Cardiolipin enhances the enzymatic activity of cytochrome bd and cytochrome bo(3) solubilized in dodecyl-maltoside

Membrane-Bound Redox Enzyme Cytochrome bd-I Promotes Carbon Monoxide-Resistant Escherichia coli Growth and Respiration

The terminal oxidases of bacterial aerobic respiratory chains are redox-active electrogenic enzymes that catalyze the four-electron reduction of O2 to 2H2O taking out electrons from quinol or cytochrome c. Living bacteria often deal with carbon monoxide (CO) which can act as both a signaling molecule and a poison. Bacterial terminal oxidases contain hemes; therefore, they are potential targets for CO. However, our knowledge of this issue is limited and contradictory. Here, we investigated the effect of CO on the cell growth and aerobic respiration of three different Escherichia coli mutants, each expressing only one terminal quinol oxidase: cytochrome bd-I, cytochrome bd-II, or cytochrome bo3. We found that following the addition of CO to bd-I-only cells, a minimal effect on growth was observed, whereas the growth of both bd-II-only and bo3-only strains was severely impaired. Consistently, the degree of resistance of aerobic respiration of bd-I-only cells to CO is high, as opposed to high CO sensitivity displayed by bd-II-only and bo3-only cells consuming O2. Such a difference between the oxidases in sensitivity to CO was also observed with isolated membranes of the mutants. Accordingly, O2 consumption of wild-type cells showed relatively low CO sensitivity under conditions favoring the expression of a bd-type oxidase.

Cryo-Electron Microscopy Structure of the Mycobacterium tuberculosis Cytochrome bcc:aa3 Supercomplex and a Novel Inhibitor Targeting Subunit Cytochrome cI

The mycobacterial cytochrome bcc:aa3 complex deserves the name "supercomplex" since it combines three cytochrome oxidases-cytochrome bc, cytochrome c, and cytochrome aa3-into one supramolecular machine and performs electron transfer for the reduction of oxygen to water and proton transport to generate the proton motive force for ATP synthesis. Thus, the bcc:aa3 complex represents a valid drug target for Mycobacterium tuberculosis infections. The production and purification of an entire M. tuberculosis cytochrome bcc:aa3 are fundamental for biochemical and structural characterization of this supercomplex, paving the way for new inhibitor targets and molecules. Here, we produced and purified the entire and active M. tuberculosis cyt-bcc:aa3 oxidase, as demonstrated by the different heme spectra and an oxygen consumption assay. The resolved M. tuberculosis cyt-bcc:aa3 cryo-electron microscopy structure reveals a dimer with its functional domains involved in electron, proton, oxygen transfer, and oxygen reduction. The structure shows the two cytochrome cIcII head domains of the dimer, the counterpart of the soluble mitochondrial cytochrome c, in a so-called "closed state," in which electrons are translocated from the bcc to the aa3 domain. The structural and mechanistic insights provided the basis for a virtual screening campaign that identified a potent M. tuberculosis cyt-bcc:aa3 inhibitor, cytMycc1. cytMycc1 targets the mycobacterium-specific α3-helix of cytochrome cI and interferes with oxygen consumption by interrupting electron translocation via the cIcII head. The successful identification of a new cyt-bcc:aa3 inhibitor demonstrates the potential of a structure-mechanism-based approach for novel compound development.

Interaction of Terminal Oxidases with Amphipathic Molecules

The review focuses on recent advances regarding the effects of natural and artificial amphipathic compounds on terminal oxidases. Terminal oxidases are fascinating biomolecular devices which couple the oxidation of respiratory substrates with generation of a proton motive force used by the cell for ATP production and other needs. The role of endogenous lipids in the enzyme structure and function is highlighted. The main regularities of the interaction between the most popular detergents and terminal oxidases of various types are described. A hypothesis about the physiological regulation of mitochondrial-type enzymes by lipid-soluble ligands is considered.

Rapid and Highly Stable Membrane Reconstitution by LAiR Enables the Study of Physiological Integral Membrane Protein Functions

Functional reintegration into lipid environments represents a major challenge for in vitro investigation of integral membrane proteins (IMPs). Here, we report a new approach, termed LMNG Auto-insertion Reintegration (LAiR), for reintegration of IMPs into lipid bilayers within minutes. The resulting proteoliposomes displayed an unprecedented capability to maintain proton gradients and long-term stability. LAiR allowed for monitoring catalysis of a membrane-bound, physiologically relevant polyisoprenoid quinone substrate by Escherichia coli cytochromes bo ₃ (cbo ₃) and bd (cbd) under control of the proton motive force. LAiR also facilitated bulk-phase detection and physiological assessment of the "proton leak" in cbo ₃, a controversial catalytic state that previously was only approachable at the single-molecule level. LAiR maintained the multisubunit integrity and higher-order oligomeric states of the delicate mammalian F-ATP synthase. Given that LAiR can be applied to both liposomes and planar membrane bilayers and is compatible with IMPs and lipids from prokaryotic and eukaryotic sources, we anticipate LAiR to be applied broadly across basic research, pharmaceutical applications, and biotechnology.

