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Structural basis for the regulatory mechanism of mammalian mitochondrial respiratory chain megacomplex-Ⅰ222
hLife 2024, 2 (4): 189-200
Published: 15 March 2024
Abstract Collect

Mammalian mitochondrial electron transport chain complexes are the most important and complicated protein machinery in mitochondria. Although this system has been studied for more than a century, its composition and molecular mechanism are still largely unknown. Here we report the high-resolution cryo-electron microscopy (Cryo-EM) structures of porcine respiratory chain megacomplex-Ⅰ222 (MCI222) in five different conformations, including State 1, State 2, Mid 1, Mid 2, and Mid 3. High-resolution Cryo-EM imaging, combined with super-resolution gated stimulated emission depletion microscopy (gSTED), strongly supports the formation of MCI222 in live cells. Each MCI222 structure contains 141 subunits (70 different kinds of peptides, 2.9 MDa) in total with 240 transmembrane helices. The mutual influence among CI, CIII, and CIV shown in the MCI222 structure suggests this megacomplex could act as an integral unit in electron transfer and proton pumping. The conformational changes from different states suggest a plausible regulatory mechanism for the MCI222 activation/deactivation process.

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