A novel feature of the voltage-dependent anion channel (VDAC, mitochondrial porin), is the barrel, comprising an odd number of β-strands and closed by parallel strands. Recent research has focused on the N-terminal segment, which in the available structures, resides in the lumen and is not part of the barrel. In this review, the structural data obtained from vertebrate VDAC are integrated with those from VDAC in artificial bilayers, emphasizing the array of native and tagged versions of VDAC used. The data are discussed with respect to a recent gating model (Zachariae et al. (2012) Structure 20:1-10), in which the N-terminus acts not as a gate on a stable barrel, but rather stabilizes the barrel, preventing its shift into a partially collapsed, low-conductance, closed state. Additionally, the role of the N-terminus in VDAC oligomerization, apoptosis through interactions with hexokinase and its interaction with ATP are discussed briefly.

Mitochondrial porin, the voltage-dependent anion channel, plays an important role in metabolism and other cellular functions within eukaryotic cells. To further the understanding of porin structure and function, Neurospora crassa wild-type porin was replaced with a deletion variant lacking residues 238-242 (238porin). 238porin was assembled in the mitochondrial outer membrane, but the steady state levels were only about 3% of those of the wild-type protein. The strain harbouring 238porin displayed cytochrome deficiencies and expressed alternative oxidase. Nonetheless, it exhibited an almost normal linear growth rate. Analysis of mitochondrial proteomes from a wild-type strain FGSC9718, a strain lacking porin (ΔPor-1), and one expressing only 238porin, revealed that the major differences between the variant strains were in the levels of subunits of the NADH:ubiquinone oxidoreductase (complex I) of the electron transport chain, which were reduced only in the ΔPor-1 strain. These, and other proteins related to electron flow and mitochondrial biogenesis, are differentially affected by relative porin levels.

The oligomeric organization of the voltage-dependent anion-selective channel (VDAC) and its interactions with hexokinase play integral roles in mitochondrially mediated apoptotic signaling. Various small to large assemblies of VDAC are observed in mitochondrial outer membranes, but they do not predominate in detergent-solubilized VDAC samples. In this study, a cholesterol analog, cholesteryl-hemisuccinate (CHS), was shown to induce the formation of detergent-soluble VDAC multimers. The various oligomeric states of VDAC induced by the addition of CHS were deciphered through an integrated biophysics approach using microscale thermophoresis, analytical ultracentrifugation, and size-exclusion chromatography small angle x-ray scattering. Furthermore, CHS stabilizes the interaction between VDAC and hexokinase (K d of 27 5 6 mM), confirming the biological relevance of oligomers generated. Thus, sterols such as cholesterol in higher eukaryotes or ergosterol in fungi may regulate the VDAC oligomeric state and may provide a potential target for the modulation of apoptotic signaling by effecting VDAC-VDAC and VDAC-hexokinase interactions. In addition, the integrated biophysical approach described provides a powerful platform for the study of membrane protein complexes in solution.

von Hippel-Lindau (VHL) disease is a rare hereditary cancer syndrome that causes a predisposition to renal clear-cell carcinoma, hemangioblastoma, pheochromocytoma, and autosomal-recessive familial polycythemia. pVHL is the substrate conferring subunit of an E3 ubiquitin ligase complex that binds to the three hypoxia-inducible factor alpha subunits (HIF1-3α) for polyubiquitylation under conditions of normoxia, targeting them for immediate degradation by the proteasome. Certain mutations in pVHL have been determined to be causative of VHL disease through the disruption of HIFα degradation. However, it remains a focus of investigation and debate whether the disruption of HIFα degradation alone is sufficient to explain the complex genotype-phenotype relationship of VHL disease or whether the other lesser or yet characterized substrates and functions of pVHL impact the development of the VHL disease stigmata; the elucidation of which would have a significant ramification to the direction of research efforts and future management and care of VHL patients and for those manifesting sporadic counterparts of VHL disease. Here, we examine the current literature including the other emergent pseudohypoxic diseases and propose that the VHL disease-phenotypic spectrum could be explained solely by the varied disruption of HIFα signaling upon the loss or mutation in pVHL.

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