Essays in Biochemistry (2018) 62 271–286 https://doi.org/10.1042/EBC20170099
Review Article Human diseases associated with defects in assembly of OXPHOS complexes
Daniele Ghezzi1,2 and Massimo Zeviani3 1Molecular Neurogenetics, Foundation IRCCS Neurological Institute Besta, Milan, Italy; 2Department of Pathophysiology and Transplantation, University of Milan, Milan, Italy; 3Medical Research Council – Mitochondrial Biology Unit, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, U.K. Correspondence: Massimo Zeviani ([email protected])
The structural biogenesis and functional proficiency of the multiheteromeric complexes forming the mitochondrial oxidative phosphorylation system (OXPHOS) require the con- certed action of a number of chaperones and other assembly factors, most of which are specific for each complex. Mutations in a large number of these assembly factors arere- sponsible for mitochondrial disorders, in most cases of infantile onset, typically character- ized by biochemical defects of single specific complexes. In fact, pathogenic mutations in complex-specific assembly factors outnumber, in many cases, the repertoire of mutations found in structural subunits of specific complexes. The identification of patients with spe- cific defects in assembly factors has provided an important contribution to the nosological characterization of mitochondrial disorders, and has also been a crucial means to identify a huge number of these proteins in humans, which play an essential role in mitochondrial bioenergetics. The wide use of next generation sequencing (NGS) has led to and will allow the identifcation of additional components of the assembly machinery of individual com- plexes, mutations of which are responsible for human disorders. The functional studies on patients’ specimens, together with the creation and characterization of in vivo models, are fundamental to better understand the mechanisms of each of them. A new chapter in this field will be, in the near future, the discovery of mechanisms and actions underlying the formation of supercomplexes, molecular structures formed by the physical, and possibly functional, interaction of some of the individual respiratory complexes, particularly complex I (CI), III (CIII), and IV (CIV).
Introduction The oxidative phosphorylation system (OXPHOS) consists of five multiheteromeric complexes embed- ded in the inner mitochondrial membrane. The first four complexes (complex I, CI; complex II, CII; complex III, CIII; complex IV, CIV or cytochrome c (cyt c)oxidase, COX), together with two mobile electron shuttles, ubiquinone (coenzyme Q, CoQ)and cyt c, form the respiratory chain (RC). Electron transport through RC generates energy, which is partlyused by CI, CIII,andCIVto pump protons across the inner mitochondrial membrane thus creating an electrochemical potential ( P). Pconstitutesthe driving proton motive force for the production of ATP, operated by complex V (CV or ATP synthase), but also for heat production, Ca++ import insidemitochondria and homeostasis, protein translocation across Received: 20 February 2018 mitochondrial membranes etc. Revised: 13 April 2018 The genetic basis of the OXPHOS is unique, with the involvement of both nuclear and mtDNA. With Accepted: 02 May 2018 the exception of CII,all the OXPHOScomplexes contain subunits encoded by mtDNA: seven (MTND1, Version of Record published: 2, 3, 4, 4L, 5, 6) are components of CI, one (cytochrome b)ofCIII,three(MTCOI, II, III)ofCIV,two 20 July 2018 (ATPase 6 and8)ofCV.