Purification, characterization and crystallization of the F-ATPase from Paracoccus denitrificans

The biogenesis and regulation of the plant oxidative phosphorylation system

Mitochondria are central organelles for respiration in plants. At the heart of this process is oxidative phosphorylation (OXPHOS) system, which generates ATP required for cellular energetic needs. OXPHOS complexes comprise of multiple subunits that originated from both mitochondrial and nuclear genome, which requires careful orchestration of expression, translation, import, and assembly. Constant exposure to reactive oxygen species due to redox activity also renders OXPHOS subunits to be more prone to oxidative damage, which requires coordination of disassembly and degradation. In this review, we highlight the composition, assembly, and activity of OXPHOS complexes in plants based on recent biochemical and structural studies. We also discuss how plants regulate the biogenesis and turnover of OXPHOS subunits and the importance of OXPHOS in overall plant respiration. Further studies in determining the regulation of biogenesis and activity of OXPHOS will advances the field, especially in understanding plant respiration and its role to plant growth and development.

F1·Fo ATP Synthase/ATPase: Contemporary View on Unidirectional Catalysis

F1·Fo-ATP synthases/ATPases (F1·Fo) are molecular machines that couple either ATP synthesis from ADP and phosphate or ATP hydrolysis to the consumption or production of a transmembrane electrochemical gradient of protons. Currently, in view of the spread of drug-resistant disease-causing strains, there is an increasing interest in F1·Fo as new targets for antimicrobial drugs, in particular, anti-tuberculosis drugs, and inhibitors of these membrane proteins are being considered in this capacity. However, the specific drug search is hampered by the complex mechanism of regulation of F1·Fo in bacteria, in particular, in mycobacteria: the enzyme efficiently synthesizes ATP, but is not capable of ATP hydrolysis. In this review, we consider the current state of the problem of “unidirectional” F1·Fo catalysis found in a wide range of bacterial F1·Fo and enzymes from other organisms, the understanding of which will be useful for developing a strategy for the search for new drugs that selectively disrupt the energy production of bacterial cells.

Interaction of Venturicidin and Fo·F1-ATPase/ATP Synthase of Tightly Coupled Subbacterial Particles of Paracoccus denitrificans in Energized Membranes

Proton-translocating F_o×F₁-ATPase/synthase that catalyzes synthesis and hydrolysis of ATP is commonly considered to be a reversibly functioning complex. We have previously shown that venturicidin, a specific F_o-directed inhibitor, blocks the synthesis and hydrolysis of ATP with a significant difference in the affinity [Zharova, T. V. and Vinogradov, A. D. (2017) Biochim. Biophys. Acta, 1858, 939-944]. In this paper, we have studied in detail inhibition of F_o×F₁-ATPase/synthase by venturicidin in tightly coupled membranes of Paracoccus denitrificans under conditions of membrane potential generation. ATP hydrolysis was followed by the ATP-dependent succinate-supported NAD+ reduction (potential-dependent reverse electron transfer) catalyzed by the respiratory chain complex I. It has been demonstrated that membrane energization did not affect the affinity of F_o×F₁-ATPase/synthase for venturicidin. The dependence of the residual ATP synthase activity on the concentration of venturicidin approximated a linear function, whereas the dependence of ATP hydrolysis was sigmoidal: at low inhibitor concentrations venturicidin strongly inhibited ATP synthesis without decrease in the rate of ATP hydrolysis. A model is proposed suggesting that ATP synthesis and ATP hydrolysis are catalyzed by two different forms of F_o×F₁.

ATP synthase FOF1 structure, function, and structure-based drug design

ATP synthases are unique rotatory molecular machines that supply biochemical reactions with adenosine triphosphate (ATP)-the universal "currency", which cells use for synthesis of vital molecules and sustaining life. ATP synthases of F-type (FOF1) are found embedded in bacterial cellular membrane, in thylakoid membranes of chloroplasts, and in mitochondrial inner membranes in eukaryotes. The main functions of ATP synthases are control of the ATP synthesis and transmembrane potential. Although the key subunits of the enzyme remain highly conserved, subunit composition and structural organization of ATP synthases and their assemblies are significantly different. In addition, there are hypotheses that the enzyme might be involved in the formation of the mitochondrial permeability transition pore and play a role in regulation of the cell death processes. Dysfunctions of this enzyme lead to numerous severe disorders with high fatality levels. In our review, we focus on FOF1-structure-based approach towards development of new therapies by using FOF1 structural features inherited by the representatives of this enzyme family from different taxonomy groups. We analyzed and systematized the most relevant information about the structural organization of FOF1 to discuss how this approach might help in the development of new therapies targeting ATP synthases and design tools for cellular bioenergetics control.

