The activity of Menkes disease protein ATP7A is essential for redox balance in mitochondria

Ashima Bhattacharjee, Haojun Yang, Megan Duffy, Emily Robinson, Arianrhod Conrad-Antoville, Ya Wen Lu, Tony Capps, Lelita Braiterman, Michael Wolfgang, Michael P. Murphy, Ling Yi, Stephen G. Kaler, Svetlana Lutsenko, Martina Ralle

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

32 Scopus citations

Abstract

Copper-transporting ATPase ATP7A is essential for mammalian copper homeostasis. Loss of ATP7A activity is associated with fatal Menkes disease and various other pathologies. In cells, ATP7A inactivation disrupts copper transport from the cytosol into the secretory pathway. Using fibroblasts from Menkes disease patients and mouse 3T3-L1 cells with a CRISPR/Cas9-inactivated ATP7A, we demonstrate that ATP7A dysfunction is also damaging to mitochondrial redox balance. In these cells, copper accumulates in nuclei, cytosol, and mitochondria, causing distinct changes in their redox environment. Quantitative imaging of live cells using GRX1-roGFP2 and HyPer sensors reveals highest glutathione oxidation and elevation of H2O2 in mitochondria, whereas the redox environment of nuclei and the cytosol is much less affected. Decreasing the H2O2 levels in mitochondria with MitoQ does not prevent glutathione oxidation; i.e. elevated copper and not H2O2 is a primary cause of glutathione oxidation. Redox misbalance does not significantly affect mitochondrion morphology or the activity of respiratory complex IV but markedly increases cell sensitivity to even mild glutathione depletion, resulting in loss of cell viability. Thus, ATP7A activity protects mitochondria from excessive copper entry, which is deleterious to redox buffers. Mitochondrial redox misbalance could significantly contribute to pathologies associated with ATP7A inactivation in tissues with paradoxical accumulation of copper (i.e. renal epithelia).

Original languageEnglish (US)
Pages (from-to)16644-16658
Number of pages15
JournalJournal of Biological Chemistry
Volume291
Issue number32
DOIs
StatePublished - Aug 5 2016

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Biochemistry
  • Molecular Biology
  • Cell Biology

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