Indirect Pathway Metabolic Engineering Strategies for Enhanced Biosynthesis of Hyaluronic Acid in Engineered Corynebacterium glutamicum

Hyaluronic acid (HA) is composed of alternating d-glucuronic acid and N-acetyl-d-glucosamine, with excellent biocompatibility and water retention capacity. To achieve heterologous biosynthesis of HA, Corynebacterium glutamicum, a safe GRAS (generally recognized as safe) host, was utilized and metabolically engineered previously. In this work, to achieve further enhancement of HA yield, four strategies were proposed and performed separately first, i.e., (1) improvement of glucose uptake via iolR gene knockout, releasing the inhibition of transporter IolT1/IolT2 and glucokinases; (2) intensification of cardiolipin synthesis through overexpression of genes pgsA1/pgsA2/cls involved in cardiolipin synthesis; (3) duly expressed Vitreoscilla hemoglobin in genome, enhancing HA titer coupled with more ATP and improved NAD⁺/NADH (>7.5) ratio; and (4) identification of the importance of glutamine for HA synthesis through transcriptome analyses and then enhancement of the HA titer via its supplement. After that, we combined different strategies together to further increase the HA titer. As a result, one of the optimal recombinant strains, Cg-dR-CLS, yielded 32 g/L of HA at 60 h in a fed-batch culture, which was increased by 30% compared with that of the starting strain. This high value of HA titer will enable the industrial production of HA via the engineered C. glutamicum.

Mechanistic and structural diversity between cytochrome bd isoforms of Escherichia coli

The treatment of infectious diseases caused by multidrug-resistant pathogens is a major clinical challenge of the 21st century. The membrane-embedded respiratory cytochrome bd-type oxygen reductase is a critical survival factor utilized by pathogenic bacteria during infection, proliferation and the transition from acute to chronic states. Escherichia coli encodes for two cytochrome bd isoforms that are both involved in respiration under oxygen limited conditions. Mechanistic and structural differences between cydABX (Ecbd-I) and appCBX (Ecbd-II) operon encoded cytochrome bd variants have remained elusive in the past. Here, we demonstrate that cytochrome bd-II catalyzes oxidation of benzoquinols while possessing additional specificity for naphthoquinones. Our data show that although menaquinol-1 (MK1) is not able to directly transfer electrons onto cytochrome bd-II from E. coli, it has a stimulatory effect on its oxygen reduction rate in the presence of ubiquinol-1. We further determined cryo-EM structures of cytochrome bd-II to high resolution of 2.1 Å. Our structural insights confirm that the general architecture and substrate accessible pathways are conserved between the two bd oxidase isoforms, but two notable differences are apparent upon inspection: (i) Ecbd-II does not contain a CydH-like subunit, thereby exposing heme b ₅₉₅ to the membrane environment and (ii) the AppB subunit harbors a structural demethylmenaquinone-8 molecule instead of ubiquinone-8 as found in CydB of Ecbd-I Our work completes the structural landscape of terminal respiratory oxygen reductases of E. coli and suggests that structural and functional properties of the respective oxidases are linked to quinol-pool dependent metabolic adaptations in E. coli.

Impact of Hydrogen Sulfide on Mitochondrial and Bacterial Bioenergetics

This review focuses on the effects of hydrogen sulfide (H2S) on the unique bioenergetic molecular machines in mitochondria and bacteria-the protein complexes of electron transport chains and associated enzymes. H2S, along with nitric oxide and carbon monoxide, belongs to the class of endogenous gaseous signaling molecules. This compound plays critical roles in physiology and pathophysiology. Enzymes implicated in H2S metabolism and physiological actions are promising targets for novel pharmaceutical agents. The biological effects of H2S are biphasic, changing from cytoprotection to cytotoxicity through increasing the compound concentration. In mammals, H2S enhances the activity of FoF1-ATP (adenosine triphosphate) synthase and lactate dehydrogenase via their S-sulfhydration, thereby stimulating mitochondrial electron transport. H2S serves as an electron donor for the mitochondrial respiratory chain via sulfide quinone oxidoreductase and cytochrome c oxidase at low H2S levels. The latter enzyme is inhibited by high H2S concentrations, resulting in the reversible inhibition of electron transport and ATP production in mitochondria. In the branched respiratory chain of Escherichia coli, H2S inhibits the bo3 terminal oxidase but does not affect the alternative bd-type oxidases. Thus, in E. coli and presumably other bacteria, cytochrome bd permits respiration and cell growth in H2S-rich environments. A complete picture of the impact of H2S on bioenergetics is lacking, but this field is fast-moving, and active ongoing research on this topic will likely shed light on additional, yet unknown biological effects.

The Profound Influence of Lipid Composition on the Catalysis of the Drug Target NADH Type II Oxidoreductase

Lipids play a pivotal role in cellular respiration, providing the natural environment in which an oxidoreductase interacts with the quinone pool. To date, it is generally accepted that negatively charged lipids play a major role in the activity of quinone oxidoreductases. By changing lipid compositions when assaying a type II NADH:quinone oxidoreductase, we demonstrate that phosphatidylethanolamine has an essential role in substrate binding and catalysis. We also reveal the importance of acyl chain composition, specifically c14:0, on membrane-bound quinone-mediated catalysis. This demonstrates that oxidoreductase lipid specificity is more diverse than originally thought and that the lipid environment plays an important role in the physiological catalysis of membrane-bound oxidoreductases.