Fo Subunits Research Articles

Mitochondrial ATP synthase deficiency due to a mutation in the ATP5E gene for the F1 subunit

F1Fo-ATP synthase is a key enzyme of mitochondrial energy provision producing most of cellular ATP. So far, mitochondrial diseases caused by isolated disorders of the ATP synthase have been shown to result from mutations in mtDNA genes for the subunits ATP6 and ATP8 or in nuclear genes encoding the biogenesis factors TMEM70 and ATPAF2. Here, we describe a patient with a homozygous p.Tyr12Cys mutation in the epsilon subunit encoded by the nuclear gene ATP5E. The 22-year-old woman presented with neonatal onset, lactic acidosis, 3-methylglutaconic aciduria, mild mental retardation and developed peripheral neuropathy. Patient fibroblasts showed 60-70% decrease in both oligomycin-sensitive ATPase activity and mitochondrial ATP synthesis. The mitochondrial content of the ATP synthase complex was equally reduced, but its size was normal and it contained the mutated epsilon subunit. A similar reduction was found in all investigated F1 and Fo subunits with the exception of Fo subunit c, which was found to accumulate in a detergent-insoluble form. This is the first case of a mitochondrial disease due to a mutation in a nuclear encoded structural subunit of the ATP synthase. Our results indicate an essential role of the epsilon subunit in the biosynthesis and assembly of the F1 part of the ATP synthase. Furthermore, the epsilon subunit seems to be involved in the incorporation of subunit c to the rotor structure of the mammalian enzyme.

2P202 FoF1-ATP合成酵素の非共鳴ラマン研究 : 基質結合によるFo部位の構造変化の検出(分子モーター,第48回日本生物物理学会年会)

2P202 FoF1-ATP合成酵素の非共鳴ラマン研究 : 基質結合によるFo部位の構造変化の検出(分子モーター,第48回日本生物物理学会年会)

Knockdown of F1 epsilon subunit decreases mitochondrial content of ATP synthase and leads to accumulation of subunit c

The subunit ε of mitochondrial ATP synthase is the only F1 subunit without a homolog in bacteria and chloroplasts and represents the least characterized F1 subunit of the mammalian enzyme. Silencing of the ATP5E gene in HEK293 cells resulted in downregulation of the activity and content of the mitochondrial ATP synthase complex and of ADP-stimulated respiration to approximately 40% of the control. The decreased content of the ε subunit was paralleled by a decrease in the F1 subunits α and β and in the Fo subunits a and d while the content of the subunit c was not affected. The subunit c was present in the full-size ATP synthase complex and in subcomplexes of 200–400kDa that neither contained the F1 subunits, nor the Fo subunits. The results indicate that the ε subunit is essential for the assembly of F1 and plays an important role in the incorporation of the hydrophobic subunit c into the F1-c oligomer rotor of the mitochondrial ATP synthase complex.

Inhibitory and Anchoring Domains in the ATPase Inhibitor Protein IF1of Bovine Heart Mitochondrial ATP Synthase

The inhibitor protein IF1 is a basic protein of 84 residues which inhibits the ATPase activity of the mitochondrial FoF1-ATP synthase complex without having any effect on ATP synthesis. Results of cross-linking and limited proteolysis experiments are presented showing that in the intact FoF1 complex "in situ," in the inner membrane of bovine heart mitochondria, the central segment of IF1 (residues 42-58) binds to the alpha and beta subunits of F1 in a pH dependent process, and inhibits the ATPase activity. The C-terminal region of IF1 binds, simultaneously, to the OSCP subunit of Fo in a pH-independent process. This binding keeps IF1 anchored to the complex, both under inhibitory conditions, at acidic pH, and noninhibitory conditions at alkaline pH.

Enzyme level of enterococcal F1Fo‐ATPase is regulated by pH at the step of assembly

The amount of F1Fo-ATPase in Enterococcus hirae (formerly Streptococcus faecalis) increases when the cytoplasmic pH is lowered below 7.6, and protons are extruded to maintain the cytoplasmic pH at around 7.6. In the present study, we found that the transcriptional activity of the F1Fo-ATPase operon was not regulated by pH. The synthesis of F1 subunits was increased 1.65 +/- 0.12-fold by the acidification of medium from pH 8.0 to pH 5.3. Western-blot analysis showed that there were F1 subunits in the cytoplasm, and the number of alpha plus beta subunits in the cytoplasm was 50% of the total number of the subunits in cells growing at pH 8.0. This decreased to 22% after shifting the medium pH to 5.3, with a concomitant 5.1-fold increase in the level of membrane-bound F1Fo-ATPase. The cytoplasmic F1 subunits were shown to be degraded, and Fo subunits not assembled into the intact F1Fo complex were suggested to be digested. These data suggest that regulation of the enzyme level of F1Fo-ATPase by the intracellular pH takes place mainly at the step of enzyme assembly from its subunits.

