bims-cytox1 2022-02-27 papers

bims-cytox1

Biomed News

on Cytochrome oxidase subunit 1

Issue of 2022–02–27
seven papers selected by
Gavin McStay, Staffordshire University

Mitochondrial COA7 is a heme-binding protein with disulfide reductase activity, which acts in the early stages of complex IV assembly.
T1121G Point Mutation in the Mitochondrial Gene COX1 Suppresses a Null Mutation in ATP23 Required for the Assembly of Yeast Mitochondrial ATP Synthase.
Detecting respiratory chain defects in osteoblasts from osteoarthritic patients using imaging mass cytometry.
m.3685T>C is a Novel Mitochondrial DNA Variant That Causes Leigh Syndrome.
New Insights on Rotenone Resistance of Complex I Induced by the m.11778G>A/MT-ND4 Mutation Associated with Leber's Hereditary Optic Neuropathy.
Protein Processing in Plant Mitochondria Compared to Yeast and Mammals.
Genetic Complementation of ATP Synthase Deficiency Due to Dysfunction of TMEM70 Assembly Factor in Rat.

Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 2022 Mar 01. pii: e2110357119. [Epub ahead of print]119(9):

Mitochondrial COA7 is a heme-binding protein with disulfide reductase activity, which acts in the early stages of complex IV assembly.

Luke E Formosa, Shadi Maghool, Alice J Sharpe, Boris Reljic, Linden Muellner-Wong, David A Stroud, Michael T Ryan, Megan J Maher.

  Cytochrome c oxidase (COX) assembly factor 7 (COA7) is a metazoan-specific assembly factor, critical for the biogenesis of mitochondrial complex IV (cytochrome c oxidase). Although mutations in COA7 have been linked to complex IV assembly defects and neurological conditions such as peripheral neuropathy, ataxia, and leukoencephalopathy, the precise role COA7 plays in the biogenesis of complex IV is not known. Here, we show that loss of COA7 blocks complex IV assembly after the initial step where the COX1 module is built, progression from which requires the incorporation of copper and addition of the COX2 and COX3 modules. The crystal structure of COA7, determined to 2.4 Å resolution, reveals a banana-shaped molecule composed of five helix-turn-helix (α/α) repeats, tethered by disulfide bonds. COA7 interacts transiently with the copper metallochaperones SCO1 and SCO2 and catalyzes the reduction of disulfide bonds within these proteins, which are crucial for copper relay to COX2. COA7 binds heme with micromolar affinity, through axial ligation to the central iron atom by histidine and methionine residues. We therefore propose that COA7 is a heme-binding disulfide reductase for regenerating the copper relay system that underpins complex IV assembly.

Keywords:  COA7; X-ray crystallography; cytochrome c oxidase; heme; mitochondria

DOI:  https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.2110357119
Int J Mol Sci. 2022 Feb 19. pii: 2327. [Epub ahead of print]23(4):

T1121G Point Mutation in the Mitochondrial Gene COX1 Suppresses a Null Mutation in ATP23 Required for the Assembly of Yeast Mitochondrial ATP Synthase.

Guangying Yang, Tong Zhao, Shan Lu, Jun Weng, Xiaomei Zeng.

  Nuclear-encoded Atp23 was previously shown to have dual functions, including processing the yeast Atp6 precursor and assisting the assembly of yeast mitochondrial ATP synthase. However, it remains unknown whether there are genes functionally complementary to ATP23 to rescue atp23 null mutant. In the present paper, we screen and characterize three revertants of atp23 null mutant and reveal a T1121G point mutation in the mitochondrial gene COX1 coding sequence, which leads to Val374Gly mutation in Cox1, the suppressor in the revertants. This was verified further by the partial restoration of mitochondrial ATP synthase assembly in atp23 null mutant transformed with exogenous hybrid COX1 T1121G mutant plasmid. The predicted tertiary structure of the Cox1 p.Val374Gly mutation showed no obvious difference from wild-type Cox1. By further chase labeling with isotope [35S]-methionine, we found that the stability of Atp6 of ATP synthase increased in the revertants compared with the atp23 null mutant. Taking all the data together, we revealed that the T1121G point mutation of mitochondrial gene COX1 could partially restore the unassembly of mitochondrial ATP synthase in atp23 null mutant by increasing the stability of Atp6. Therefore, this study uncovers a gene that is partially functionally complementary to ATP23 to rescue ATP23 deficiency, broadening our understanding of the relationship between yeast the cytochrome c oxidase complex and mitochondrial ATP synthase complex.

