G. D. Mironova

Palmitic and Stearic Acids Bind Ca2+ with High Affinity and Form Nonspecific Channels in Black-Lipid Membranes. Possible Relation to Ca2+-Activated Mitochondrial Pores

A mitochondrial hydrophobic component that forms Ca2+-induced nonspecific ion channels in black-lipid membranes (Mironova et al., 1997) has been purified and its nature elucidated. It consists of long-chain saturated fatty acids—mainly palmitic and stearic. These fatty acids, similar to the mitochondrial hydrophobic component, bind Ca2+ with high affinity in comparison with unsaturated fatty acids, saturated fatty acids with shorter aliphatic chains, phospholipids, and other lipids. Ca2+-binding is inhibited by Mg2+ but not by K+. For palmitic acid, the Kd for Ca2+ was 5 μM at pH 8.5 and 15 μM at pH 7.5, with the Bmax of 0.48 ± 0.08 mmol/g. This corresponds to one Ca2+ ion for eight palmitic acid molecules. The data of IR spectroscopy confirm that Ca2+ does not form ionic bonds with palmitic and stearic acids under hydrophobic conditions. It has been found that in the presence of Ca2+, palmitic and stearic acids, but not unsaturated FFA induce a nonspecific permeability in black-lipid membranes. Addition of Ca2+ in order to induce the permeability transition, increases the extractable amount of palmitic and stearic acids, the effect being prevented by a phospholipase A2 inhibitor. The possible involvement of palmitic and stearic acids in the mitochondrial nonspecific permeability is discussed.

Purification of the channel component of the mitochondrial calcium uniporter and its reconstitution into planar lipid bilayers

The purification of the channel-forming component of the mitochondrial calcium uniporter and its channel properties are described. After ethanol and 50% ethanol-water extraction of mitochondria from beef heart or perfused rat liver, the extract was passed through thiopropyl-Sepharose 6B column, and absorbed components were eluted with 2-mercaptoethanol, followed by gel-filtration on Sephadex G-15. The last fraction eluted (Mr about 2000) was then subjected to reverse-phase high-performance liquid chromatography. Of the more than 10 distinct peaks, only one showed specific Ca2+-channel activity in BLM with properties similar to earlier, less extensively purified preparations, i.e., conductance of 20 pS and multiples thereof, clustering of channels, participation of 2 or more subunits in channel formation, and sensitivity to 1 µM ruthenium red. Voltage sensitivity and cooperativity between channels are described. The Ca2+-binding glycoprotein with which the peptide was associated was found to have high homology with human acid α1-glycoprotein (orosomucoid) and to show identity with beef plasma orosomucoid in the Ouchterlony immunodiffusion test.

Reconstitution of the Mitochondrial ATP-Dependent Potassium Channel into Bilayer Lipid Membrane1

Electrical properties and regulation of the mitochondrialATP-dependent potassium channel were studied. The channel protein wassolubilized from the mitochondrial membrane using an ethanol/water mixture.Reconstituted into a bilayer lipid membrane BLM), the protein formed aslightly voltage-dependent channel with a conductance of 10 pS in 100 mM KCl.Often, several channels worked simultaneously (clusters) when many channelswere incorporated into the BLM. The elementary channel and the clusters wereboth highly potassium selective. At concentrations of 1 to 10 μM, ATPfavors channel opening, while channels become closed at 1–3 mM ATP. GDP(0.5 mM) reactivated the ATP-closed channels without affecting the untreatedchannels. The sulfhydryl-reducing agent ditiothreitol increased the openprobability at concentrations of 1 to 3 mM, but damaged the selectivity ofthe channel.

