Johannes M. Herrmann

A disulfide relay system in the intermembrane space of mitochondria that mediates protein import

We describe here a pathway for the import of proteins into the intermembrane space (IMS) of mitochondria. Substrates of this pathway are proteins with conserved cysteine motifs, which are critical for import. After passage through the TOM channel, these proteins are covalently trapped by Mia40 via disulfide bridges. Mia40 contains cysteine residues, which are oxidized by the sulfhydryl oxidase Erv1. Depletion of Erv1 or conditions reducing Mia40 prevent protein import. We propose that Erv1 and Mia40 function as a disulfide relay system that catalyzes the import of proteins into the IMS by an oxidative folding mechanism. The existence of a disulfide exchange system in the IMS is unexpected in view of the free exchange of metabolites between IMS and cytosol via porin channels. We suggest that this process reflects the evolutionary origin of the IMS from the periplasmic space of the prokaryotic ancestors of mitochondria.

COPII–cargo interactions direct protein sorting into ER-derived transport vesicles

Vesicles coated with coat protein complex II (COPII) selectively transport molecules (cargo) and vesicle fusion proteins from the endoplasmic reticulum (ER) to the Golgi complex. We have investigated the role of coat proteins in cargo selection and recruitment. We isolated integral membrane and soluble cargo proteins destined for transport from the ER in complexes formed in the presence of Sar1 and Sec23/24, a subset of the COPII components, and GTP or GMP-PNP. Vesicle fusion proteins of the vSNARE family and Emp24, a member of a putative cargo carrier family, were also found in COPII complexes. The inclusion of amino-acid permease molecules into the complex depended on the presence of Shr3, a protein required for the permease to leave the ER,. Resident ER proteins Sec61, BiP (Kar2) and Shr3 were not included in the complexes, indicating that the COPII components bound specifically to vesicle cargo. COPII–cargo complexes and putative cargo adaptor–cargo complexes were also isolated from COPII vesicles. Our results indicate that cargo packaging signals and soluble cargo adaptors are recognized by a recruitment complex comprising Sar1–GTP and Sec23/24.

AAA proteases with catalytic sites on opposite membrane surfaces comprise a proteolytic system for the ATP-dependent degradation of inner membrane proteins in mitochondria.

The mechanism of selective protein degradation of membrane proteins in mitochondria has been studied employing a model protein that is subject to rapid proteolysis within the inner membrane. Protein degradation was mediated by two different proteases: (i) the m‐AAA protease, a protease complex consisting of multiple copies of the ATP‐dependent metallopeptidases Yta1Op (Afg3p) and Yta12p (Rcalp); and (ii) by Ymelp (Ytallp) that also is embedded in the inner membrane. Ymelp, highly homologous to Yta1Op and Yta12p, forms a complex of approximately 850 kDa in the inner membrane and exerts ATP‐dependent metallopeptidase activity. While the m‐AAA protease exposes catalytic sites to the mitochondrial matrix, Ymelp is active in the intermembrane space. The Ymelp complex was therefore termed ‘i‐AAA protease’. Analysis of the proteolytic fragments indicated cleavage of the model polypeptide at the inner and outer membrane surface and within the membrane‐spanning domain. Thus, two AAA proteases with their catalytic sites on opposite membrane surfaces constitute a novel proteolytic system for the degradation of membrane proteins in mitochondria.

Ribosome binding to the Oxa1 complex facilitates co-translational protein insertion in mitochondria

The Oxa1 translocase of the mitochondrial inner membrane facilitates the insertion of both mitochondrially and nuclear‐encoded proteins from the matrix into the inner membrane. Most mitochondrially encoded proteins are hydrophobic membrane proteins which are integrated into the lipid bilayer during their synthesis on mitochondrial ribosomes. The molecular mechanism of this co‐translational insertion process is unknown. Here we show that the matrix‐exposed C‐terminus of Oxa1 forms an α‐helical domain that has the ability to bind to mitochondrial ribosomes. Deletion of this Oxa1 domain strongly diminished the efficiency of membrane insertion of subunit 2 of cytochrome oxidase, a mitochondrially encoded substrate of the Oxa1 translocase. This suggests that co‐translational membrane insertion of mitochondrial translation products is facilitated by a physical interaction of translation complexes with the membrane‐bound translocase.

Disulfide Formation in the ER and Mitochondria: Two Solutions to a Common Process

Two Ways to Redox Regulation Eukaryotic cells control the redox environment within their cytoplasm to be generally reducing. However, the endoplasmic reticulum provides an oxidizing environment for secretory and membrane proteins. In addition, a subcompartment of mitochondria—the powerhouses of the cell—also generates an oxidizing environment for constituent and itinerant proteins. Riemer et al. (p. 1284) review the current understanding of both eukaryotic redox machineries and highlight their implications for the biogenesis and regulation of protein function, focusing on the impact of these systems on health and disease. The endoplasmic reticulum (ER) was long considered to be the only compartment of the eukaryotic cell in which protein folding is accompanied by enzyme-catalyzed disulfide bond formation. However, it has recently become evident that cells harbor a second oxidizing compartment, the mitochondrial intermembrane space, where disulfide formation facilitates protein translocation from the cytosol. Moreover, protein oxidation has been implicated in many mitochondria-associated processes central for human health such as apoptosis, aging, and regulation of the respiratory chain. Whereas the machineries of ER and mitochondria both form disulfides between cysteine residues, they do not share evolutionary origins and exhibit distinct mechanistic properties. Here, we summarize the current knowledge of these oxidation systems and discuss their functional similarities and differences.

