MidA is a putative methyltransferase that is required for mitochondrial complex I function.

Dictyostelium and human MidA are homologous proteins that belong to a family of proteins of unknown function called DUF185. Using yeast two-hybrid screening and pull-down experiments, we showed that both proteins interact with the mitochondrial complex I subunit NDUFS2. Consistent with this, Dictyostelium cells lacking MidA showed a specific defect in complex I activity, and knockdown of human MidA in HEK293T cells resulted in reduced levels of assembled complex I. These results indicate a role for MidA in complex I assembly or stability. A structural bioinformatics analysis suggested the presence of a methyltransferase domain; this was further supported by site-directed mutagenesis of specific residues from the putative catalytic site. Interestingly, this complex I deficiency in a Dictyostelium midA(-) mutant causes a complex phenotypic outcome, which includes phototaxis and thermotaxis defects. We found that these aspects of the phenotype are mediated by a chronic activation of AMPK, revealing a possible role of AMPK signaling in complex I cytopathology.

Emerging Roles of JmjC Domain-Containing Proteins.

Jumonji C (JmjC) domain-containing proteins are a diverse superfamily of proteins containing a characteristic, evolutionarily conserved ß-barrel structure that normally contains binding sites for Fe(II) and α-ketoglutarate. In the best studied JmjC-domain proteins, the JmjC barrel has a histone demethylase catalytic activity. Histones are evolutionarily conserved proteins intimately involved in the packaging of DNA within the nucleus of eukaryotic organisms. The N-termini ("tails") of the histone proteins are subject to a diverse array of posttranslational modifications including methylation. Unlike many of the other histone modifications which are transient, methylation was thought to be permanent, until the relatively recent identification of the first demethylases. Jumonji C domain-containing proteins were first identified with a role in the modulation of histone methylation marks. This family of proteins is broken up into seven distinct subgroups based on domain architecture and their ability to antagonize specific histone methylation marks. Their biological functions derive from their ability to regulate gene expression and include roles in cell differentiation, growth, proliferation, and stress responses. However, one subgroup remains, the largest, in which the JmjC domain has no known biochemical function. These proteins belong to the JmjC-domain-only subgroup and as their name suggests, the only bioinformatically recognizable domain they contain is the highly conserved JmjC domain.

Legionella pneumophila multiplication is enhanced by chronic AMPK signalling in mitochondrially diseased Dictyostelium cells.

Human patients with mitochondrial diseases are more susceptible to bacterial infections, particularly of the respiratory tract. To investigate the susceptibility of mitochondrially diseased cells to an intracellular bacterial respiratory pathogen, we exploited the advantages of Dictyostelium discoideum as an established model for mitochondrial disease and for Legionella pneumophila pathogenesis. Legionella infection of macrophages involves recruitment of mitochondria to the Legionella-containing phagosome. We confirm here that this also occurs in Dictyostelium and investigate the effect of mitochondrial dysfunction on host cell susceptibility to Legionella. In mitochondrially diseased Dictyostelium strains, the pathogen was taken up at normal rates, but it grew faster and reached counts that were twofold higher than in the wild-type host. We reported previously that other mitochondrial disease phenotypes for Dictyostelium are the result of the activity of an energy-sensing cellular alarm protein, AMP-activated protein kinase (AMPK). Here, we show that the increased ability of mitochondrially diseased cells to support Legionella proliferation is suppressed by antisense-inhibiting expression of the catalytic AMPKalpha subunit. Conversely, mitochondrial dysfunction is phenocopied, and intracellular Legionella growth is enhanced, by overexpressing an active form of AMPKalpha in otherwise normal cells. These results indicate that AMPK signalling in response to mitochondrial dysfunction enhances Legionella proliferation in host cells.