The assembly, regulation and function of the mitochondrial respiratory chain

The mitochondrial oxidative phosphorylation system is central to cellular metabolism. It comprises five enzymatic complexes and two mobile electron carriers that work in a mitochondrial respiratory chain. By coupling the oxidation of reducing equivalents coming into mitochondria to the generation and subsequent dissipation of a proton gradient across the inner mitochondrial membrane, this electron transport chain drives the production of ATP, which is then used as a primary energy carrier in virtually all cellular processes. Minimal perturbations of the respiratory chain activity are linked to diseases; therefore, it is necessary to understand how these complexes are assembled and regulated and how they function. In this Review, we outline the latest assembly models for each individual complex, and we also highlight the recent discoveries indicating that the formation of larger assemblies, known as respiratory supercomplexes, originates from the association of the intermediates of individual complexes. We then discuss how recent cryo-electron microscopy structures have been key to answering open questions on the function of the electron transport chain in mitochondrial respiration and how supercomplexes and other factors, including metabolites, can regulate the activity of the single complexes. When relevant, we discuss how these mechanisms contribute to physiology and outline their deregulation in human diseases.

Molecular Basis of the Pathogenic Mechanism Induced by the m.9191T>C Mutation in Mitochondrial ATP6 Gene

Probing the pathogenicity and functional consequences of mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) mutations from patient’s cells and tissues is difficult due to genetic heteroplasmy (co-existence of wild type and mutated mtDNA in cells), occurrence of numerous mtDNA polymorphisms, and absence of methods for genetically transforming human mitochondria. Owing to its good fermenting capacity that enables survival to loss-of-function mtDNA mutations, its amenability to mitochondrial genome manipulation, and lack of heteroplasmy, Saccharomyces cerevisiae is an excellent model for studying and resolving the molecular bases of human diseases linked to mtDNA in a controlled genetic background. Using this model, we previously showed that a pathogenic mutation in mitochondrial ATP6 gene (m.9191T>C), that converts a highly conserved leucine residue into proline in human ATP synthase subunit a (aL222P), severely compromises the assembly of yeast ATP synthase and reduces by 90% the rate of mitochondrial ATP synthesis. Herein, we report the isolation of intragenic suppressors of this mutation. In light of recently described high resolution structures of ATP synthase, the results indicate that the m.9191T>C mutation disrupts a four α-helix bundle in subunit a and that the leucine residue it targets indirectly optimizes proton conduction through the membrane domain of ATP synthase.

The pathogenic MT-ATP6 m.8851T>C mutation prevents proton movements within the n-side hydrophilic cleft of the membrane domain of ATP synthase

Dozens of pathogenic mutations have been localized in the mitochondrial gene (MT-ATP6) that encodes the subunit a of ATP synthase. The subunit a together with a ring of identical subunits c moves protons across the mitochondrial inner membrane coupled to rotation of the subunit c-ring and ATP synthesis. One of these mutations, m.8851T>C, has been associated with bilateral striatal lesions of childhood (BSLC), a group of rare neurological disorders characterized by symmetric degeneration of the corpus striatum. It converts a highly conserved tryptophan residue into arginine at position 109 of subunit a (aW₁₀₉R). We previously showed that an equivalent thereof in Saccharomyces cerevisiae (aW₁₂₆R) severely impairs by an unknown mechanism the functioning of ATP synthase without any visible assembly/stability defect. Herein we show that ATP synthase function was recovered to varying degree by replacing the mutant arginine residue 126 with methionine, lysine or glycine or by replacing with methionine an arginine residue present at position 169 of subunit a (aR₁₆₉). In recently described atomic structures of yeast ATP synthase, aR₁₆₉ is at the center of a hydrophilic cleft along which protons are transported from the subunit c-ring to the mitochondrial matrix, in the proximity of the two residues known from a long time to be essential to the activity of F_O (aR₁₇₆ and cE₅₉). We provide evidence that the aW₁₂₆R change is responsible for electrostatic and steric hindrance that enables aR₁₆₉ to engage in a salt bridge with cE₅₉. As a result, aR₁₇₆ cannot interact properly with cE₅ and ATP synthase fails to effectively move protons across the mitochondrial membrane. In addition to insight into the pathogenic mechanism induced by the m.8851T>C mutation, the present study brings interesting information about the role of specific residues of subunit a in the energy-transducing activity of ATP synthase.

