Mitochondrial ClpX activates an essential biosynthetic enzyme through partial unfolding

  1. Julia R Kardon  Is a corresponding author
  2. Jamie A Moroco
  3. John R Engen
  4. Tania A Baker  Is a corresponding author
  1. Brandeis University, United States
  2. Northeastern University, United States
  3. Massachusetts Institute of Technology, United States

Abstract

Mitochondria control the activity, quality, and lifetime of their proteins with an autonomous system of chaperones, but the signals that direct substrate-chaperone interactions and outcomes are poorly understood. We previously discovered that the mitochondrial AAA+ protein unfoldase ClpX (mtClpX) activates the initiating enzyme for heme biosynthesis, 5-aminolevulinic acid synthase (ALAS), by promoting cofactor incorporation. Here, we ask how mtClpX accomplishes this activation. Using S. cerevisiae proteins, we identified sequence and structural features within ALAS that position mtClpX and provide it with a grip for acting on ALAS. Observation of ALAS undergoing remodeling by mtClpX revealed that unfolding is limited to a region extending from the mtClpX-binding site to the active site. Unfolding along this path is required for mtClpX to gate cofactor binding to ALAS. This targeted unfolding contrasts with the global unfolding canonically executed by ClpX homologs and provides insight into how substrate-chaperone interactions direct the outcome of remodeling.

Data availability

All data generated or analysed during this study are included in the manuscript and supporting files. A source data file has been provided for Figures 4 and 5.

Article and author information

Author details

  1. Julia R Kardon

    Department of Biochemistry, Brandeis University, Waltham, United States
    For correspondence
    kardon@brandeis.edu
    Competing interests
    The authors declare that no competing interests exist.
    ORCID icon "This ORCID iD identifies the author of this article:" 0000-0002-6621-4461
  2. Jamie A Moroco

    Department of Chemistry and Chemical Biology, Northeastern University, Boston, United States
    Competing interests
    The authors declare that no competing interests exist.
    ORCID icon "This ORCID iD identifies the author of this article:" 0000-0001-8250-5923
  3. John R Engen

    Department of Chemistry and Chemical Biology, Northeastern University, Boston, United States
    Competing interests
    The authors declare that no competing interests exist.
    ORCID icon "This ORCID iD identifies the author of this article:" 0000-0002-6918-9476
  4. Tania A Baker

    Department of Biology, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, United States
    For correspondence
    tabaker@mit.edu
    Competing interests
    The authors declare that no competing interests exist.
    ORCID icon "This ORCID iD identifies the author of this article:" 0000-0002-0737-3411

Funding

National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases (DK115558)

  • Tania A Baker

Howard Hughes Medical Institute

  • Tania A Baker

National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases (DK095726)

  • Julia R Kardon

National Institute of General Medical Sciences (GM101135)

  • John R Engen

The funders had no role in study design, data collection and interpretation, or the decision to submit the work for publication.

Copyright

© 2020, Kardon et al.

This article is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License permitting unrestricted use and redistribution provided that the original author and source are credited.

Metrics

  • 2,217
    views
  • 327
    downloads
  • 25
    citations

Views, downloads and citations are aggregated across all versions of this paper published by eLife.

Download links

A two-part list of links to download the article, or parts of the article, in various formats.

Downloads (link to download the article as PDF)

Open citations (links to open the citations from this article in various online reference manager services)

Cite this article (links to download the citations from this article in formats compatible with various reference manager tools)

  1. Julia R Kardon
  2. Jamie A Moroco
  3. John R Engen
  4. Tania A Baker
(2020)
Mitochondrial ClpX activates an essential biosynthetic enzyme through partial unfolding
eLife 9:e54387.
https://doi.org/10.7554/eLife.54387

Share this article

https://doi.org/10.7554/eLife.54387

Further reading

    1. Biochemistry and Chemical Biology
    Gabriella O Estevam, Edmond Linossi ... James S Fraser
    Research Article

    Mutations in the kinase and juxtamembrane domains of the MET Receptor Tyrosine Kinase are responsible for oncogenesis in various cancers and can drive resistance to MET-directed treatments. Determining the most effective inhibitor for each mutational profile is a major challenge for MET-driven cancer treatment in precision medicine. Here, we used a deep mutational scan (DMS) of ~5764 MET kinase domain variants to profile the growth of each mutation against a panel of 11 inhibitors that are reported to target the MET kinase domain. We validate previously identified resistance mutations, pinpoint common resistance sites across type I, type II, and type I ½ inhibitors, unveil unique resistance and sensitizing mutations for each inhibitor, and verify non-cross-resistant sensitivities for type I and type II inhibitor pairs. We augment a protein language model with biophysical and chemical features to improve the predictive performance for inhibitor-treated datasets. Together, our study demonstrates a pooled experimental pipeline for identifying resistance mutations, provides a reference dictionary for mutations that are sensitized to specific therapies, and offers insights for future drug development.

    1. Biochemistry and Chemical Biology
    2. Genetics and Genomics
    Kira Breunig, Xuifen Lei ... Luiz O Penalva
    Research Article

    RNA binding proteins (RBPs) containing intrinsically disordered regions (IDRs) are present in diverse molecular complexes where they function as dynamic regulators. Their characteristics promote liquid-liquid phase separation (LLPS) and the formation of membraneless organelles such as stress granules and nucleoli. IDR-RBPs are particularly relevant in the nervous system and their dysfunction is associated with neurodegenerative diseases and brain tumor development. Serpine1 mRNA-binding protein 1 (SERBP1) is a unique member of this group, being mostly disordered and lacking canonical RNA-binding domains. We defined SERBP1’s interactome, uncovered novel roles in splicing, cell division and ribosomal biogenesis, and showed its participation in pathological stress granules and Tau aggregates in Alzheimer’s brains. SERBP1 preferentially interacts with other G-quadruplex (G4) binders, implicated in different stages of gene expression, suggesting that G4 binding is a critical component of SERBP1 function in different settings. Similarly, we identified important associations between SERBP1 and PARP1/polyADP-ribosylation (PARylation). SERBP1 interacts with PARP1 and its associated factors and influences PARylation. Moreover, protein complexes in which SERBP1 participates contain mostly PARylated proteins and PAR binders. Based on these results, we propose a feedback regulatory model in which SERBP1 influences PARP1 function and PARylation, while PARylation modulates SERBP1 functions and participation in regulatory complexes.