Keywords:  ATP23; COX1; mitochondrial ATP synthase; point mutation; revertant; stability of Atp6

DOI:  https://doi.org/10.3390/ijms23042327
Bone. 2022 Feb 19. pii: S8756-3282(22)00047-3. [Epub ahead of print] 116371

Detecting respiratory chain defects in osteoblasts from osteoarthritic patients using imaging mass cytometry.

Daniel Hipps, Philip F Dobson, Charlotte Warren, David McDonald, Andrew Fuller, Andrew Filby, David Bulmer, Alex Laude, Oliver Russell, David J Deehan, Doug M Turnbull, Conor Lawless.

  Osteoporosis is a skeletal disease which is characterised by reduced bone mass and microarchitecture, with a subsequent loss of strength that predisposes to fragility and risk of fractures. The pathogenesis of falling bone mineral density, ultimately leading to a diagnosis of osteoporosis is incompletely understood but the disease is currently thought to be multifactorial. Humans are known to accumulate mitochondrial mutations and respiratory chain deficiency with age and mounting evidence suggests that this may indeed be the overarching cause intrinsic to the changing phenotype in advancing age and age-related disease. Mitochondrial mutations are detectable from the age of about 30 years onwards. Mitochondria contain their own genome which encodes 13 essential mitochondrial proteins and accumulates somatic variants at up to 10 times the rate of the nuclear genome. Once the concentration of any pathogenic mitochondrial genome variant exceeds a threshold, respiratory chain deficiency and cellular dysfunction occur. The PolgD257A/D257A mouse model is a knock-in mutant that expresses a proof-reading-deficient version of PolgA, a nuclear encoded subunit of mtDNA polymerase. These mice are a useful model of age-related accumulation of mtDNA mutations in humans since their defective proof-reading mechanism leads to a mitochondrial DNA mutation rate 3-5 times higher than in wild-type mice. These mice showed enhanced levels of age-related osteoporosis along with respiratory chain deficiency in osteoblasts. To explore whether respiratory chain deficiency is also seen in human osteoblasts, we developed a protocol and analysis framework for imaging mass cytometry in bone tissue sections to analyse osteoblasts in situ. By comparing bone tissue sampled at one timepoint from femoral neck of 10 older healthy volunteers aged 40-85 with samples from young patients aged 1-19, we have identified complex I defect in osteoblasts from 6 out of 10 older volunteers, complex II defect in 2 out of 10 older volunteers, complex IV defect in 1 out of 10 older volunteers and complex V defect in 4 out of 10 older volunteers. These observations are consistent with findings from the PolgD257A/D257A mouse model and suggest that respiratory chain deficiency, as a consequence of the accumulation of age-related pathogenic mitochondrial DNA mutations, may play a significant role in the pathogenesis of human age-related osteoporosis.

Keywords:  Aging; Defect; Imaging mass cytometry; Mitochondria; Osteoporosis

DOI:  https://doi.org/10.1016/j.bone.2022.116371
Cold Spring Harb Mol Case Stud. 2022 Feb 25. pii: mcs.a006136. [Epub ahead of print]

m.3685T>C is a Novel Mitochondrial DNA Variant That Causes Leigh Syndrome.

