High molecular weight forms of mammalian respiratory chain complex II

PLoS One. 2013 Aug 13;8(8):e71869. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0071869. eCollection 2013.

Abstract

Mitochondrial respiratory chain is organised into supramolecular structures that can be preserved in mild detergent solubilisates and resolved by native electrophoretic systems. Supercomplexes of respiratory complexes I, III and IV as well as multimeric forms of ATP synthase are well established. However, the involvement of complex II, linking respiratory chain with tricarboxylic acid cycle, in mitochondrial supercomplexes is questionable. Here we show that digitonin-solubilised complex II quantitatively forms high molecular weight structures (CIIhmw) that can be resolved by clear native electrophoresis. CIIhmw structures are enzymatically active and differ in electrophoretic mobility between tissues (500 - over 1000 kDa) and cultured cells (400-670 kDa). While their formation is unaffected by isolated defects in other respiratory chain complexes, they are destabilised in mtDNA-depleted, rho0 cells. Molecular interactions responsible for the assembly of CIIhmw are rather weak with the complexes being more stable in tissues than in cultured cells. While electrophoretic studies and immunoprecipitation experiments of CIIhmw do not indicate specific interactions with the respiratory chain complexes I, III or IV or enzymes of the tricarboxylic acid cycle, they point out to a specific interaction between CII and ATP synthase.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Animals
  • Cell Line
  • Electron Transport
  • Electron Transport Chain Complex Proteins / chemistry
  • Electron Transport Chain Complex Proteins / metabolism
  • Electron Transport Complex II / chemistry*
  • Electron Transport Complex II / metabolism
  • Humans
  • Metabolic Networks and Pathways
  • Mitochondria / genetics
  • Mitochondria / metabolism
  • Molecular Weight
  • Organ Specificity
  • Oxidative Phosphorylation
  • Protein Binding

Substances

  • Electron Transport Chain Complex Proteins
  • Electron Transport Complex II

Grants and funding

This work was supported by the Grant Agency of the Czech Republic (P303/10/P227, P301/10/1937), Ministry of Education, Youth and Sports of the Czech Republic (ERC CZ LL1204 and RVO: 67985823) and Ministry of Health of the Czech Republic (NT12370-5). The funders had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript.