Noncanonical role of singleminded-2s in mitochondrial respiratory chain formation in breast cancer.

Dysregulation of cellular metabolism is a hallmark of breast cancer progression and is associated with metastasis and therapeutic resistance. Here, we show that the breast tumor suppressor gene SIM2 promotes mitochondrial oxidative phosphorylation (OXPHOS) using breast cancer cell line models. Mechanistically, we found that SIM2s functions not as a transcription factor but localizes to mitochondria and directly interacts with the mitochondrial respiratory chain (MRC) to facilitate functional supercomplex (SC) formation. Loss of SIM2s expression disrupts SC formation through destabilization of MRC Complex III, leading to inhibition of electron transport, although Complex I (CI) activity is retained. A metabolomic analysis showed that knockout of SIM2s leads to a compensatory increase in ATP production through glycolysis and accelerated glutamine-driven TCA cycle production of NADH, creating a favorable environment for high cell proliferation. Our findings indicate that SIM2s is a novel stabilizing factor required for SC assembly, providing insight into the impact of the MRC on metabolic adaptation and breast cancer progression.

FDX1-dependent and independent mechanisms of elesclomol-mediated intracellular copper delivery.

Recent studies have uncovered the therapeutic potential of elesclomol (ES), a copper-ionophore, for copper deficiency disorders. However, we currently do not understand the mechanism by which copper brought into cells as ES-Cu(II) is released and delivered to cuproenzymes present in different subcellular compartments. Here, we have utilized a combination of genetic, biochemical, and cell-biological approaches to demonstrate that intracellular release of copper from ES occurs inside and outside of mitochondria. The mitochondrial matrix reductase, FDX1, catalyzes the reduction of ES-Cu(II) to Cu(I), releasing it into mitochondria where it is bioavailable for the metalation of mitochondrial cuproenzyme- cytochrome c oxidase. Consistently, ES fails to rescue cytochrome c oxidase abundance and activity in copper-deficient cells lacking FDX1. In the absence of FDX1, the ES-dependent increase in cellular copper is attenuated but not abolished. Thus, ES-mediated copper delivery to nonmitochondrial cuproproteins continues even in the absence of FDX1, suggesting alternate mechanism(s) of copper release. Importantly, we demonstrate that this mechanism of copper transport by ES is distinct from other clinically used copper-transporting drugs. Our study uncovers a unique mode of intracellular copper delivery by ES and may further aid in repurposing this anticancer drug for copper deficiency disorders.

A yeast suppressor screen links Coa4 to the mitochondrial copper delivery pathway for cytochrome c oxidase.

Cytochrome c oxidase (CcO) is a multimeric copper-containing enzyme of the mitochondrial respiratory chain that powers cellular energy production. The two core subunits of cytochrome c oxidase, Cox1 and Cox2, harbor the catalytic CuB and CuA sites, respectively. Biogenesis of each copper site occurs separately and requires multiple proteins that constitute the mitochondrial copper delivery pathway. Currently, the identity of all the members of the pathway is not known, though several evolutionarily conserved twin CX9C motif-containing proteins have been implicated in this process. Here, we performed a targeted yeast suppressor screen that placed Coa4, a twin CX9C motif-containing protein, in the copper delivery pathway to the Cox1 subunit. Specifically, we show that overexpression of Cox11, a copper metallochaperone required for the formation of CuB site, can restore Cox1 abundance, cytochrome c oxidase assembly, and mitochondrial respiration in coa4Δ cells. This rescue is dependent on the copper-coordinating cysteines of Cox11. The abundance of Coa4 and Cox11 in mitochondria is reciprocally regulated, further linking Coa4 to the CuB site biogenesis. Additionally, we find that coa4Δ cells have reduced levels of copper and exogenous copper supplementation can partially ameliorate its respiratory-deficient phenotype, a finding that connects Coa4 to cellular copper homeostasis. Finally, we demonstrate that human COA4 can replace the function of yeast Coa4 indicating its evolutionarily conserved role. Our work provides genetic evidences for the role of Coa4 in the copper delivery pathway to the CuB site of cytochrome c oxidase.