Molecular basis of diseases caused by the mtDNA mutation m.8969G>A in the subunit a of ATP synthase

The ATP synthase which provides aerobic eukaryotes with ATP, organizes into a membrane-extrinsic catalytic domain, where ATP is generated, and a membrane-embedded F_O domain that shuttles protons across the membrane. We previously identified a mutation in the mitochondrial MT-ATP6 gene (m.8969G>A) in a 14-year-old Chinese female who developed an isolated nephropathy followed by brain and muscle problems. This mutation replaces a highly conserved serine residue into asparagine at amino acid position 148 of the membrane-embedded subunit a of ATP synthase. We showed that an equivalent of this mutation in yeast (aS₁₇₅N) prevents F_O-mediated proton translocation. Herein we identified four first-site intragenic suppressors (aN₁₇₅D, aN₁₇₅K, aN₁₇₅I, and aN₁₇₅T), which, in light of a recently published atomic structure of yeast F_O indicates that the detrimental consequences of the original mutation result from the establishment of hydrogen bonds between aN₁₇₅ and a nearby glutamate residue (aE₁₇₂) that was proposed to be critical for the exit of protons from the ATP synthase towards the mitochondrial matrix. Interestingly also, we found that the aS₁₇₅N mutation can be suppressed by second-site suppressors (aP₁₂S, aI₁₇₁F, aI₁₇₁N, aI₂₃₉F, and aI₂₀₀M), of which some are very distantly located (by 20-30 Å) from the original mutation. The possibility to compensate through long-range effects the aS₁₇₅N mutation is an interesting observation that holds promise for the development of therapeutic molecules.

Solubilization conditions for bovine heart mitochondrial membranes allow selective purification of large quantities of respiratory complexes I, III, and V

Ascertaining the structure and functions of mitochondrial respiratory chain complexes is essential to understanding the biological mechanisms of energy conversion; therefore, numerous studies have examined these complexes. A fundamental part of that research involves devising a method for purifying samples with good reproducibility; the samples obtained need to be stable and their constituents need to retain the same structure and functions they possess when in mitochondrial membranes. Submitochondrial bovine heart particles were isolated using differential centrifugation to adjust to a membrane concentration of 46.0% (w/v) or 31.5% (w/v) based on weight. After 0.7% (w/v) deoxycholic acid, 0.4% (w/v) decyl maltoside, and 7.2% (w/v) potassium chloride were added to the mitochondrial membranes, those membranes were solubilized. At a membrane concentration of 46%, complex V was selectively solubilized, whereas at a concentration of 31.5% (w/v), complexes I and III were solubilized. Two steps-sucrose density gradient centrifugation and anion-exchange chromatography on a POROS HQ 20 μm column-enabled selective purification of samples that retained their structure and functions. These two steps enabled complexes I, III, and V to be purified in two days with a high yield. Complexes I, III, and V were stabilized with n-decyl-β-D-maltoside. A total of 200 mg-300 mg of those complexes from one bovine heart (1.1 kg muscle) was purified with good reproducibility, and the complexes retained the same functions they possessed while in mitochondrial membranes.

Functional heterogeneity of Fo·F1H+-ATPase/synthase in coupled Paracoccus denitrificans plasma membranes

F_o·F₁H⁺-ATPase/synthase in coupled plasma membrane vesicles of Paracoccus denitrificans catalyzes ATP hydrolysis and/or ATP synthesis with comparable enzyme turnover. Significant difference in pH-profile of these alternative activities is seen: decreasing pH from 8.0 to 7.0 results in reversible inhibition of hydrolytic activity, whereas ATP synthesis activity is not changed. The inhibition of ATPase activity upon acidification results from neither change in ADP(Mg²⁺)-induced deactivation nor the energy-dependent enzyme activation. V_max, not apparent Km^ATP is affected by lowering the pH. Venturicidin noncompetitively inhibits ATP synthesis and coupled ATP hydrolysis, showing significant difference in the affinity to its inhibitory site depending on the direction of the catalysis. This difference cannot be attributed to variations of the substrate-enzyme intermediates for steady-state forward and back reactions or to possible equilibrium between ATP hydrolase and ATP synthase F_o·F₁ modes of the opposite directions of catalysis. The data are interpreted as to suggest that distinct non-equilibrated molecular isoforms of F_o·F₁ ATP synthase and ATP hydrolase exist in coupled energy-transducing membranes.

