Energy conservation and dissipation in mitochondria isolated from developing tomato fruit of ethylene-defective mutants failing normal ripening: the effect of ethephon, a chemical precursor of ethylene.

Alternative oxidase (AOX) and uncoupling protein (UCP) are present simultaneously in tomato fruit mitochondria. In a previous work, it has been shown that protein expression and activity of these two energy-dissipating systems exhibit large variations during tomato fruit development and ripening on the vine. It has been suggested that AOX and UCP could be responsible for the respiration increase at the end of ripening and that the cytochrome pathway could be implicated in the climacteric respiratory burst before the onset of ripening. In this study, the use of tomato mutants that fail normal ripening because of deficiencies in ethylene perception or production as well as the treatment of one selected mutant with a chemical precursor of ethylene have revealed that the bioenergetics of tomato fruit development and ripening is under the control of this plant hormone. Indeed, the evolution pattern of bioenergetic features changes with the type of mutation and with the introduction of ethylene into an ethylene-synthesis-deficient tomato fruit mutant during its induced ripening

Mitochondrial respiratory chain complex patterns from Acanthamoeba castellanii and Lycopersicon esculentum: comparative analysis by BN-PAGE and evidence of protein-protein interaction between alternative oxidase and complex III.

We have previously shown that a kinetic interplay exists between the cytochrome pathway and the alternative oxidase in mitochondria from amoeba Acanthamoeba castellanii . Native interaction analyses using blue native gel electrophoresis coupled to denaturating electrophoresis and immunodetection have indicated associations between alternative oxidase and oxidative phosphorylation complexes in both amoeba and tomato mitochondria. These associations are dependent on the expression level of alternative oxidase according to the physiological state in both organisms. Alternative oxidase associates broadly with large complexes of the respiratory chain when it is expressed in large amount, i.e., in ripe tomato and exponentially growing amoeba. On the contrary, alternative oxidase interacts specifically with complex III even if expression of the oxidase is low, i.e., in green tomato and stationary phase amoeba. This specific interaction represents a higher level of regulation driven by protein-protein interactions leading to a direct kinetic interplay between the cytochrome pathway and alternative oxidase in both plant and amoeba mitochondria

Mitochondrial UCPs: New insights into regulation and impact

Uncoupling proteins (UCPs) are mitochondrial inner membrane proteins sustaining an inducible proton conductance. They weaken the proton electrochemical gradient built up by the mitochondrial respiratory chain. Brown fat UCP1 sustains a free fatty acid (FA)-induced purine nucleotide (PN)-inhibited proton conductance. Inhibition of the proton conductance by PN has been considered as a diagnostic of UCP activity. However, conflicting results have been obtained in isolated mitochondria for UCP homologues (i.e., UCP2, UCP3, plant UCP, and protist UCP) where the FFA-activated proton conductance is poorly sensitive to PN under resting respiration conditions. Our recent work clearly indicates that the membranous coenzyme Q, through its redox state, represents a regulator of the inhibition by PN of FFA-activated UCP1 homologues under phosphorylating respiration conditions. Several physiological roles of UCPs have been suggested, including a control of the cellular energy balance as well as the preventive action against oxidative stress. In this paper, we discuss new information emerging from comparative proteomics about the impact of UCPs on mitochondrial physiology, when recombinant UCP1 is expressed in yeast and when UCP2 is over-expressed in hepatic mitochondria during steatosi

Uncoupling protein 1 affects the yeast mitoproteome and oxygen free radical production

Uncoupling protein I (UCP1) is a mitochondrial inner membrane protein that dissipates the proton electrochemical gradient built up by the respiratory chain. its activity is stimulated by free fatty acids and inhibited by purine nucleotides. Here we investigated how active and regulated recombinant UCP1 expressed in yeast at similar to 1 and similar to 10 mu g/mg of total mitochondrial proteins induced changes in the mitochondrial proteome and in oxygen free radical production. Using two-dimensional differential in-gel electrophoresis (2D-DIGE), we found that most of the proteins involved in the response to ectopically expressed UCP1 are related to energy metabolism. We also quantified the cellular H2O2 release in the absence or in the presence of UCP1. Our results suggest that UCP1 has a dual influence on free radical generation. On one side, FFA-activated UCP1 was able to decrease the superoxide anion production, demonstrating that a decrease in the generation of reactive oxygen species is an obligatory outcome of UCP1 activity even in a heterologous context. On the other side, an increase in UCP1 content was concomitant with an increase in the basal release of superoxide anion by mitochondria as a side consequence of the overall increase in oxidative metabolism. (c) 2005 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved

The energy-conserving and energy-dissipating processes in mitochondria isolated from wild type and nonripening tomato fruits during development on the plant.

Bioenergetics of tomato (Lycopersicon esculentum) development on the plant was followed from the early growing stage to senescence in wild type (climacteric) and nonripening mutant (nor, non-climacteric) fruits. Fruit development was expressed in terms of evolution of chlorophyll a content allowing the assessment of a continuous time-course in both cultivars. Measured parameters: the cytochrome pathway-dependent respiration, i.e., the ATP synthesis-sustained respiration (energy-conserving), the uncoupling protein (UCP) activity-sustained respiration (energy-dissipating), the alternative oxidase(AOX)-mediated respiration (energy-dissipating), as well as the protein expression of UCP and AOX, and free fatty acid content exhibited different evolution patterns in the wild type and nor mutant that can be attributed to their climacteric/nonclimacteric properties, respectively. In the wild type, the climacteric respiratory burst observed in vitro depended totally on an increse in the cytochrome pathway activity sustained by ATP synthesis, while the second respiratory rise during the ripening stage was linked to a strong increase in AOX activity accompanied by an overexpression of AOX protein. In wild type mitochondria, the 10-microM linoleic acid-stimulated UCP-activity-dependent respiration remained constant during the whole fruit development except in senescence where general respiratory decay was observed

Proton leak induced by reactive oxygen species produced during in vitro anoxia/reoxygenation in rat skeletal muscle mitochondria.