Isolation and Properties of Ca2÷-Transporting Glycoprotein and Peptide from Beef Heart Mitochondria

The 40,000-dalton glycoprotein and 2000-dalton peptide inducing selective Ca2+-transport through bilayer lipid membranes were isolated from beef heart homogenate and mitochondria. Micromolar concentrations of these substances were found to increase the conductivity of membranes by 3–4 orders. Transmembrane Ca2+ gradient induces an electric potential difference whose magnitude is close to the theoretical for ideal Ca2+ selectivity. The inhibitor of mitochondrial Ca2+ transport, ruthenium red, abolishes both the glycoprotein-and peptide-induced Ca2+ transport in bilayer lipid membranes. Thiol groups essential for Ca2+ transport activity were revealed in the glycoprotein and peptide. Addition of these substances to rat liver mitochondria induces Ca2+-dependent inhibition of the state 3 respiration that can be released by uncouplers (oligomycin-like effect).

Possible mechanism for formation and regulation of the palmitate-induced cyclosporin A-insensitive mitochondrial pore

The mechanism of the palmitate-induced opening of the mitochondrial Ca2+-dependent cyclosporin A (CsA)-insensitive pore was studied, as well as the influence on this process of well-known modulators of the CsA-sensitive Ca2+-dependent pore. Palmitic acid, which can bind Ca2+ with high affinity, induced the CsA-insensitive swelling of mitochondria, whereas palmitoleic and 2-bromopalmitic acids, which have no such affinity for Ca2+, failed to induce the pore opening. The palmitate induced Ca2+-dependent swelling of mitochondria was not affected by a well-known inhibitor of the CsA-sensitive pore (ADP) and an activator of this pore (inorganic phosphate, Pi). However, this swelling was inhibited by physiological concentrations of ATP ([I]50 = 1.3 mM), but 100 µM ATP increased by 30% the rate of mitochondria swelling if Ca2+ had been added earlier. The effects of ATP (inhibition and activation) manifested themselves from different sides of the inner mitochondrial membrane. Mg2+ inhibited the palmitate-induced Ca2+-dependent swelling of mitochondria with [I]50 = 0.8 mM. It is concluded that palmitic acid induces the opening of the CsA-insensitive pore due to its ability for complexing with Ca2+. A possible mechanism of the pore formation and the influence of some modulators on this process are discussed.

Inhibition of the mitochondrial calcium uniporter by antibodies against a 40-kDa glycorproteinT

Polyclonal rabbit antibodies against a Ca2+-binding mitochondrial glycoprotein were found to inhibit the uniporter-mediated transport of Ca2+ in mitoplasts prepared from rat liver mitochondria. Spermine, a modulator of the uniporter, decreased the inhibition. This glycoprotein ofMr 40,000, isolated from beef heart mitochondria and earlier shown to form Ca2+-conducting channels in black-lipid membranes, thus is a good candidate for being a component of the uniporter. Antibody-IgG was found to specifically bind to mitochondria in human fibroblasts.

Ca2+-Induced Phase Separation in the Membrane of Palmitate-Containing Liposomes and Its Possible Relation to Membrane Permeabilization

A Ca2+-induced phase separation of palmitic acid (PA) in the membrane of azolectin unilamellar liposomes has been demonstrated with the fluorescent membrane probe nonyl acridine orange (NAO). It has been shown that NAO, whose fluorescence in liposomal membranes is quenched in a concentration-dependent way, can be used to monitor changes in the volume of lipid phase. The incorporation of PA into NAO-labeled liposomes increased fluorescence corresponding to the expansion of membrane. After subsequent addition of Ca2+, fluorescence decreased, which indicated separation of PA/Ca2+ complexes into distinct membrane domains. The Ca2+-induced phase separation of PA was further studied in relation to membrane permeabilization caused by Ca2+ in the PA-containing liposomes. A supposition was made that the mechanism of PA/Ca2+-induced membrane permeabilization relates to the initial stage of Ca2+-induced phase separation of PA and can be considered as formation of fast-tightening lipid pores due to chemotropic phase transition in the lipid bilayer.

