri CL, Palmieri F, Wedell A. (2009) AGC1 deficiency associated with global cerebral hypomyelination. N Engl J Med.; 361:489-95.
Iacobazzi V, Convertini P, Infantino V, Scarcia P, Todisco S, Palmieri F. (2009) Statins, fibrates and retinoic acid upregulate mitochondrial acylcarinitine carrier gene expression. Biochem Biophys Res Commun.; 388:643-7
Structure and function of mitochondrial carriers – Role of the transmembrane helix P and G residues in the gating ant transport mechanism
No full textAbstractTo date, 22 mitochondrial carrier subfamilies have been functionally identified based on substrate specificity. Structural, functional and bioinformatics studies have pointed to the existence in the mitochondrial carrier superfamily of a substrate-binding site in the internal carrier cavity, of two salt-bridge networks or gates that close the cavity alternatively on the matrix or the cytosolic side of the membrane, and of conserved prolines and glycines in the transmembrane α-helices. The significance of these properties in the structural changes occurring during the catalytic substrate translocation cycle are discussed within the context of a transport mechanism model. Most experimentally produced and disease-causing missense mutations concern carrier regions corresponding to the substrate-binding site, the two gates and the conserved prolines and glycines
Computational approaches for protein function prediction: a combined strategy from multiple sequence alignment to molecular docking-based virtual screening
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Mitochondrial metabolite transport
No full textThe flux of a variety of metabolites, nucleotides and coenzymes across the inner membrane of mitochondria is catalysed by a nuclear-coded superfamily of secondary transport proteins called MCs (mitochondrial carriers). The importance of MCs is demonstrated by their wide distribution in all eukaryotes, their role in numerous metabolic pathways and cell functions, and the identification of several diseases caused by alterations of their genes. MCs can easily be recognized in databases thanks to their striking sequence features. Until now, 22 MC subfamilies, which are well conserved throughout evolution, have been functionally characterized, mainly by transport assays upon heterologous gene expression, purification and reconstitution into liposomes. Given the significant sequence conservation, it is thought that all MCs use the same basic transport mechanism, although they exhibit different modes of transport and driving forces and their substrates vary in nature and size. Based on substrate specificity, sequence conservation and carrier homology models, progress has recently been made in understanding the transport mechanism of MCs by new insights concerning the existence of a substrate-binding site in the carrier cavity, of cytosolic and matrix gates and conserved proline and glycine residues in each of the six transmembrane α-helices. These structural properties are believed to play an important role in the conformational changes required for substrate translocation.</jats:p
Lattices for ab initio protein structure prediction
No full textIn the study of the protein folding problem with ab initio methods, the protein backbone can be built on some periodic lattices. Any vertex of these lattices can be occupied by a "ball," which can represent the mass center of an amino acid in a simplified coarse-grained model of the protein. The backbone, at a coarse-grained level, can be constituted of a No Reverse Self Avoiding Walk, which cannot intersect itself and cannot go back on itself. There is still much debate between those who use lattices to simplify the study of the protein folding problem and those preferring to work by using an off-lattice approach. Lattices can help to identify the protein tertiary structure in a computational less-expensive way, than off-lattice approaches that have to consider a potentially infinite number of possible structures. However, the use of a lattice, constituted of insufficiently accurate direction vectors, constrains the predictive ability of the model. The aim of this study is to perform a systematic screening of 7 known classic and 11 newly proposed lattices in terms of predictive power. The crystal structures of 42 different proteins (14 mainly alpha helical, 14 mainly beta sheet and 14 mixed structure proteins) were compared to the most accurate simulated models for each lattice. This strategy defines a scale of fitness for all the analyzed lattices and demonstrates that an increase in the coordination number and in the degrees of freedom is necessary but not sufficient to reach the best result. Instead, the introduction of a good set of direction vectors, as developed and tested in this study, strongly increases the lattice performance
The switching mechanism of the mitochondrial ADP/ATP carrier explored by free-energy landscapes
Full text linkThe ADP/ATP carrier (AAC) of mitochondria has been an early example for elucidating the transport mechanism alternating between the external (c-) and internal (m-) states (M. Klingenberg, Biochim. Biophys. Acta 1778 (2008) 1978-2021). An atomic resolution crystal structure of AAC is available only for the c-state featuring a three repeat transmembrane domain structure. Modeling of transport mechanism remained hypothetical for want of an atomic structure of the m-state. Previous molecular dynamics studies simulated the binding of ADP or ATP to the AAC remaining in the c-state. Here, a full description of the AAC switching from the c- to the m-state is reported using well-tempered metadynamics simulations. Free-energy landscapes of the entire translocation from the c- to the m-state, based on the gyration radii of the c- and m-gates and of the center of mass, were generated. The simulations revealed three free-energy basins attributed to the c-, intermediate- and m-states separated by activation barriers. These simulations were performed with the empty and with the ADP- and ATP-loaded AAC as well as with the poorly transported AMP and guanine nucleotides, showing in the free energy landscapes that ADP and ATP lowered the activation free-energy barriers more than the other substrates. Upon binding AMP and guanine nucleotides a deeper free-energy level stabilized the intermediate-state of the AAC2 hampering the transition to the m-state. The structures of the substrate binding sites in the different states are described producing a full picture of the translocation events in the AAC
Isolation and characterization of novel variants of BBI coding genes from the legume Lathyrus sativus.
No full textA pool of twelve cDNA sequences coding for Bowman-Birk inhibitors (BBIs) was identified in the legume grass pea (Lathyrus sativus L.). The corresponding amino acid sequences showed a canonical first anti-trypsin domain, predicted according to the identity of the determinant residue P(1). A more variable second binding loop was observed allowing to identify three groups based on the identity of residue P(1): two groups (Ls_BBI_1 and Ls_BBI_2) carried a second reactive site specific for chymotrypsin, while a third group (Ls_BBI_3) was predicted to inhibit elastase. A fourth variant carrying an Asp in the P(1) position of the second reactive site was identified only from genomic DNA. A phylogenetic tree constructed using grass pea BBIs with their homologs from other legume species revealed grouping based on taxonomy and on specificity of the reactive sites. Five BBI sequences, representing five different second reactive sites, were heterologously expressed in the yeast Pichia pastoris. The recombinant proteins demonstrated to be active against trypsin, while three of them were also active against chymotrypsin, and one against human leukocyte elastase. Comparative modeling and protein docking were used to further investigate interactions between two grass pea BBI isoforms and their target proteases. Thus two reliable 3D models have been proposed, representing two potential ternary complexes, each constituted of an inhibitor and its target enzymes
The peroxisomal NAD(+) carrier of Arabidopsis thaliana transports coenzyme A and its derivatives.
No full textThe peroxisomal protein PXN encoded by the Arabidopsis gene At2g39970 has very recently been found to transport NAD(+), NADH, AMP and ADP. In this work we have reinvestigated the substrate specificity and the transport properties of PXN by using a wide range of potential substrates. Heterologous expression in bacteria followed by purification, reconstitution in liposomes, and uptake and efflux experiments revealed that PNX transports coenzyme A (CoA), dephospho-CoA, acetyl-CoA and adenosine 3', 5'-phosphate (PAP), besides NAD(+), NADH, AMP and ADP. PXN catalyzed fast counter-exchange of substrates and much slower uniport and was strongly inhibited by pyridoxal 5'-phosphate, bathophenanthroline and tannic acid. Transport was saturable with a submillimolar affinity for NAD(+), CoA and other substrates. The physiological role of PXN is probably to provide the peroxisomes with the essential coenzymes NAD(+) and CoA
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