Proton-pumping complex I of the mitochondrial respiratory chain is among the largest and most complicated membrane protein complexes. The enzyme contributes substantially to oxidative energy conversion in eukaryotic cells. Its malfunctions are implicated in many hereditary and degenerative disorders. We report the x-ray structure of mitochondrial complex I at a resolution of 3.6 to 3.9 angstroms, describing in detail the central subunits that execute the bioenergetic function. A continuous axis of basic and acidic residues running centrally through the membrane arm connects the ubiquinone reduction site in the hydrophilic arm to four putative proton-pumping units. The binding position for a substrate analogous inhibitor and blockage of the predicted ubiquinone binding site provide a model for the “deactive” form of the enzyme. The proposed transition into the active form is based on a concerted structural rearrangement at the ubiquinone reduction site, providing support for a two-state stabilization-change mechanism of proton pumping.

We used electron cryotomography to study the molecular arrangement of large respiratory chain complexes in mitochondria from bovine heart, potato, and three types of fungi. Long rows of ATP synthase dimers were observed in intact mitochondria and cristae membrane fragments of all species that were examined. The dimer rows were found exclusively on tightly curved cristae edges. The distance between dimers along the rows varied, but within the dimer the distance between F 1 heads was constant. The angle between monomers in the dimer was 70°or above. Complex I appeared as L-shaped densities in tomograms of reconstituted proteoliposomes. Similar densities were observed in flat membrane regions of mitochondrial membranes from all species except Saccharomyces cerevisiae and identified as complex I by quantumdot labeling. The arrangement of respiratory chain proton pumps on flat cristae membranes and ATP synthase dimer rows along cristae edges was conserved in all species investigated. We propose that the supramolecular organization of respiratory chain complexes as proton sources and ATP synthase rows as proton sinks in the mitochondrial cristae ensures optimal conditions for efficient ATP synthesis.cryoelectron tomography | subtomogram averaging | membrane curvature | membrane potential | mitochondrial ultrastructure M itochondria, the powerhouses of eukaryotic cells, generate ATP, the universal energy carrier in all life forms. The F 1 F o ATP synthase uses the energy stored in the electrochemical proton gradient across the inner mitochondrial membrane to produce ATP from ADP and phosphate. The proton gradient is established by the respiratory chain complexes I, III, and IV, which pump protons out of the mitochondrial matrix into the cristae space while transferring electrons from the electron donors NADH, FADH, or succinate (via complex II) to the final electron acceptor O 2 . The F 1 F o ATP synthase and complex I (NADH dehydrogenase) are the largest membrane protein complexes in mitochondria, composed of more than 20 or 40 individual protein subunits, respectively (1, 2). The 600-kDa ATP synthase consists of the F o part in the membrane that works like a proton-driven turbine, and the catalytic F 1 part on the matrix side. The two parts are held together by a static peripheral stalk and a rotating central stalk that transmits the torque from the rotor unit in the membrane to the catalytic F 1 head (3, 4). Complex I is an L-shaped molecule of approximately 1 MDa. Its membrane arm has three or four proton-pumping modules, while the matrix arm catalyzes electron transfer from NADH to the hydrophobic electron acceptor ubiquinol (5). The structures of both complexes have been determined by X-ray crystallography, either partially in the case of the F 1 F o ATP synthase (6), or at low resolution in the case of mitochondrial complex I (7, 8), but their relative organization in the mitochondrial inner membrane is largely unknown.The two large complexes occur at an approximate ratio of one molecule of complex I per 3.5 ATP...

Regulation of mtDNA expression is critical for maintaining cellular energy homeostasis and may, in principle, occur at many different levels. The leucine-rich pentatricopeptide repeat containing (LRPPRC) protein regulates mitochondrial mRNA stability and an amino-acid substitution of this protein causes the French-Canadian type of Leigh syndrome (LSFC), a neurodegenerative disorder characterized by complex IV deficiency. We have generated conditional Lrpprc knockout mice and show here that the gene is essential for embryonic development. Tissue-specific disruption of Lrpprc in heart causes mitochondrial cardiomyopathy with drastic reduction in steady-state levels of most mitochondrial mRNAs. LRPPRC forms an RNA-dependent protein complex that is necessary for maintaining a pool of non-translated mRNAs in mammalian mitochondria. Loss of LRPPRC does not only decrease mRNA stability, but also leads to loss of mRNA polyadenylation and the appearance of aberrant mitochondrial translation. The translation pattern without the presence of LRPPRC is misregulated with excessive translation of some transcripts and no translation of others. Our findings point to the existence of an elaborate machinery that regulates mammalian mtDNA expression at the post-transcriptional level.

Proton-pumping respiratory complex I is one of the largest and most complicated membrane protein complexes. Its function is critical for efficient energy supply in aerobic cells, and malfunctions are implicated in many neurodegenerative disorders. Here, we report an x-ray crystallographic analysis of mitochondrial complex I. The positions of all iron-sulfur clusters relative to the membrane arm were determined in the complete enzyme complex. The ubiquinone reduction site resides close to 30 angstroms above the membrane domain. The arrangement of functional modules suggests conformational coupling of redox chemistry with proton pumping and essentially excludes direct mechanisms. We suggest that a approximately 60-angstrom-long helical transmission element is critical for transducing conformational energy to proton-pumping elements in the distal module of the membrane arm.

Respiratory complex I is a redox-driven proton pump, accounting for a large part of the electrochemical gradient that powers mitochondrial adenosine triphosphate synthesis. Complex I dysfunction is associated with severe human diseases. Assembly of the one-megadalton complex I in the inner mitochondrial membrane requires assembly factors and chaperones. We have determined the structure of complex I from the aerobic yeast Yarrowia lipolytica by electron cryo-microscopy at 3.2-Å resolution. A ubiquinone molecule was identified in the access path to the active site. The electron cryo-microscopy structure indicated an unusual lipid-protein arrangement at the junction of membrane and matrix arms that was confirmed by molecular simulations. The structure of a complex I mutant and an assembly intermediate provide detailed molecular insights into the cause of a hereditary complex I–linked disease and complex I assembly in the inner mitochondrial membrane.