Voltage-dependant anion channel VDAC

Several different changes in mitochondria occur during apoptosis. These include a change in membrane potential (usually depolarization), increased production of reactive oxygen species, potassium channel activation, calcium ion uptake, increased membrane permeability and release of cytochrome c and apoptosis inducing factor (AIF) [25]. Increased permeability of the mitochondrial membranes is a pivotal event in apoptosis and appears to result from the formation of pores in the membrane the proteins that form such permeability transition pores (PTP) may include a voltage-dependent anion channel (VDAC), the adenine nucleotide translocator, cyclophilin D, the peripheral benzodiazepine receptor, hexokinase and... 

There are several hypotheses for a specific mechanism by which ONOO- can control the open state of the PTPC. Briefly the PTPC is regulated by primary constituents of the pore, including the inner membrane adenine nucleotide translocase (ANT) and the outer membrane protein voltage-dependent anion channel (VDAC or porin). The VDAC-ANT complex can bind to signaling proteins that modulate permeability transition, such as pro-apoptotic Bax (which opens the pore) and anti-apoptotic Bcl-2... 

Our model of cytochrome c release during apoptosis is not an alternative mechanism to the Bid/Bax-regulated release of cytochrome c. The voltage-dependent anion channel (VDAC) is known to be converted to a cytochrome c-permeant conduit by Bax. Furthermore, Bax protein can... 

Figure 17.3. Permeability transition pore (PTP). The PTP consists of voltage-dependent anion channel (VDAC), adenine nucleotide translocase (ANT) and several associated molecules including cyclophilin D (CypD) and peripheral benzodiazepine receptor (PBR). IMM, inner mitochondrial membrane OMM, outer mitochondrial membrane CytC, cytochrome c.

The mitochondrial permeability transition (MPT) is the loss of the inner mitochondrial membrane impermeability to solutes caused by opening of the MPT pore (MPTP). In turn, this action results in a loss of mitochondrial function and provides a common mechanism implicated in activation of mi-tophagy/autophagy, apoptosis, and necrosis in different cell systems. Although the composition of MPTP is not fully settled, multiple studies suggest involvement of adenine nucleotide translocase (ANT) in the inner mitochondrial membrane, voltage-dependent anion channel (VDAC or porin) in the outer membrane, and cyclophilin D (CypD) in the matrix. 

The molecular structure of the MPT pore is not fully understood either. Current evidence suggests that two proteins, the voltage-dependent anion channel (VDAC), located in the outer mitochondrial membrane, and the adenine nucleotide translocase (ANT-1), located in the inner mitochondrial membrane, combine to form a pore that spans both membranes. 

The outer membrane is quite permeable to most small molecules and ions because it contains many copies of mitochondrial porin, a 30 to. iSkd pore-forming protein also known as VDAC, tor voltage-dependent anion channel. VDAC plays a role in the regulated flux of metabolites—... 

Fig. 16. Mitochondrial import of cholesterol. The StAR protein is the major cholesterol (CHOL) carrier bringing the lipid to import sites. The StAR protein is phosphorylated by cyclic AMP-dependent protein kinase (PKA) that is recruited to the mitochondria by the protein PAP7. PAP7 is a binding partner of the peripheral benzodiazepine receptor/translocator protein (TSPO), which forms a complex with the voltage-dependent anion channel (VDAC) and an adenine nucleotide transporter (ANT) at contact sites between the inner and outer mitochondrial membranes. The multiprotein complex constitutes a cholesterol transporter that moves cholesterol from StAR to the inner mitochondrial membrane where the side-chain cleavage enzyme (CYP-11 Al) converts it to pregnenolone (PREG).

The osmotic stress method was first applied to the large voltage dependent anion channel (VDAC), also known as mitochondrial porin , from the outer membrane of mitochondria. The protein was placed in an artificial... 

Mitochondria and cell death Although oxidative phosphorylation is a mitochondrial process, most ATP utilization occurs outside of the mitochondrion. ATP synthesized from oxidative phosphorylation is actively transported from the matrix to the intermembrane space by adenine nucleotide translocase (ANT). Porins form voltage-dependent anion channels (VDAC) through the outer mitochondrial membrane for the diffusion of H2O, ATP metabolites, and other ions. Under certain types of stress, ANT, VDAC, and other proteins form a nonspecific open channel known as the mitochondrial permeability transition pore. This pore is associated with events that lead rapidly to necrotic cell death. 

Figure 3. Schematic architecture of mitochondrial protein complexes. A transmembrane channel, called the permeability transition pore (FTP), is formed at the contaa sites between the inner and outer mitochondrial membrane (OM) of the mitochondria. The core components of PTP are the voltage-dependent anion channel (VDAC) in the outer membrane and the adenine nucleotide translocator (ANT) in the inner membrane (IM). VDAC allows diilusion of small molecules (<5 kDa), however ANT is only permeable to a few selected ions and metabolites and is responsible for maintaining the proton concentration gradient (pH) and the membrane elearic potential (A P,J. PTP is sometimes connected to destruction of permeability barrier and loss of the inner membrane potential and eventually results in mitochondrial membrane permeability transition during apoptosis and other specialized forms of cell death. Bax, Bak, Bc1-Xl and Bcl-2 locate in the outer membrane and may regulate the outer membrane permeability. The translocase of the outer membrane (TOM) and the translocase of the inner membrane (TlM) mediate protein import pathway in the mitochondria. Cy-D, cyclophilin D PBR, peripheral benzodiazepine receptor HK, hexokinase mtHSP70, mitochondrial heat shock protein 70.

Figure 3. Oxidative phosphorylation (OXPHOS). It is composed by electron transport chain (ETC) and ATP synthase. In ETC, oxidation of reducing equivalents (NADH and FADH2) allow the electron transport from complex I and II to complex III by ubiquinone (violet circle) and from complex III to complex IV by cytochrome -c (pink circle). This process finishes in reduction of molecular oxygen, occurring mitochondrial respiration. Mitochondrial potential membrane (A nn) generated by ETC is used for ATP synthesis by ATP synthase. Adenine nucleotides are transported by voltage-dependent anion channel (VDAC) and adenine nucleotide translocator (ANT).

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