Elesclomol alleviates Menkes pathology and mortality by escorting Cu to cuproenzymes in mice.

Loss-of-function mutations in the copper (Cu) transporter ATP7A cause Menkes disease. Menkes is an infantile, fatal, hereditary copper-deficiency disorder that is characterized by progressive neurological injury culminating in death, typically by 3 years of age. Severe copper deficiency leads to multiple pathologies, including impaired energy generation caused by cytochrome c oxidase dysfunction in the mitochondria. Here we report that the small molecule elesclomol escorted copper to the mitochondria and increased cytochrome c oxidase levels in the brain. Through this mechanism, elesclomol prevented detrimental neurodegenerative changes and improved the survival of the mottled-brindled mouse-a murine model of severe Menkes disease. Thus, elesclomol holds promise for the treatment of Menkes and associated disorders of hereditary copper deficiency.

Structural insights into phosphopantetheinyl hydrolase PptH from Mycobacterium tuberculosis.

The amidinourea 8918 was recently reported to inhibit the type II phosphopantetheinyl transferase (PPTase) of Mycobacterium tuberculosis (Mtb), PptT, a potential drug-target that activates synthases and synthetases involved in cell wall biosynthesis and secondary metabolism. Surprisingly, high-level resistance to 8918 occurred in Mtb harboring mutations within the gene adjacent to pptT, rv2795c, highlighting the role of the encoded protein as a potentiator of the bactericidal action of the amidinourea. Those studies revealed that Rv2795c (PptH) is a phosphopantetheinyl (PpT) hydrolase, possessing activity antagonistic with respect to PptT. We have solved the crystal structure of Mtb's phosphopantetheinyl hydrolase, making it the first phosphopantetheinyl (carrier protein) hydrolase structurally characterized. The 2.5 Å structure revealed the hydrolases' four-layer (α/ß/ß/α) sandwich fold featuring a Mn-Fe binuclear center within the active site. A structural similarity search confirmed that PptH most closely resembles previously characterized metallophosphoesterases (MPEs), particularly within the vicinity of the active site, suggesting that it may utilize a similar catalytic mechanism. In addition, analysis of the structure has allowed for the rationalization of the previously reported PptH mutations associated with 8918-resistance. Notably, differences in the sequences and predicted structural characteristics of the PpT hydrolases PptH of Mtb and E. coli's acyl carrier protein hydrolase (AcpH) indicate that the two enzymes evolved convergently and therefore are representative of two distinct PpT hydrolase families.

COA6 Is Structurally Tuned to Function as a Thiol-Disulfide Oxidoreductase in Copper Delivery to Mitochondrial Cytochrome c Oxidase.

In eukaryotes, cellular respiration is driven by mitochondrial cytochrome c oxidase (CcO), an enzyme complex that requires copper cofactors for its catalytic activity. Insertion of copper into its catalytically active subunits, including COX2, is a complex process that requires metallochaperones and redox proteins including SCO1, SCO2, and COA6, a recently discovered protein whose molecular function is unknown. To uncover the molecular mechanism by which COA6 and SCO proteins mediate copper delivery to COX2, we have solved the solution structure of COA6, which reveals a coiled-coil-helix-coiled-coil-helix domain typical of redox-active proteins found in the mitochondrial inter-membrane space. Accordingly, we demonstrate that COA6 can reduce the copper-coordinating disulfides of its client proteins, SCO1 and COX2, allowing for copper binding. Finally, our determination of the interaction surfaces and reduction potentials of COA6 and its client proteins provides a mechanism of how metallochaperone and disulfide reductase activities are coordinated to deliver copper to CcO.

Elesclomol restores mitochondrial function in genetic models of copper deficiency.

