Iron plays critical roles in cellular metabolism, human health and disease. Fe/S clusters and hemes are synthesized in mitochondria and thus much cellular Fe is imported into this organelle.
One aim of this translational research program is to elucidate the Fe-associated players involved in these processes, as this will provide new mechanistic insights into cellular Fe metabolism and help develop new strategies to treat Fe- related diseases. A great challenge in Fe trafficking is to determine whether low-molecular-mass (LMM) Fe complexes participate. Using a liquid chromatography system with an on-line ICP-MS, we have detected numerous LMM Fe complexes in yeast and human Jurkat cells. We are particularly interested in cytosolic Fe species that are imported into mitochondria, and in mitochondrial Fe species that are used for Fe/S cluster and/or heme biosynthesis. We will characterize and identify these LMM Fe complexes using Mossbauer (MB), EPR, mass spectrometry, NMR and X-ray absorption spectroscopy. We will probe the cellular functions of these species and identify associated Fe pathways leading into and operating within mitochondria. We will use WT cells grown under different conditions, and various genetic strains in which Fe metabolism has been altered. Fe trafficking will also be examined on the systems biology level using an ensemble of interrelated spectroscopic probes centered on MB spectroscopy. The distribution of Fe in WT and genetically modified cells and their organelles will be used to address the mechanism of Fe trafficking. We will examine strains that either accumulate or deplete Fe from the cytosol or mitos. We will characterize the mechanism of Fe/S cluster and heme biosynthesis by developing an assay for these processes using intact isolated mitos. We will determine whether a MB-detectable pool of mitochondrial FeII is used for Fe/S cluster and/or heme biosynthesis, and determine the function of each component of the pool. We will evaluate whether Fe is exported from mitochondria. We will investigate Fe trafficking in human cells that have been genetically modified to allow RNAi knockdowns and overexpressions of genes involved in Fe metabolism. We will knock- down frataxin and examine the phenotype that develops over time and with the extent of knock-down at long times. We will determine the order in which various Fe-accumulation characteristics develop and establish a mechanism for the genesis of the resulting diseased state. Other genes involved in Fe metabolism and disease will be knocked-down and/or overexpressed. Finally, we will dedicate a portion of our MB time to collecting and interpreting spectra of samples from other NIH-supported labs who study cellular Fe metabolism. Relevance of this research to public health. Numerous iron-associated diseases are related to problems in transporting iron into different parts of the cell. Iron often accumulates in the mitochondria, generating very small iron particles and highly reactive oxygen species that damage cells. Analogous diseased states will be recreated in yeast and human cells, and studied using sophisticated biophysical and bioanalytical methods. 1

Public Health Relevance

Numerous iron-associated diseases are related to problems in transporting this transition metal ion into different parts of the cell. Iron often accumulates n the mitochondria, the powerhouse of the cell, generating very small iron particles and highly reactive oxygen molecules that damage cells. Analogous diseased states will be recreated in yeast and human cells, and studied using sophisticated biophysical and bioanalytical methods that can 'see' the iron inside these cells.

Agency
National Institute of Health (NIH)
Institute
National Institute of General Medical Sciences (NIGMS)
Type
Research Project (R01)
Project #
5R01GM084266-07
Application #
8972018
Study Section
Special Emphasis Panel (ZRG1-BCMB-B (02))
Program Officer
Anderson, Vernon
Project Start
2008-04-01
Project End
2017-11-30
Budget Start
2015-12-01
Budget End
2016-11-30
Support Year
7
Fiscal Year
2016
Total Cost
$268,514
Indirect Cost
$79,514
Name
Texas A&M University
Department
Chemistry
Type
Schools of Arts and Sciences
DUNS #
020271826
City
College Station
State
TX
Country
United States
Zip Code
77845
Wofford, Joshua D; Chakrabarti, Mrinmoy; Lindahl, Paul A (2017) Mössbauer Spectra of Mouse Hearts Reveal Age-dependent Changes in Mitochondrial and Ferritin Iron Levels. J Biol Chem 292:5546-5554
Dickie, Courtney M; Laughlin, Alexander L; Wofford, Joshua D et al. (2017) Transition metal redox switches for reversible ""on/off"" and ""slow/fast"" single-molecule magnet behaviour in dysprosium and erbium bis-diamidoferrocene complexes. Chem Sci 8:8039-8049
Lindahl, Paul A; Moore, Michael J (2016) Labile Low-Molecular-Mass Metal Complexes in Mitochondria: Trials and Tribulations of a Burgeoning Field. Biochemistry 55:4140-53
Wofford, Joshua D; Park, Jinkyu; McCormick, Sean P et al. (2016) Ferric ions accumulate in the walls of metabolically inactivating Saccharomyces cerevisiae cells and are reductively mobilized during reactivation. Metallomics 8:692-708
Chakrabarti, Mrinmoy; Barlas, Mirza Nofil; McCormick, Sean P et al. (2015) Kinetics of iron import into developing mouse organs determined by a pup-swapping method. J Biol Chem 290:520-8
Wofford, Joshua D; Lindahl, Paul A (2015) Mitochondrial Iron-Sulfur Cluster Activity and Cytosolic Iron Regulate Iron Traffic in Saccharomyces cerevisiae. J Biol Chem 290:26968-77
Chakrabarti, Mrinmoy; Cockrell, Allison L; Park, Jinkyu et al. (2015) Speciation of iron in mouse liver during development, iron deficiency, IRP2 deletion and inflammatory hepatitis. Metallomics 7:93-101
Fox, Nicholas G; Chakrabarti, Mrinmoy; McCormick, Sean P et al. (2015) The Human Iron-Sulfur Assembly Complex Catalyzes the Synthesis of [2Fe-2S] Clusters on ISCU2 That Can Be Transferred to Acceptor Molecules. Biochemistry 54:3871-9
Fox, Nicholas G; Das, Deepika; Chakrabarti, Mrinmoy et al. (2015) Frataxin Accelerates [2Fe-2S] Cluster Formation on the Human Fe-S Assembly Complex. Biochemistry 54:3880-9
McCormick, Sean P; Moore, Michael J; Lindahl, Paul A (2015) Detection of Labile Low-Molecular-Mass Transition Metal Complexes in Mitochondria. Biochemistry 54:3442-53

Showing the most recent 10 out of 30 publications