RESUMEN
The mitochondrial folate transporter (MFT) was previously identified in human and hamster cells. Sequence homology of this protein with the inner mitochondrial membrane transporters suggested a domain structure in which the N- and C-termini of the protein are located on the mitochondrial intermembrane-facing surface, with six membrane-spanning regions interspersed by two intermembrane loops and three matrix-facing loops. We now report the functional significance of insertion of the c-myc epitope into the intermembrane loops and of a series of site-directed mutations at hamster MFT residues highly conserved in orthologues. Insertional mutagenesis in the first predicted intermembrane loop eliminated MFT function, but the introduction of a c-myc peptide into the second loop was without effect. Most of the hamster MFT residues studied by site-directed mutagenesis were remarkably resilient to these mutations, except for R249A and G192E, both of which eliminated folate transport activity. Homology modeling, using the crystal structure of the bovine ADP/ATP carrier (AAC) as a scaffold, suggested a similar three-dimensional structure for the MFT and the AAC. An ion-pair interaction in the AAC thought to be central to the mechanism of membrane penetration by ADP is predicted by this homology model to be replaced by a pi-cation interaction in MFT orthologues and probably also in other members of the family bearing the P(I/L)W motif. This model suggests that the MFT R249A and G192E mutations both modify the base of a basket-shaped structure that appears to constitute a trap door for the flux of folates into the mitochondrial matrix.