Quantification of mitochondrial proteins in cultured cells by immuno-flow cytometry

In vivo functional analysis of the human mitochondrial DNA polymerase POLG expressed in cultured human cells

The human gene POLG encodes the catalytic subunit of mitochondrial DNA polymerase, but its precise roles in mtDNA metabolism in vivo have not hitherto been documented. By expressing POLG fusion proteins in cultured human cells, we show that the enzyme is targeted to mitochondria, where the Myc epitope-tagged POLG is catalytically active as a DNA polymerase. Long-term culture of cells expressing wild-type POLG-myc revealed no alterations in mitochondrial function. Expression of POLG-myc mutants created dominant phenotypes demonstrating important roles for the protein in mtDNA maintenance and integrity. The D198A amino acid replacement abolished detectable 3'-5' (proofreading) exonuclease activity and led to the accumulation of a significant load (1:1700) of mtDNA point mutations during 3 months of continuous culture. Further culture resulted in the selection of cells with an inactivated mutator polymerase, and a reduced mutation load in mtDNA. Transient expression of POLG-myc variants D890N or D1135A inhibited endogenous mitochondrial DNA polymerase activity and caused mtDNA depletion. Deletion of the POLG CAG repeat did not affect enzymatic properties, but modestly up-regulated expression. These findings demonstrate that POLG exonuclease and polymerase functions are essential for faithful mtDNA maintenance in vivo, and indicate the importance of key residues for these activities.

Assembly of mitochondrial ATP synthase in cultured human cells: implications for mitochondrial diseases

To study the assembly of mitochondrial F1F0 ATP synthase, cultured human cells were labeled with [35S]methionine in pulse-chase experiments. Next, two-dimensional electrophoresis and fluorography were used to analyze the assembly pattern. Two assembly intermediates could be demonstrated. First the F1 part appeared to be assembled, and next an intermediate product that contained F1 and subunit c. This product probably also contained subunits b, F6 and OSCP, but not the mitochondrially encoded subunits a and A6L. Both intermediate complexes accumulated when mitochondrial protein synthesis was inhibited, suggesting that mitochondrially encoded subunits are indispensable for the formation of a fully assembled ATP synthase complex, but not for the formation of the intermediate complexes. The results and methods described in this study offer an approach to study the effects of mutations in subunits of mitochondrial ATP synthase on the assembly of this complex. This might be of value for a better understanding of deficiencies of ATP synthase activity in mitochrondrial diseases.

Altered kinetics of cytochrome c oxidase in a patient with severe mitochondrial encephalomyopathy

Deficiency of cytochrome c oxidase activity was established in a girl born to consanguineous parents. She showed symptoms of dysmaturity, generalized hypotonia, myoclonic seizures and progressive respiratory failure, leading to death on the seventh day of life. Structural abnormalities of the central nervous system consisted of severe cerebellar hypoplasia and optic nerve atrophy. Biochemical analysis of a muscle biopsy specimen demonstrated deficiency of cytochrome c oxidase activity. Cultured fibroblasts from this patient also showed a selective decrease in the activity of cytochrome c oxidase, excluding a muscle-specific type of deficiency. Further investigations in cultured fibroblasts revealed that synthesis, assembly and stability of both the mitochondrial and the nuclear subunits of the enzyme were entirely normal. The steady-state concentration of cytochrome c oxidase in the fibroblasts of the patient was also normal, suggesting that the kinetic properties of the enzyme were altered. Analysis of the kinetic parameters of cytochrome c oxidase demonstrated an aberrant interaction between cytochrome c oxidase and its substrate, cytochrome c, most likely because of a mutation in one of the nuclear subunits of the enzyme.

Expression and fate of the nuclearly encoded subunits of cytochrome-c oxidase in cultured human cells depleted of mitochondrial gene products

Synthesis, import, assembly and turnover of the nuclearly encoded subunits of cytochrome-c oxidase were investigated in cultured human cells depleted of mitochondrial gene products by continuous inhibition of mitochondrial protein synthesis (OP- cells). Immunoprecipitation after pulse labeling demonstrated that the synthesis of the nuclear subunits was not preferentially inhibited, implying that there is no tight regulation in the synthesis of mitochondrial and nuclear subunits of mitochondrial enzyme complexes. Quantitative analysis of the mitochondrial membrane potential in OP- cells indicated that its magnitude was about 30% of that in control cells. This explains the normal import of the nuclearly encoded subunits of cytochrome-c oxidase and other nuclearly encoded mitochondrial proteins into the mitochondria that was found in OP- cells. The turnover rate of nuclear subunits of cytochrome-c oxidase, determined in pulse-chase experiments, showed a specific increase in OP- cells. Moreover, immunoblotting demonstrated that the steady-state levels of nuclear subunits of cytochrome-c oxidase were severely reduced in these cells, in contrast to those of the F1 part of complex V. Native electrophoresis of mitochondrial enzyme complexes showed that assembly of the nuclear subunits of cytochrome-c oxidase did not occur in OP- cells, whereas the (nuclear) subunits of F1 were assembled. The increased turnover of the nuclear subunits of cytochrome-c oxidase in OP- cells is, therefore, most likely due to an increased susceptibility of unassembled subunits to intra-mitochondrial degradation.

