First Author | Fosset C | Year | 2006 |
Journal | J Biol Chem | Volume | 281 |
Issue | 35 | Pages | 25398-406 |
PubMed ID | 16787928 | Mgi Jnum | J:116884 |
Mgi Id | MGI:3695185 | Doi | 10.1074/jbc.M602979200 |
Citation | Fosset C, et al. (2006) RNA silencing of mitochondrial m-Nfs1 reduces Fe-S enzyme activity both in mitochondria and cytosol of mammalian cells. J Biol Chem 281(35):25398-406 |
abstractText | In prokaryotes and yeast, the general mechanism of biogenesis of iron-sulfur (Fe-S) clusters involves activities of several proteins among which IscS and Nfs1p provide, through cysteine desulfuration, elemental sulfide for Fe-S core formation. Although these proteins have been well characterized, the role of their mammalian homolog in Fe-S cluster biogenesis has never been evaluated. We report here the first functional study that implicates the putative cysteine desulfurase m-Nfs1 in the biogenesis of both mitochondrial and cytosolic mammalian Fe-S proteins. Depletion of m-Nfs1 in cultured fibroblasts through small interfering RNA-based gene silencing significantly inhibited the activities of mitochondrial NADH-ubiquinone oxidoreductase (complex I) and succinate-ubiquinone oxidoreductase (complex II) of the respiratory chain, as well as aconitase of the Krebs cycle, with no alteration in their protein levels. Activity of cytosolic xanthine oxidase, which holds a [2Fe-2S] cluster, was also specifically reduced, and iron-regulatory protein-1 was converted from its [4Fe-4S] aconitase form to its apo- or RNA-binding form. Reduction of Fe-S enzyme activities occurred earlier and more markedly in the cytosol than in mitochondria, suggesting that there is a mechanism that primarily dedicates m-Nfs1 to the biogenesis of mitochondrial Fe-S clusters in order to maintain cell survival. Finally, depletion of m-Nfs1, which conferred on apo-IRP-1 a high affinity for ferritin mRNA, was associated with the down-regulation of the iron storage protein ferritin. |