Chaperone, copper

Figure 12.2 Copper chaperone function, (a) Copper homeostasis in Enterococcus hirae is affected by the proteins encoded by the cop operon. CopA, Cu1+-import ATPase CopB, Cu1+-export ATPase CopY, Cu1+-responsive repressor copZ, chaperone for Cu1+ delivery to CopY. (b) The CTR family of proteins transports copper into yeast cells. Atxlp delivers copper to the CPx-type ATPases located in the post Golgi apparatus for the maturation of Fet3p. (c) Coxl7p delivers copper to the mitochondrial intermembrane space for incorporation into cytochrome c oxidase (CCO). (d) hCTR, a human homologue of CTR, mediates copper-ion uptake into human cells. CCS delivers copper to cytoplasmic Cu/Zn superoxide dismutase (SOD1). Abbreviations IMM, inner mitochondrial membrane OMM, outer mitochondrial membrane PM, plasma membrane PGV, post Golgi vessel. Reprinted from Harrison et al., 2000. Copyright (2000), with permission from Elsevier Science.

Figure 4.5 Fet3p and copper homeostasis. Defects in the plasma membrane transporters Ctrl and Ctr3, the cytosolic copper chaperone Atxlp, or the vesicular copper transporter Ccc2p affect Fet3p activity. Reprinted from Askwith and Kaplan, 1998. Copyright (1998), with permission from Elsevier Science.

Subramaniam, J. R., Lyons, W. E., Liu, J. et al. Mutant SOD1 causes motor neuron disease independent of copper chaperone- mediated copper loading. Nat. Neurosci. 5 301-307, 2002. 

Figure 7.28 Wavefunction, Inc. Spartan 02 for Windows representation of the Atxl copper chaperone protein (PDB code 1FD8) with data from reference 116. See text for visualization details. Printed with permission of Wavefunction, Inc., Irvine, CA. (See color plate.)...

The sequence for delivery of copper ions to SOD1 passes from the copper transporter (Ctr) by an unknown pathway to the copper chaperone for SOD1 (CCS) and by a studied pathway from CCS to SOD1. The CCS protein has been studied structurally and found to be similar to other copper chaperones such as those discussed above—Atxl and Atoxl (Hahl). Copper chaperone for superoxide dismutase (CCS) differs from other copper metallochaperones in that it folds into three functionally distinct protein domains with the N-terminal end of domain I... 

As stated previously, the total normal cytoplasmic free copper concentration is less than 10 18 M or less than one copper ion per cell. In thermodynamic terms, almost all hydrated copper ions are immediately and tightly coordinated by amino acids or biopolymers—peptides, proteins, and other species with free sulfur ligands. An excess of copper ions activates metallothionein synthesis for storage or removal of the excess. Copper chaperones mediate transfer of copper ions from extracellular or storage locations to their target proteins. Instability of copper ion concentrations in vivo results in various disease states. Three of these—FALS, Menkes, and Wilson s diseases—are described below. 

Cysteine can bind to either one or two metal ions, and is frequently found as a ligand to iron (in Fe-S clusters—see later) and to Cu+ (for example in the copper chaperones, which transfer copper to specific copper-binding proteins). Histidine can bind metal ions in two... 

As we will discuss later, in Chapter 8, free copper levels are extremely low within cells because the copper is bound to a family of metallochaperones, which are subsequently involved in the incorporation of copper into copper-containing proteins. The mechanism proposed for copper insertion into the Cu/Zn superoxide dismutase, SOD1, is presented in Figure 3.9. The copper chaperone, CCS, acquires copper as Cu+ from a copper transporter and then docks with the reduced dithiol form of SOD1 (Steps I and II) to give a docked... 

We will discuss in more detail in Chapter 8 how intracellular copper levels are maintained at extremely low levels by a series of copper chaperone proteins, which sequester newly assimilated copper within the cytoplasm of cells and deliver it in a targeted manner to be incorporated into specific copper-containing proteins. While copper uptake across the gastrointestinal tract is poorly understood—most probably utilising the divalent cation transporter... 

Magnani, D. and Solioz, M. (2005) Copper chaperone cycling and degradation in the regulation of the cop operon of Enterococcus hirae, BioMetals, 18, 407-412. 

Fig. 5. Copper homeostasis in Enterococcus hirae. Under copper-limiting conditions, copper is pumped into the cell by CopA. The CopZ copper chaperone picks up copper at this site of entry. Under physiological copper conditions, Zn(II)CopY binds to the promoter and represses transcription of the cop operon. Under conditions of copper excess, Cu-CopZ donates Cu(I) to CopY, which leads to the replacement of the Zn(II), loss of DNA-binding affinity, and ultimately synthesis of the operon products. Excess copper is secreted by the CopB efflux pump. The substrate for this pump may be a copper-glutathione (GSH) complex, rather than Cu-CopZ.

C. Regulation of Expression by Copper and Copper Chaperone Function... 

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