Phosphorylation plays a crucial role in the regulation of many fundamental cellular processes. Phosphorylation levels are increased in many cancer cells where they may promote changes in mitochondrial homeostasis. Proteomic studies on various types of cancer identified 17 phosphorylation sites within the human ATP-dependent protease Lon, which degrades misfolded, unassembled and oxidatively damaged proteins in mitochondria. Most of these sites were found in Lon's N-terminal (NTD) and ATPase domains, though little is known about the effects on their function. By combining the biochemical and cryo-electron microscopy studies, we show the effect of Tyr186 and Tyr394 phosphorylations in Lon's NTD, which greatly reduce all Lon activities without affecting its ability to bind substrates or perturbing its tertiary structure. A substantial reduction in Lon's activities is also observed in the presence of polyphosphate, whose amount significantly increases in cancer cells. Our study thus provides an insight into the possible fine-tuning of Lon activities in human diseases, which highlights Lon's importance in maintaining proteostasis in mitochondria.

• MeSH
• elektronová kryomikroskopie MeSH
• fosforylace MeSH
• lidé MeSH
• mitochondrie * metabolismus   MeSH
• polyfosfáty * metabolismus   MeSH
• proteasa La * metabolismus   MeSH
• proteinové domény MeSH
• tyrosin * metabolismus   MeSH
• Check Tag
• lidé MeSH
• Publikační typ
• časopisecké články MeSH
• práce podpořená grantem MeSH

Acylation modifications, such as the succinylation of lysine, are post-translational modifications and a powerful means of regulating protein activity. Some acylations occur nonenzymatically, driven by an increase in the concentration of acyl group donors. Lysine succinylation has a profound effect on the corresponding site within the protein, as it dramatically changes the charge of the residue. In eukaryotes, it predominantly affects mitochondrial proteins because the donor of succinate, succinyl-CoA, is primarily generated in the tricarboxylic acid cycle. Although numerous succinylated mitochondrial proteins have been identified in Saccharomyces cerevisiae, a more detailed characterization of the yeast mitochondrial succinylome is still lacking. Here, we performed a proteomic MS analysis of purified yeast mitochondria and detected 314 succinylated mitochondrial proteins with 1763 novel succinylation sites. The mitochondrial nucleoid, a complex of mitochondrial DNA and mitochondrial proteins, is one of the structures whose protein components are affected by succinylation. We found that Abf2p, the principal component of mitochondrial nucleoids responsible for compacting mitochondrial DNA in S. cerevisiae, can be succinylated in vivo on at least thirteen lysine residues. Abf2p succinylation in vitro inhibits its DNA-binding activity and reduces its sensitivity to digestion by the ATP-dependent ScLon protease. We conclude that changes in the metabolic state of a cell resulting in an increase in the concentration of tricarboxylic acid intermediates may affect mitochondrial functions.

• MeSH
• DNA vazebné proteiny genetika   metabolismus   MeSH
• kyselina jantarová metabolismus   MeSH
• mitochondriální proteiny metabolismus   MeSH
• posttranslační úpravy proteinů * MeSH
• proteasa La genetika   metabolismus   MeSH
• proteomika * MeSH
• Saccharomyces cerevisiae - proteiny genetika   metabolismus   MeSH
• Saccharomyces cerevisiae metabolismus   MeSH
• transkripční faktory genetika   metabolismus   MeSH
• Publikační typ
• časopisecké články MeSH
• práce podpořená grantem MeSH

Mitochondrial nucleoids consist of several different groups of proteins, many of which are involved in essential cellular processes such as the replication, repair and transcription of the mitochondrial genome. The eukaryotic, ATP-dependent protease Lon is found within the central nucleoid region, though little is presently known about its role there. Aside from its association with mitochondrial nucleoids, human Lon also specifically interacts with RNA. Recently, Lon was shown to regulate TFAM, the most abundant mtDNA structural factor in human mitochondria. To determine whether Lon also regulates other mitochondrial nucleoid- or ribosome-associated proteins, we examined the in vitro digestion profiles of the Saccharomyces cerevisiae TFAM functional homologue Abf2, the yeast mtDNA maintenance protein Mgm101, and two human mitochondrial proteins, Twinkle helicase and the large ribosomal subunit protein MrpL32. Degradation of Mgm101 was also verified in vivo in yeast mitochondria. These experiments revealed that all four proteins are actively degraded by Lon, but that three of them are protected from it when bound to a nucleic acid; the Twinkle helicase is not. Such a regulatory mechanism might facilitate dynamic changes to the mitochondrial nucleoid, which are crucial for conducting mitochondrial functions and maintaining mitochondrial homeostasis.

• MeSH
• aktivace enzymů MeSH
• DNA vazebné proteiny metabolismus   MeSH
• lidé MeSH
• mitochondriální DNA metabolismus   MeSH
• mitochondriální proteiny metabolismus   MeSH
• mitochondrie genetika   metabolismus   MeSH
• proteasa La metabolismus   MeSH
• proteolýza MeSH
• Saccharomyces cerevisiae genetika   metabolismus   MeSH
• substrátová specifita MeSH
• transport proteinů MeSH
• vazba proteinů MeSH
• Check Tag
• lidé MeSH
• Publikační typ
• časopisecké články MeSH
• práce podpořená grantem MeSH