2. Academic Validation
  3. Conserved Lipid and Small-Molecule Modulation of COQ8 Reveals Regulation of the Ancient Kinase-like UbiB Family

Conserved Lipid and Small-Molecule Modulation of COQ8 Reveals Regulation of the Ancient Kinase-like UbiB Family

  • Cell Chem Biol. 2018 Feb 15;25(2):154-165.e11. doi: 10.1016/j.chembiol.2017.11.001.
Andrew G Reidenbach 1,  Zachary A Kemmerer 1,  Deniz Aydin 2,  Adam Jochem 3,  Molly T McDevitt 1,  Paul D Hutchins 4,  Jaime L Stark 5,  Jonathan A Stefely 1,  Thiru Reddy 3,  Alex S Hebert 6,  Emily M Wilkerson 4,  Isabel E Johnson 1,  Craig A Bingman 5,  John L Markley 5,  Joshua J Coon 7,  Matteo Dal Peraro 2,  David J Pagliarini 8
Affiliations

Affiliations

  • 1 Morgridge Institute for Research, Madison, WI 53715, USA; Department of Biochemistry, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, WI 53706, USA.
  • 2 Institute of Bioengineering, School of Life Sciences, École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne, 1015 Lausanne, Switzerland; Swiss Institute of Bioinformatics, 1015 Lausanne, Switzerland.
  • 3 Morgridge Institute for Research, Madison, WI 53715, USA.
  • 4 Department of Chemistry, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, WI 53706, USA.
  • 5 Department of Biochemistry, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, WI 53706, USA.
  • 6 Genome Center of Wisconsin, Madison, WI 53706, USA.
  • 7 Morgridge Institute for Research, Madison, WI 53715, USA; Department of Chemistry, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, WI 53706, USA; Genome Center of Wisconsin, Madison, WI 53706, USA; Department of Biomolecular Chemistry, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, WI 53706, USA.
  • 8 Morgridge Institute for Research, Madison, WI 53715, USA; Department of Biochemistry, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, WI 53706, USA. Electronic address: [email protected].
PMID: 29198567 DOI: 10.1016/j.chembiol.2017.11.001
Abstract

Human COQ8A (ADCK3) and Saccharomyces cerevisiae Coq8p (collectively COQ8) are UbiB family proteins essential for mitochondrial coenzyme Q (CoQ) biosynthesis. However, the biochemical activity of COQ8 and its direct role in CoQ production remain unclear, in part due to lack of known endogenous regulators of COQ8 function and of effective small molecules for probing its activity in vivo. Here, we demonstrate that COQ8 possesses evolutionarily conserved ATPase activity that is activated by binding to membranes containing cardiolipin and by phenolic compounds that resemble CoQ pathway intermediates. We further create an analog-sensitive version of Coq8p and reveal that acute chemical inhibition of its endogenous activity in yeast is sufficient to cause respiratory deficiency concomitant with CoQ depletion. Collectively, this work defines lipid and small-molecule modulators of an ancient family of atypical kinase-like proteins and establishes a chemical genetic system for further exploring the mechanistic role of COQ8 in CoQ biosynthesis.

Keywords

2-alkylphenols; ATPase; COQ8A; Coq8p; UbiB; analog-sensitive; atypical kinase; cardiolipin; coenzyme Q; mitochondrial chemical biology.

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