Copper is an essential cofactor of cytochrome c oxidase (CcO), the terminal enzyme of the mitochondrial respiratory chain. Inherited loss-of-function mutations in several genes encoding proteins required for copper delivery to CcO result in diminished CcO activity and severe pathologic conditions in affected infants. Copper supplementation restores CcO function in patient cells with mutations in two of these genes, COA6 and SCO2, suggesting a potential therapeutic approach. However, direct copper supplementation has not been therapeutically effective in human patients, underscoring the need to identify highly efficient copper transporting pharmacological agents. By using a candidate-based approach, we identified an investigational anticancer drug, elesclomol (ES), that rescues respiratory defects of COA6-deficient yeast cells by increasing mitochondrial copper content and restoring CcO activity. ES also rescues respiratory defects in other yeast mutants of copper metabolism, suggesting a broader applicability. Low nanomolar concentrations of ES reinstate copper-containing subunits of CcO in a zebrafish model of copper deficiency and in a series of copper-deficient mammalian cells, including those derived from a patient with SCO2 mutations. These findings reveal that ES can restore intracellular copper homeostasis by mimicking the function of missing transporters and chaperones of copper, and may have potential in treating human disorders of copper metabolism.

Mitochondrial disease genes COA6, COX6B and SCO2 have overlapping roles in COX2 biogenesis.

Biogenesis of cytochrome c oxidase (CcO), the terminal enzyme of the mitochondrial respiratory chain, is a complex process facilitated by several assembly factors. Pathogenic mutations were recently reported in one such assembly factor, COA6, and our previous work linked Coa6 function to mitochondrial copper metabolism and expression of Cox2, a copper-containing subunit of CcO. However, the precise role of Coa6 in Cox2 biogenesis remained unknown. Here we show that yeast Coa6 is an orthologue of human COA6, and like Cox2, is regulated by copper availability, further implicating it in copper delivery to Cox2. In order to place Coa6 in the Cox2 copper delivery pathway, we performed a comprehensive genetic epistasis analysis in the yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae and found that simultaneous deletion of Coa6 and Sco2, a mitochondrial copper metallochaperone, or Coa6 and Cox12/COX6B, a structural subunit of CcO, completely abrogates Cox2 biogenesis. Unlike Coa6 deficient cells, copper supplementation fails to rescue Cox2 levels of these double mutants. Overexpression of Cox12 or Sco proteins partially rescues the coa6Δ phenotype, suggesting their overlapping but non-redundant roles in copper delivery to Cox2. These genetic data are strongly corroborated by biochemical studies demonstrating physical interactions between Coa6, Cox2, Cox12 and Sco proteins. Furthermore, we show that patient mutations in Coa6 disrupt Coa6-Cox2 interaction, providing the biochemical basis for disease pathogenesis. Taken together, these results place COA6 in the copper delivery pathway to CcO and, surprisingly, link it to a previously unidentified function of CcO subunit Cox12 in Cox2 biogenesis.

Multiple metabolic requirements for size homeostasis and initiation of division in Saccharomyces cerevisiae.

Most cells must grow before they can divide, but it is not known how cells determine when they have grown enough so they can commit to a new round of cell division. Several parameters affect the timing of initiation of division: cell size at birth, the size cells have to reach when they commit to division, and how fast they reach that size. We report that Saccharomyces cerevisiae mutants in metabolic and biosynthetic pathways differ in these variables, controlling the timing of initiation of cell division in various ways. Some mutants affect the size at birth, size at initiation of division, the rate of increase in size, or any combination of the above. Furthermore, we show that adenylate kinase, encoded by ADK1, is a significant determinant of the efficiency of size control mechanisms. Finally, our data argue strongly that the cell size at division is not necessarily a function of the rate cells increase in size in the G1 phase of the cell cycle. Taken together, these findings reveal an unexpected diversity in the G1 cell cycle phenotypes of metabolic and biosynthetic mutants, suggesting that growth requirements for cell division are multiple, distinct and imposed throughout the G1 phase of the cell cycle.