Calcium-Binding Properties of the Mitochondrial Channel-Forming Hydrophobic Component

A hydrophobic, low-molecular weight component extracted from mitochondria forms aCa2+-activated ion channel in black-lipid membranes (Mironova et al., 1997). At pH 8.3–8.5, thecomponent has a high-affinity binding site for Ca2+ with a Kd of 8 × 10−6 M, while at pH7.5 this Kd was decreased to 9 × 10−5 M. Bmax for the Ca2+-binding site did not changesignificantly with pH. In the range studied, 0.2 ± 0.06 mmol Ca2+/g component were boundor one calcium ion to eight molecules of the component. The Ca2+ binding was stronglydecreased by 50–100 mM Na+, but not by K+. Treatment of mitochondria withCaCl2 priorto ethanolic extraction resulted in a high level of Ca2+-binding capacity of the partially purifiedcomponent. Cyclosporin A, a specific inhibitor of the mitochondrial permeability transition,when added to the mitochondrial suspension, decreased the Ca2+-binding activity of thepurified extract severalfold. The calcium-binding capability of the partially purified componentcorrelates with its calcium-channel activity. This indicates that the channel-forming componentmight be involved in the permeability transition that stimulates its formation.

Physiological aspects of the mitochondrial cyclosporin A-insensitive palmitate/Ca2+-induced pore: tissue specificity, age profile and dependence on the animal's adaptation to hypoxia

Earlier we found that being added to rat liver mitochondria, palmitic acid (Pal) plus Ca2+ opened a cyclosporin A-insensitive pore, which remained open for a short time. Apparently, this pore is involved in the Pal-induced apoptosis and may also take part in the mitochondrial Ca2+ recycling as a Ca2+ efflux system (Belosludtsev et al. J Bioenerg Biomembr 38:113–120, 2006; Mironova et al. J. Bioenerg. Biomembr. 39:167–174, 2007). In this paper, we continue studying physiological and regulatory aspects of the pore. The following observations have been made. (1) Cardiolipin has been found to facilitate the Ca2+-induced formation of pores in the Pal-containing liposomal membranes. (2) The opening of Pal/Ca2+-induced pore is accompanied by the release of apoptosis-induced factor (AIF) from mitochondria. (3) The rate of Pal/Ca2+-induced swelling of rat liver mitochondria increases substantially with the age of animals. (4) Although the Pal/Ca2+-induced pore opens both in the liver and heart mitochondria, the latter require higher Pal concentrations for the pore to open. (5) The pore opening depends on the resistance of animals to hypoxia: in the highly resistant to hypoxia rats, the mitochondrial Pal/Ca2+-induced pore opens easier than in the low resistant animals, this being opposite for the classical, cyclosporin A-sensitive MPT pore. The adaptation of the low resistant rats to oxygen deficiency increases the sensitivity of their mitochondria to PalCaP inductors. The paper also discusses a possible role of the mitochondrial Pal/Ca2+-induced pore in the protection of tissues against hypoxia.

Functioning of the mitochondrial ATP-dependent potassium channel in rats varying in their resistance to hypoxia. Involvement of the channel in the process of animal’s adaptation to hypoxia

The mechanism of tissue protection from ischemic damage by activation of the mitochondrial ATP-dependent K+ channel (mitoKATP) remains unexplored. In this work, we have measured, using various approaches, the ATP-dependent mitochondrial K+ transport in rats that differed in their resistance to hypoxia. The transport was found to be faster in the hypoxia-resistant rats as compared to that in the hypoxia-sensitive animals. Adaptation of animals to the intermittent normobaric hypoxia increased the rate of transport. At the same time, the intramitochondrial concentration of K+ in the hypoxia-sensitive rats was higher than that in the resistant and adapted animals. This indicates that adaptation to hypoxia stimulates not only the influx of potassium into mitochondria, but also K+/H+ exchange. When mitoKATP was blocked, the rate of the mitochondrial H2O2 production was found to be significantly higher in the hypoxia-resistant rats than that in the hypoxia-sensitive animals. The natural flavonoid-containing adaptogen Extralife, which has an evident antihypoxic effect, increased the rate of the mitochondrial ATP-dependent K+ transport in vitro and increased the in vivo tolerance of hypoxia-sensitive rats to acute hypoxia 5-fold. The involvement of the mitochondrial K+ transport in the mechanism of cell adaptation to hypoxia is discussed.