Topological and functional relationship of subunits F1-gamma and F0I-PVP(b) in the mitochondrial H+-ATP synthase.

Diamide treatment of the F0F1-ATP synthase in "inside out" submitochondrial particles (ESMP) in the absence of a respiratory Delta mu H+ as well as of isolated Fo reconstituted with F1 or F1-gamma subunit results in direct disulfide cross-linking between cysteine 197 in the carboxy-terminal region of the F0I-PVP(b) subunit and cysteine 91 at the carboxyl end of a small alpha-helix of subunit F1-gamma, both located in the stalk. The F0I-PVP(b) and F1-gamma cross-linking cause dramatic enhancement of oligomycin-sensitive decay of Delta mu H+. In ESMP and MgATP particles the cross-linking is accompanied by decoupling of respiratory ATP synthesis. These effects are consistent with the view that F0I-PVP(b) and F1-gamma are components of the stator and rotor of the proposed rotary motor, respectively. The fact that the carboxy-terminal region of F0I-PVP(b) and the short alpha-helix of F1-gamma can form a direct disulfide bridge shows that these two protein domains are, at least in the resting state of the enzyme, in direct contact. In isolated F0, diamide also induces cross-linking of OSCP with another subunit of F0, but this has no significant effect on proton conduction. When ESMP are treated with diamide in the presence of Delta mu H+ generated by respiration, neither cross-linking between F0I-PVP(b) and F1-gamma subunits nor the associated effects on proton conduction and ATP synthesis is observed. Cross-linking is restored in respiring ESMP by Delta mu H+ collapsing agents as well as by DCCD or oligomycin. These observations indicate that the torque generated by Delta mu H+ decay through Fo induces a relative motion and/or a separation of the F0I-PVP(b) subunit and F1-gamma which places the single cysteine residues, present in each of the two subunits, at a distance at which they cannot be engaged in disulfide bridging.

Coupling H+ transport and ATP synthesis in F1F0-ATP synthases: glimpses of interacting parts in a dynamic molecular machine.

Reversible, F1F0-type ATPases (also termed F-ATP synthases) catalyze the synthesis of ATP during oxidative phosphorylation. In animal cells, the enzyme traverses the inner mitochondrial membrane and uses the energy of an H+ electrochemical gradient, generated by electron transport, in coupling H+ translocation to ATP formation. Closely related enzymes are found in the plasma membrane of bacteria such as Escherichia coli, where the enzymes function reversibly depending upon nutritional circumstance. The F1F0-type enzymes are more distantly related to a second family of H(+)-translocating ATPases, the vacuolar-type or V-ATPases. Recent structural information has provided important hints as to how these enzymes couple H+ transport to the chemical work of ATP synthesis. The simplest F1F0-type enzymes, e.g. as in E. coli, are composed of eight types of subunits in an unusual stoichiometry of alpha 3 beta 3 gamma delta epsilon (F1) and a1b2c12 (F0). F1 extends from the membrane, with the alpha and beta subunits alternating around a central subunit gamma. ATP synthesis occurs alternately in different beta subunits, the cooperative tight binding of ADP + Pi at one catalytic site being coupled to ATP release at a second. The differences in binding affinities appear to be caused by rotation of the gamma subunit in the center of the alpha 3 beta 3 hexamer. The gamma subunit traverses a 4.5 nm stalk connecting the catalytic subunits to the membrane-traversing F0 sector. Subunit c is the H(+)-translocating subunit of F0. Protonation/deprotonation of Asp61 in the center of the membrane is coupled to structural changes in an extramembranous loop of subunit c which interacts with both the gamma and epsilon subunits. Subunits gamma and epsilon appear to move from one subunit c to another as ATP is synthesized. The torque of such movement is proposed to cause the rotation of gamma within the alpha 3 beta 3 complex. Four protons are translocated for each ATP synthesized. The movement of gamma and epsilon therefore probably involves a unit of four c subunits. The organization of subunits in F0 remains a mystery; it will have to be understood if we are to understand the mechanism of torque generation.

