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Toeprinting Analysis of Translation Initiation Complex Formation on Mammalian mRNAs
Published on: May 10, 2018
METTL17 is an Fe-S cluster checkpoint for mitochondrial translation
Tslil Ast1, Yuzuru Itoh2, Shayan Sadre1
1Broad Institute, Cambridge, MA 02142, USA; Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, MA 02114, USA; Department of Molecular Biology, Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, MA 02114, USA; Department of Systems Biology, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA 02115, USA.
Friedreich's ataxia (FA) pathogenesis involves frataxin (FXN) depletion, impacting iron-sulfur proteins and mitochondrial translation. METTL17, a mitoribosomal factor with an iron-sulfur cluster, acts as a checkpoint for oxidative phosphorylation protein synthesis.
Area of Science:
- Mitochondrial biology
- Cellular pathogenesis
- Protein biochemistry
Background:
- Friedreich's ataxia (FA) results from frataxin (FXN) deficiency, crucial for mitochondrial iron-sulfur (Fe-S) cluster biogenesis.
- FXN depletion leads to instability and depletion of Fe-S cluster-containing proteins, impacting cellular function.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the cellular mechanisms underlying FA pathogenesis using quantitative proteomics.
- To identify novel factors involved in Fe-S cluster metabolism and mitochondrial dysfunction in FA.
Main Methods:
- Quantitative proteomics in FXN-deficient human cells.
- Comparative sequence analysis, mutagenesis, biochemistry, and cryoelectron microscopy.
- Functional assays for mitochondrial translation and bioenergetics.
Main Results:
- Depletion of most Fe-S cluster-containing proteins and impaired mitochondrial translation observed in FXN-deficient cells.
- METTL17, a mitoribosomal assembly factor, was identified and found to contain a critical [Fe4S4] cluster.
- METTL17 overexpression partially rescued mitochondrial translation and bioenergetic defects in FA cells.
Conclusions:
- METTL17 stability and function are dependent on its Fe-S cluster, linking it to FA pathogenesis.
- METTL17 may function as an Fe-S cluster checkpoint, regulating the synthesis of Fe-S cluster-dependent proteins like those in oxidative phosphorylation.
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