Chemomechanical coupling of human mitochondrial F1-ATPase motor

Nat Chem Biol. 2014 Nov;10(11):930-6. doi: 10.1038/nchembio.1635. Epub 2014 Sep 21.

Abstract

The rotary motor enzyme F1-ATPase (F1) is a catalytic subcomplex of FoF1-ATP synthase that produces most of the ATP in respiring cells. Chemomechanical coupling has been studied extensively for bacterial F1 but very little for mitochondrial F1. Here we report ATP-driven rotation of human mitochondrial F1. A rotor-shaft γ-subunit in the stator α3β3 ring rotates 120° per ATP with three catalytic steps: ATP binding to one β-subunit at 0°, inorganic phosphate (Pi) release from another β-subunit at 65° and ATP hydrolysis on the third β-subunit at 90°. Rotation is often interrupted at 90° by persistent ADP binding and is stalled at 65° by a specific inhibitor azide. A mitochondrial endogenous inhibitor for FoF1-ATP synthase, IF1, blocks rotation at 90°. These features differ from those of bacterial F1, in which both ATP hydrolysis and Pi release occur at around 80°, demonstrating that chemomechanical coupling angles of the γ-subunit are tuned during evolution.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Adenosine Triphosphate / metabolism
  • Azides / pharmacology
  • Biocatalysis / drug effects
  • Humans
  • Hydrolysis / drug effects
  • Mitochondria / enzymology*
  • Models, Molecular
  • Proton-Translocating ATPases / antagonists & inhibitors
  • Proton-Translocating ATPases / chemistry*
  • Proton-Translocating ATPases / metabolism*
  • Rotation

Substances

  • Azides
  • Adenosine Triphosphate
  • Proton-Translocating ATPases