Characterization of the genes coding for the F 1F 0 subunits of the sodium dependent ATPase of Propionigenium modestum

The DNA coding for the eight structural genes and uncI of the sodium dependent ATPase of Propionigenium modestum has been cloned and sequenced. Based on sequence homology, the genes were determined to appear in the order uncBEFHAGDC as in several other bacterial species. Minicell experiments revealed that plasmids containing the P. modestum DNA expressed those ATPase polypeptides in Escherichia coli. These were very similar in molecular mass to those obtained from the purified ATPase of P. modestum. No membrane-bound ATPase activity was observed in E. coli unc deletion strains containing the P. modestum ATPase genes. Amino acid alignments which were done with the Fo subunits revealed only a few conservative changes in the highly conserved regions of the polypeptides.

Proton conductance by the gramicidin water wire. Model for proton conductance in the F1F0 ATPases?

The gramicidin channel contains a single strand of water molecules associated through hydrogen bonds. Previous work has shown that channels of similar size are formed by association of transmembrane alpha helices of synthetic leucine-serine peptides. Both types of channels translocate protons with considerable selectivity relative to other cations, and it has been proposed that the selectivity arises by proton "hopping" along hydrogen-bonded chains of water, whereas other cations must cross by ordinary diffusion processes. It is possible that a similar mechanism underlies proton transport in the Fo subunit of the F1F0 ATP synthase. Using the gramicidin channel as a model, we have tested whether a single strand of water is kinetically competent to translocate protons at a rate sufficient to support known rates of ATP synthesis. We found that the gramicidin channel saturates at approximately 530 pS of protonic current in 4 M HCl, more than sufficient for typical ATP synthesis rates. It follows that proton diffusion to a putative channel in Fo, rather than the channel itself, may limit ATP synthesis rates.

Organization and Sequence of the Genes Coding for the Proton-translocating ATPase of Bacillus megaterium

We have cloned and sequenced the genes for the subunits of the proton-translocating ATP synthase of Bacillus megaterium QM B1551. The arrangement of the genes is identical to the arrangement of the same genes (the unc operon) in Escherichia coli. The genes for the Fo subunits immediately precede the genes for the F1 subunits and are themselves preceded by an open reading frame which codes for a protein similar to the E. coli i protein. In contrast to the E. coli ATPase genes, the transcript for these ATPase genes does not include this open reading frame.

ATP synthase complex from beef heart mitochondria. Role of the thiol group of the 25-kDa subunit of Fo in the coupling mechanism between Fo and F1.

In order to assess the role of thiol groups in the Fo part of the ATP synthase in the coupling mechanism of ATP synthase, we have treated isolated Fo, extracted from beef heart Complex V with urea, with thiol reagents, primarily with diazenedicarboxylic acid bis-(dimethylamide) (diamide) but also with Cd2+ and N-ethylmaleimide. FoF1 ATP synthase was reconstituted by adding isolated F1 and the oligomycin-sensitivity-conferring-protein (OSCP) to Fo. The efficiency of reconstitution was assessed by determining the sensitivity to oligomycin of the ATP hydrolytic activity of the reconstituted enzyme. Contrary to Cd2+, incubation of diamide with Fo, before the addition of F1 and OSCP, induced a severe loss of oligomycin sensitivity, due to an inhibited binding of F1 to Fo. This effect was reversed by dithiothreitol. Conversely, if F1 and OSCP were added to Fo before diamide, no effect could be detected. These results show that F1 (and/or OSCP) protects Fo thiols from diamide and are substantiated by the finding that the oligomycin sensitivity of ATP hydrolysis activity of isolated Complex V was also unaltered by diamide. Gel electrophoresis of FoF1 ATP synthase, reconstituted with diamide-treated Fo, revealed that the loss of oligomycin sensitivity was directly correlated with diminution of band Fo 1 (or subunit b). Concomitantly a band appeared of approximately twice the molecular weight of subunit Fo 1. As this protein contains only 1 cysteine residue (Walker, J. E., Runswick, M. J., and Poulter, L. (1987) J. Mol. Biol. 197, 89-100), the effect of diamide is attributed to the formation of a disulfide bridge between two of these subunits. These results offer further evidence for the proposal, based on aminoacid sequence and structural analysis, that subunit Fo 1 of mammalian Fo is involved in the binding with F1 (Walker et al. (1987]. N-Ethylmaleimide affects oligomycin sensitivity to a lesser extent than diamide, suggesting that the mode of action of these reagents (and the structural changes induced in Fo) is different.