Oxa1p mediates the export of the N‐ and C‐termini of pCoxII from the mitochondrial matrix to the intermembrane space

Oxa1p is a mitochondrial protein reported to be involved in the assembly of the cytochrome oxidase complex. In the absence of a functional Oxa1p, subunit II of the cytochrome oxidase accumulates as its precursor form (pCoxII). Using mitochondria isolated from a yeast strain bearing a temperature sensitive mutation in the Oxa1p, pet ts1402, we have analyzed the function of the Oxa1p protein. We demonstrate that the accumulation of pCoxII in the pet ts1402 mitochondria does not reflect a compromised Imp1p activity in this mutant. Furthermore, measurement of the membrane potential has shown it to be sufficient to support the export of CoxII from the matrix. Rather, we found that newly synthesized pCoxII accumulates in the matrix of the pet ts1402 mitochondria, because export across the inner membrane is inhibited in the pet ts1402 mitochondria. In conclusion, Oxa1p mediates the export of the N‐ and C‐termini of the mitochondrially encoded subunit II of cytochrome oxidase from the matrix to the intermembrane space.

Insertion into the mitochondrial inner membrane of a polytopic protein, the nuclear-encoded Oxa1p.

Oxa1p, a nuclear‐encoded protein of the mitochondrial inner membrane with five predicted transmembrane (TM) segments is synthesized as a precursor (pOxa1p) with an N‐terminal presequence. It becomes imported in a process requiring the membrane potential, matrix ATP, mt‐Hsp70 and the mitochondrial processing peptidase (MPP). After processing, the negatively charged N‐terminus of Oxa1p (∼90 amino acid residues) is translocated back across the inner membrane into the intermembrane space and thereby attains its native Nout–Cin orientation. This export event is dependent on the membrane potential. Chimeric preproteins containing N‐terminal stretches of increasing lengths of Oxa1p fused on mouse dehydrofolate reductase (DHFR) were imported into isolated mitochondria. In each case, their DHFR moieties crossed the inner membrane into the matrix. Thus Oxa1p apparently does not contain a stop transfer signal. Instead the TM segments are inserted into the membrane from the matrix side in a pairwise fashion. The sorting pathway of pOxa1p is suggested to combine the pathways of general import into the matrix with a bacterial‐type export process. We postulate that at least two different sorting pathways exist in mitochondria for polytopic inner membrane proteins, the evolutionarily novel pathway for members of the ADP/ATP carrier family and a conserved Oxa1p‐type pathway.

The disulfide relay system of mitochondria is connected to the respiratory chain

All proteins of the intermembrane space of mitochondria are encoded by nuclear genes and synthesized in the cytosol. Many of these proteins lack presequences but are imported into mitochondria in an oxidation-driven process that relies on the activity of Mia40 and Erv1. Both factors form a disulfide relay system in which Mia40 functions as a receptor that transiently interacts with incoming polypeptides via disulfide bonds. Erv1 is a sulfhydryl oxidase that oxidizes and activates Mia40, but it has remained unclear how Erv1 itself is oxidized. Here, we show that Erv1 passes its electrons on to molecular oxygen via interaction with cytochrome c and cytochrome c oxidase. This connection to the respiratory chain increases the efficient oxidation of the relay system in mitochondria and prevents the formation of toxic hydrogen peroxide. Thus, analogous to the system in the bacterial periplasm, the disulfide relay in the intermembrane space is connected to the electron transport chain of the inner membrane.

Mia40, a novel factor for protein import into the intermembrane space of mitochondria is able to bind metal ions

Many proteins located in the intermembrane space (IMS) of mitochondria are characterized by a low molecular mass, contain highly conserved cysteine residues and coordinate metal ions. Studies on one of these proteins, Tim13, revealed that net translocation across the outer membrane is driven by metal‐dependent folding in the IMS [1]. We have identified an essential component, Mia40/Tim40/Ykl195w, with a highly conserved domain in the IMS that is able to bind zinc and copper ions. In cells lacking Mia40, the endogenous levels of Tim13 and other metal‐binding IMS proteins are strongly reduced due to the impaired import of these proteins. Furthermore, Mia40 directly interacts with newly imported Tim13 protein. We conclude that Mia40 is the first essential component of a specific translocation pathway of metal‐binding IMS proteins.

Protein transport into mitochondria.

Mitochondria are made up of two membrane systems that subdivide this organelle into two aqueous subcompartments: the matrix, which is enclosed by the inner membrane, and the intermembrane space, which is located between the inner and the outer membrane. Protein import into mitochondria is a complex reaction, as every protein has to be routed to its specific destination within the organelle. In the past few years, studies with mitochondria of Neurospora crassa and Saccharomyces cerevisiae have led to the identification of four distinct translocation machineries that are conserved among eukaryotes. These translocases, in a concerted fashion, mediate import and sorting of proteins into the mitochondrial subcompartments.