Jeffrey Jean, Eirini Christodoulou, Xiaowu Gai, Benita Tamrazi, Moin Vera, Wendy G Mitchell, Ryan J Schmidt.

  Variants in the mitochondrial genome can result in dysfunction of Complex I within the electron transport chain, thus causing disruptions in oxidative phosphorylation. Pathogenic variants in the MT-ND1 (NADH:ubiquinone oxidoreductase core subunit 1) gene that result in Complex I dysfunction are a known cause of Leigh syndrome. The patient is a four year-old female who initially presented with generalized tonic-clonic seizures, with other symptoms of Leigh syndrome becoming apparent after the seizures. A three-generation pedigree revealed no family history of mitochondrial disorders. Laboratory studies were remarkable for elevated blood lactate, alanine, and GDF15. T2-weighted MRI revealed bilateral asymmetric signal hyperintensities in the basal ganglia, specifically in the bilateral putamen and right caudate. Magnetic resonance spectroscopy showed regionally elevated glucose and lactate. Mitochondrial respiratory chain enzyme analysis on skin fibroblasts demonstrated slightly reduced Complex I function. A 16-gene dystonia panel and chromosomal microarray analysis did not identify any disease-causing variants. Combined exome and mitochondrial genome sequencing identified the m.3685T>C (MT-ND1 p.Tyr127His) variant with 62.3% heteroplasmy with no alternative cause for the patient's condition. Mitochondrial genome sequencing of the mother demonstrated that the m.3685T>C variant occurred de novo. The m.3685T>C variant is absent from population databases. The tyrosine 127 residue is highly conserved, and several nearby pathogenic variants in the MT-ND1 gene have been previously associated with Leigh syndrome. We propose that the m.3685T>C variant is a novel mitochondrial DNA variant that causes Leigh syndrome, and we classify this variant as likely pathogenic based on currently available information.

Keywords:  Elevated brain lactate level by MRS; Focal T2 hyperintense basal ganglia lesion; Generalized clonic seizures; Generalized tonic seizures; Hyperalaninemia

DOI:  https://doi.org/10.1101/mcs.a006136
Molecules. 2022 Feb 16. pii: 1341. [Epub ahead of print]27(4):

New Insights on Rotenone Resistance of Complex I Induced by the m.11778G>A/MT-ND4 Mutation Associated with Leber's Hereditary Optic Neuropathy.

Francesco Musiani, Laura Rigobello, Luisa Iommarini, Valerio Carelli, Mauro Degli Esposti, Anna Maria Ghelli.

  The finding that the most common mitochondrial DNA mutation m.11778G>A/MT-ND4 (p.R340H) associated with Leber's hereditary optic neuropathy (LHON) induces rotenone resistance has produced a long-standing debate, because it contrasts structural evidence showing that the ND4 subunit is far away from the quinone-reaction site in complex I, where rotenone acts. However, recent cryo-electron microscopy data revealed that rotenone also binds to the ND4 subunit. We investigated the possible structural modifications induced by the LHON mutation and found that its amino acid replacement would disrupt a possible hydrogen bond between native R340 and Q139 in ND4, thereby destabilizing rotenone binding. Our analysis thus explains rotenone resistance in LHON patients as a biochemical signature of its pathogenic effect on complex I.

Keywords:  LHON; complex I; mtDNA mutations; rotenone

DOI:  https://doi.org/10.3390/molecules27041341
Front Plant Sci. 2022 ;13 824080

Protein Processing in Plant Mitochondria Compared to Yeast and Mammals.

Malgorzata Heidorn-Czarna, Agata Maziak, Hanna Janska.