Superoxide anion generation and the impairment of oxidative phosphorylation yield were studied in rat skeletal muscle mitochondria submitted to anoxia/reoxygenation in vitro. Production of superoxide anion was detected after several cycles of anoxia/reoxygenation. Concomitantly, a decrease of state 3 respiration and phosphorylation yield (ADP/O) were observed. The latter resulted from a proton leak. The presence of palmitic acid during anoxia/reoxygenation cycles led to a dose-dependent inhibition of superoxide anion production together with a partial protection of the ADP/O ratio measured after anoxia/reoxygenation. The ADP/O decrease was shown to be due to a permeability transition pore-sustained proton leak, as it was suppressed by cyclosporine A. The permeability transition pore activation was induced during anoxia/reoxygenation by superoxide anion, as it was cancelled by the spin trap (POBN), which scavenges superoxide anion and by palmitic acid, which induces mitochondrial uncoupling. It can be proposed that the palmitic acid-induced proton leak cancels the production of superoxide anion by mitochondria during anoxia/reoxygenation and therefore prevents the occurrence of the superoxide anion-induced permeability transition pore-mediated proton leak after anoxia/reoxygenatio

Redox state of endogenous coenzyme q modulates the inhibition of linoleic acid-induced uncoupling by guanosine triphosphate in isolated skeletal muscle mitochondria.

The skeletal muscle mitochondria contain two isoforms of uncoupling protein, UCP2 and mainly UCP3, which had been shown to be activated by free fatty acids and inhibited by purine nucleotides in reconstituted systems. On the contrary in isolated mitochondria, the protonophoretic action of muscle UCPs had failed to be demonstrated in the absence of superoxide production. We showed here for the first time that muscle UCPs were activated in state 3 respiration by linoleic acid and dissipated energy from oxidative phosphorylation by decreasing the ADP/O ratio. The efficiency of UCPs in mitochondrial uncoupling increased when the state 3 respiratory rate decreased. The inhibition of the linoleic acid-induced uncoupling by a purine nucleotide (GTP), was not observed in state 4 respiration, in uninhibited state 3 respiration, as well as in state 3 respiration inhibited by complex III inhibitors. On the contrary, the progressive inhibition of state 3 respiration by n -butyl malonate, which inhibits the uptake of succinate, led to a full inhibitory effect of GTP. Therefore, as the inhibitory effect of GTP was observed only when the reduced state of coenzyme Q was decreased, we propose that the coenzyme Q redox state could be a metabolic sensor that modulates the purine nucleotide inhibition of FFA-activated UCPs in muscle mitochondria

Secondary-structure characterization by far-UV CD of highly purified uncoupling protein 1 expressed in yeast.

The rat UCP1 (uncoupling protein 1) is a mitochondrial inner-membrane carrier involved in energy dissipation and heat production. We expressed UCP1 carrying a His6 epitope at its C-terminus in Saccharomyces cerevisiae mitochondria. The recombinant-tagged UCP1 was purified by immobilized metal-ion affinity chromatography to homogeneity (>95%). This made it suitable for subsequent biophysical characterization. Fluorescence resonance energy transfer experiments showed that n-dodecyl-beta-D-maltoside-solubilized UCP1-His6 retained its PN (purine nucleotide)-binding capacity. The far-UV CD spectrum of the functional protein clearly indicated the predominance of alpha-helices in the UCP1 secondary structure. The UCP1 secondary structure exhibited an alpha-helical degree of approx. 68%, which is at least 25% higher than the previously reported estimations based on computational predictions. Moreover, the helical content remained unchanged in free and PN-loaded UCP1. A homology model of the first repeat of UCP1, built on the basis of X-ray-solved close parent, the ADP/ATP carrier, strengthened the CD experimental results. Our experimental and computational results indicate that (i) alpha-helices are the major component of UCP1 secondary structure; (ii) PN-binding mechanism does not involve significant secondary-structure rearrangement; and (iii) UCP1 shares similar secondary-structure characteristics with the ADP/ATP carrier, at least for the first repeat

Steatosis-induced proteomic changes in liver mitochondria evidenced by two-dimensional differential in-gel electrophoresis

Steatosis encompasses the accumulation of droplets of fats into hepatocytes. In this work, we performed a comparative analysis of mitochondrial protein patterns found in wild-type and steatosis-affected liver using the novel technique two-dimensional differential in-gel electrophoresis (2D-DIGE). A total of 56 proteins exhibiting significant difference in their abundances were unambiguously identified. Interestingly, major proteins that regulate generation and consumption of the acetyl-CoA pool were dramatically changed during steatosis. Many proteins involved in the response to oxidative stress were also affected

Saccharomyces cerevisiae mitoproteome plasticity in response to recombinant alternative ubiquinol oxidase

The energy-dissipating alternative oxidase (AOX) from Hansenula anomala, was expressed in Saccharomyces cerevisiae. The recombinant AOX was functional. A comparative analysis by two-dimensional differential in-gel electrophoresis (2D-DIGE) of mitochondrial protein patterns found in wild-type and recombinant AOX strains was performed. 60 proteins exhibiting a significant difference in their abundance were identified. Interestingly, proteins implicated in major metabolic pathways such as Krebs cycle and amino acid biosynthesis were up-regulated. Surprisingly, an up-regulation of the respiratory-chain complex III was associated with a down-regulation of the ATP synthase complex