The Fo subunits of the Escherichia coli F1Fo-ATP synthase are sufficient to form a functional proton pore.

The assembly of the Fo sector of the Escherichia coli ATP synthase has been studied using both structural and functional criteria for assembly. Cross-linking E. coli minicell membranes containing only the Fo subunits a, b, and c with dithiobis(succinimidyl propionate) (DSP) produces b2 and c2 dimers that are generated by cross-linking membranes containing the assembled holoenzyme. Five plasmids carrying the genes specifying the Fo polypeptides in a bacterial strain lacking all of the unc (ATP synthase) genes show a good correlation between Fo function and the amount of the membrane-bound Fo polypeptides. In this report we revise a conclusion reached previously (Klionsky, D.J., Brusilow, W.S.A., and Simoni, R.D. (1983) J. Biol. Chem. 258, 10136-10143) and present evidence that the Fo subunits alone are sufficient to assemble a functional proton pore.

Assembly of a functional F1 of the proton-translocating ATPase of Escherichia coli.

Assembly of the F1 portion of the proton-translocating ATPase of Escherichia coli was examined in vivo. Analysis of strains lacking genes which specify the Fo polypeptides a, b, and c showed that the F1 subunits were able to assemble into a complex in the absence of the Fo subunits. In addition we have investigated the effects of mutations in the individual genes which specify the F1 polypeptides on the assembly process. Mutations of the uncA(alpha), uncG(gamma), or uncD(beta) genes result in a defective assembly of the F1 complex. In contrast, mutations in the uncH(delta) or uncC(epsilon) genes did not prevent assembly of the core alpha beta gamma complex. In these cases, however, the partial F1 complexes were incapable of restoring energy-linked functions to F1-depleted membranes.

Proton conduction by subunit a of the membrane-bound ATP synthase of Escherichia coli revealed after induced overproduction.

Transcriptional fusions between the phage lambda promotor pR and ATP synthase genes, atp, on plasmid pBR322 were constructed in order to study the effects upon growth and physiology of Escherichia coli of induced overproduction of H+-ATPase subunits. Constitutive overproduction of the complete enzyme had earlier been found to result in decreased growth rate and cytological defects. When a 15-fold overproduction of subunit a alone, or together with subunit c, or with all other ATP synthase subunits was suddenly induced, the following effects were observed. Inhibition of growth and protein synthesis within 10 min of induction, which effect was suppressed by N,N'-dicyclohexylcarbodiimide, also when the chromosomal atp genes coding for the Fo subunits a, b and c were deleted. Partial collapse of the membrane potential delta psi at 4-6 min after induction paralleled by inhibition of thiomethylgalactoside and guanosine transport. Respiration and alpha-methylglucoside transport was not affected. The partial collapse of delta psi, and the specific inhibition of proton-driven transport systems is taken to show that the subunit a has--when suddenly overproduced and inserted into the membrane--a protonophoric activity. It is suggested that this protonophoric activity of subunit a is related to the function of this subunit in the Fo sector in H+-ATPases.

Energy-transducing H+-ATPase of Escherichia coli. Reconstitution of proton translocation activity of the intrinsic membrane sector.

The intrinsic membrane sector (Fo) of the H+-ATPase complex of Escherichia coli has been purified, incorporated into liposomes, and its proton-translocating activity reconstituted. The Fo sector was prepared by treating a purified, particulate, F1FO-ATPase preparation with EDTA to solubilize the F1-ATPase. The resulting particulate Fo fraction was incorporated into liposomes of E. coli phospholipids by sonication. Proton efflux from these liposomes was measured with a pH electrode after imposition of a membrane potential. The kinetics of proton efflux fits that predicted by the Goldman-flux equation. The rate of proton efflux was increased maximally more than 100-fold on incorporation of the Fo sector into the liposomes. The rate of H+ efflux varied directly with the amount of Fo material added during reconstitution. Dicyclohexylcarbodiimide blocked Fo-mediated H+ efflux. Inhibition was shown to be due to reaction of dicyclohexylcarbodiimide with a specific proteolipid subunit of Fo. The preparation of Fo used in these studies contained the three proteins that had previously been identified as likely subunits of Fo (Foster, D. L., and Fillingame, R. H. (1979) J. Biol. Chem. 254, 8230-8236). It remains to be determined whether all three components are required for reconstitution of proton translocation activity.