PMID: 19182799 , Related PDB id: 2K3J

Authors:

Banci L, Bertini I, Cefaro C, Ciofi-Baffoni S, Gallo A, Martinelli M, Sideris DP, Katrakili N, Tokatlidis K

Title:

MIA40 is an oxidoreductase that catalyzes oxidative protein folding in mitochondria.

Journal:

Nat Struct Mol Biol. 2009 Feb;16(2):198-206. Epub 2009 Feb 1.

Abstract:

MIA40 has a key role in oxidative protein folding in the mitochondrial intermembrane space. We present the solution structure of human MIA40 and its mechanism as a catalyst of oxidative folding. MIA40 has a 66-residue folded domain made of an alpha-helical hairpin core stabilized by two structural disulfides and a rigid N-terminal lid, with a characteristic CPC motif that can donate its disulfide bond to substrates. The CPC active site is solvent-accessible and sits adjacent to a hydrophobic cleft. Its second cysteine (Cys55) is essential in vivo and is crucial for mixed disulfide formation with the substrate. The hydrophobic cleft functions as a substrate binding domain, and mutations of this domain are lethal in vivo and abrogate binding in vitro. MIA40 represents a thioredoxin-unrelated, minimal oxidoreductase, with a facile CPC redox active site that ensures its catalytic function in oxidative folding in mitochondria.