Dietary restriction protects from age-associated DNA methylation and induces epigenetic reprogramming of lipid metabolism

Background

Dietary restriction (DR), a reduction in food intake without malnutrition, increases most aspects of health during aging and extends lifespan in diverse species, including rodents. However, the mechanisms by which DR interacts with the aging process to improve health in old age are poorly understood. DNA methylation could play an important role in mediating the effects of DR because it is sensitive to the effects of nutrition and can affect gene expression memory over time.

Results

Here, we profile genome-wide changes in DNA methylation, gene expression and lipidomics in response to DR and aging in female mouse liver. DR is generally strongly protective against age-related changes in DNA methylation. During aging with DR, DNA methylation becomes targeted to gene bodies and is associated with reduced gene expression, particularly of genes involved in lipid metabolism. The lipid profile of the livers of DR mice is correspondingly shifted towards lowered triglyceride content and shorter chain length of triglyceride-associated fatty acids, and these effects become more pronounced with age.

Conclusions

Our results indicate that DR remodels genome-wide patterns of DNA methylation so that age-related changes are profoundly delayed, while changes at loci involved in lipid metabolism affect gene expression and the resulting lipid profile.

Electronic supplementary material

The online version of this article (doi:10.1186/s13059-017-1187-1) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

Cardiolipin binds selectively but transiently to conserved lysine residues in the rotor of metazoan ATP synthases

The anionic lipid cardiolipin is an essential component of active ATP synthases. In metazoans, their rotors contain a ring of eight c-subunits consisting of inner and outer circles of N- and C-terminal α-helices, respectively. The beginning of the C-terminal α-helix contains a strictly conserved and fully trimethylated lysine residue in the lipid head-group region of the membrane. Larger rings of known structure, from c9-c15 in eubacteria and chloroplasts, conserve either a lysine or an arginine residue in the equivalent position. In computer simulations of hydrated membranes containing trimethylated or unmethylated bovine c8-rings and bacterial c10- or c11-rings, the head-groups of cardiolipin molecules became associated selectively with these modified and unmodified lysine residues and with adjacent polar amino acids and with a second conserved lysine on the opposite side of the membrane, whereas phosphatidyl lipids were attracted little to these sites. However, the residence times of cardiolipin molecules with the ring were brief and sufficient for the rotor to turn only a fraction of a degree in the active enzyme. With the demethylated c8-ring and with c10- and c11-rings, the density of bound cardiolipin molecules at this site increased, but residence times were not changed greatly. These highly specific but brief interactions with the rotating c-ring are consistent with functional roles for cardiolipin in stabilizing and lubricating the rotor, and, by interacting with the enzyme at the inlet and exit of the transmembrane proton channel, in participation in proton translocation through the membrane domain of the enzyme.

Structure of ATP synthase from Paracoccus denitrificans determined by X-ray crystallography at 4.0 Å resolution

The structure of the intact ATP synthase from the α-proteobacterium Paracoccus denitrificans, inhibited by its natural regulatory ζ-protein, has been solved by X-ray crystallography at 4.0 Å resolution. The ζ-protein is bound via its N-terminal α-helix in a catalytic interface in the F1 domain. The bacterial F1 domain is attached to the membrane domain by peripheral and central stalks. The δ-subunit component of the peripheral stalk binds to the N-terminal regions of two α-subunits. The stalk extends via two parallel long α-helices, one in each of the related b and b' subunits, down a noncatalytic interface of the F1 domain and interacts in an unspecified way with the a-subunit in the membrane domain. The a-subunit lies close to a ring of 12 c-subunits attached to the central stalk in the F1 domain, and, together, the central stalk and c-ring form the enzyme's rotor. Rotation is driven by the transmembrane proton-motive force, by a mechanism where protons pass through the interface between the a-subunit and c-ring via two half-channels in the a-subunit. These half-channels are probably located in a bundle of four α-helices in the a-subunit that are tilted at ∼30° to the plane of the membrane. Conserved polar residues in the two α-helices closest to the c-ring probably line the proton inlet path to an essential carboxyl group in the c-subunit in the proton uptake site and a proton exit path from the proton release site. The structure has provided deep insights into the workings of this extraordinary molecular machine.