Permanent increase of immunocytochemical reactivity for gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA), glutamic acid decarboxylase, mitochondrial enzymes, and glial fibrillary acidic protein in rat cerebral cortex damaged by early postnatal hypoxia-ischemia

A former study indicated that hypoxic-ischemic encephalopathy in rat sustained during early postnatal life may result in permanent epileptic activity in the baseline electroencephalogram. We, therefore, investigated whether the presumed higher firing frequency and metabolic activity of neurons in such hypoxia-damaged cortical areas would be reflected by an enhanced light microscopic immunoreactivity of gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA), the two isoforms of glutamic acid decarboxylase (GAD67 and GAD65), the mitochondrial enzymes cytochrome c oxidase and ATP synthase, and/or glial fibrillary acidic, protein (GFAP). To that end rat pups, 12-13 days of age, were unilaterally exposed to hypoxic-ischemic conditions and, after a survival period of 2 and 6 1/2 months, respectively, killed by perfusion fixation. After dissection of the brain, coronal vibratome sections of animals showing cortical damage were immunostained for the presence of the above-mentioned antigens. Subsequent qualitative analysis revealed that the surroundings of cortical infarctions were unambiguously characterized by a disordered neural network containing numerous nerve cells, fibers and/or endings showing an enhanced immunoreactivity for GABA, both isoforms of glutamic acid decarboxylase, and cytochrome c oxidase and ATP synthase, while the astrocytes showed an enhanced immunoreactivity for GFAP. The diverse patterns of enhanced immunoreactivity suggested, furthermore, a wider low-to-high range of metabolic activities in both excitatory and inhibitory neurons.

Combined quantitative immuno- and enzyme cytochemistry of cytochrome c oxidase in sections of neural tissue and cultured cells

Immuno- and enzyme cytochemical procedures were tested for their applicability to determine quantitatively the concentration and the activity of cytochrome c oxidase (COX) in tissue sections of fish spinal cord and sections of cultured human Molt-4 cells. Sections of gelatin gels containing known amounts of human skeletal muscle COX served as standard sections. The selected procedures fulfilled an important criterion for valid quantitative cytochemistry: the amount of final reaction product was linearly related with section thickness. When the immuno- and enzyme cytochemical methods were applied to sections of fish spinal neurons or cultured human cells, the COX concentration appeared to correlate significantly with COX activity. These cytochemical methods might therefore be valuable to detect differences in molecular COX activities between individual cell types as may occur in tissue sections of biopsies taken from patients with mitochondrial dysfunctions.

Beta-oxidation of fatty acids in cultured human skin fibroblasts devoid of the capacity for oxidative phosphorylation

Prolonged treatment of cultured cells with ethidium bromide results in loss of the capacity for oxidative phosphorylation. Because of the tight coupling between mitochondrial beta-oxidation of fatty acids and the activity of the respiratory chain, such cells may be used to study the contribution of mitochondria and peroxisomes to fatty acid beta-oxidation. To investigate this, human skin fibroblasts were cultured in the presence of ethidium bromide for at least 10 cell generations, resulting in a virtually complete absence of oxidative phosphorylation as demonstrated directly in digitonin-permeabilized fibroblasts. The cells showed a lowered ATP/ADP ratio, most likely as the consequence of the inability to generate ATP via oxidative phosphorylation. The loss of the capacity for oxidative phosphorylation was also reflected in an increased cytosolic NADH/NAD+ ratio: the cells showed a highly elevated lactate/pyruvate ratio in the suspending medium when incubated with glucose. The beta-oxidation of octanoic and palmitic acid was dramatically decreased, suggesting that the beta-oxidation of these fatty acids takes place predominantly (> 90%) in mitochondria, at least in the cells studied. In contrast, the rates of pristanic and cerotic acid beta-oxidation were only slightly decreased, suggesting that this is mainly a peroxisomal process. The reduction of beta-oxidation of cerotic and pristanic acid, 27% and 15%, respectively, is most likely due to a lowered ATP level and an increased NADH/NAD(+)-redoxstate in these cells. We conclude that fibroblasts subjected to prolonged treatment with ethidium bromide can be used as a model system to study the substrate specificity and functional characteristics of the peroxisomal beta-oxidation system.

Regulation of the expression of mitochondrial proteins: relationship between mtDNA copy number and cytochrome-c oxidase activity in human cells and tissues

The relationship between the relative amounts of nuclear and mitochondrial genes for cytochrome-c oxidase subunits and their transcripts and cytochrome-c oxidase activity was investigated in several human tissues and cell lines to get more insight into the regulation of the expression of this mitochondrial enzyme complex. The results show: (1) a wide range of mtDNA copy numbers; (2) constant ratios between the steady-state levels of the transcripts for the various cytochrome-c oxidase subunits, and (3) large variations in cytochrome-c oxidase activity in different tissues and cell lines that could not be related to the differences in mtDNA copy number. We conclude that the transcription of genes for both mitochondrial and nuclear cytochrome-c oxidase subunits is regulated coordinatedly, but also that the mtDNA copy number plays a minor role in determining differences in cytochrome-c oxidase activity between different cell and tissue types.

Relationship between culture conditions and the dependency on mitochondrial function of mammalian cell proliferation

In cultured mammalian cells, the relationship was investigated between mitochondrial function and proliferation under various culture conditions. Continuous inhibition of the expression of the mitochondrial genome was used to reduce the activity of enzymes involved in oxidative phosphorylation by 50% at every cell division. Under these conditions, culturing in relatively poor media resulted in arrest of the proliferation of most cell lines after 1 cell division. This was preceded by decreasing levels of ATP and increasing levels of ADP, suggesting that the ATP-generating capacity of the cells was limiting. Culturing in richer media led to arrest of the proliferation after 5 to 6 divisions, but accumulation of ADP was not observed. Addition of pyruvate to rich culture media and, at least for 1 cell line, increasing the CO2 levels, completely prevented proliferation arrest. Inability to synthesise metabolic precursors via mitochondrial intermediary metabolism probably explains growth arrest of cells cultured in rich media. Pyruvate and CO2 were, however, without effect on the proliferation arrest of cells cultured in relatively poor media. Therefore, pyruvate dependency for growth of cells without functional mitochondria holds true only under culture conditions where the ATP-generating capacity of the cells is not limiting.