  Limited proteolysis, called protein processing, is an essential post-translational mechanism that controls protein localization, activity, and in consequence, function. This process is prevalent for mitochondrial proteins, mainly synthesized as precursor proteins with N-terminal sequences (presequences) that act as targeting signals and are removed upon import into the organelle. Mitochondria have a distinct and highly conserved proteolytic system that includes proteases with sole function in presequence processing and proteases, which show diverse mitochondrial functions with limited proteolysis as an additional one. In virtually all mitochondria, the primary processing of N-terminal signals is catalyzed by the well-characterized mitochondrial processing peptidase (MPP). Subsequently, a second proteolytic cleavage occurs, leading to more stabilized residues at the newly formed N-terminus. Lately, mitochondrial proteases, intermediate cleavage peptidase 55 (ICP55) and octapeptidyl protease 1 (OCT1), involved in proteolytic cleavage after MPP and their substrates have been described in the plant, yeast, and mammalian mitochondria. Mitochondrial proteins can also be processed by removing a peptide from their N- or C-terminus as a maturation step during insertion into the membrane or as a regulatory mechanism in maintaining their function. This type of limited proteolysis is characteristic for processing proteases, such as IMP and rhomboid proteases, or the general mitochondrial quality control proteases ATP23, m-AAA, i-AAA, and OMA1. Identification of processing protease substrates and defining their consensus cleavage motifs is now possible with the help of large-scale quantitative mass spectrometry-based N-terminomics, such as combined fractional diagonal chromatography (COFRADIC), charge-based fractional diagonal chromatography (ChaFRADIC), or terminal amine isotopic labeling of substrates (TAILS). This review summarizes the current knowledge on the characterization of mitochondrial processing peptidases and selected N-terminomics techniques used to uncover protease substrates in the plant, yeast, and mammalian mitochondria.

Keywords:  COFRADIC; ChaFRADIC; N-terminomics; TAILS; limited proteolysis; mitochondria; proteases; protein processing

DOI:  https://doi.org/10.3389/fpls.2022.824080
Biomedicines. 2022 Jan 26. pii: 276. [Epub ahead of print]10(2):

Genetic Complementation of ATP Synthase Deficiency Due to Dysfunction of TMEM70 Assembly Factor in Rat.

Aleksandra Marković, Kateřina Tauchmannová, Miroslava Šimáková, Petr Mlejnek, Vilma Kaplanová, Petr Pecina, Alena Pecinová, František Papoušek, František Liška, Jan Šilhavý, Jana Mikešová, Jan Neckář, Josef Houštěk, Michal Pravenec, Tomáš Mráček.

  Mutations of the TMEM70 gene disrupt the biogenesis of the ATP synthase and represent the most frequent cause of autosomal recessive encephalo-cardio-myopathy with neonatal onset. Patient tissues show isolated defects in the ATP synthase, leading to the impaired mitochondrial synthesis of ATP and insufficient energy provision. In the current study, we tested the efficiency of gene complementation by using a transgenic rescue approach in spontaneously hypertensive rats with the targeted Tmem70 gene (SHR-Tmem70ko/ko), which leads to embryonic lethality. We generated SHR-Tmem70ko/ko knockout rats expressing the Tmem70 wild-type transgene (SHR-Tmem70ko/ko,tg/tg) under the control of the EF-1α universal promoter. Transgenic rescue resulted in viable animals that showed the variable expression of the Tmem70 transgene across the range of tissues and only minor differences in terms of the growth parameters. The TMEM70 protein was restored to 16-49% of the controls in the liver and heart, which was sufficient for the full biochemical complementation of ATP synthase biogenesis as well as for mitochondrial energetic function in the liver. In the heart, we observed partial biochemical complementation, especially in SHR-Tmem70ko/ko,tg/0 hemizygotes. As a result, this led to a minor impairment in left ventricle function. Overall, the transgenic rescue of Tmem70 in SHR-Tmem70ko/ko knockout rats resulted in the efficient complementation of ATP synthase deficiency and thus in the successful genetic treatment of an otherwise fatal mitochondrial disorder.

Keywords:  ATP synthase deficiency; TMEM70 factor; gene therapy; mitochondria disease; transgenic rescue

DOI:  https://doi.org/10.3390/biomedicines10020276