The assembly of cytochrome c oxidase (COX) is a complicated process and requires a number of assembly factors to put all the necessary subunits in the correct position. Defects in COX assembly lead in particular to serious neuromuscular disorders. We demonstrated that COX-deficient patients can be associated with different assembly patterns. To obtain more insight in the biogenesis of COX in a living cell, we used yeast as a model organism to design a way to pulse label holo-COX with green fluorescent protein (GFP). Using blue native electrophoresis, we showed that the GFP-tagged subunit is incorporated into fully assembled COX and this GFP tagged complex still has enzymatic activity. This allows us to correlate the GFP fluorescence signal detected in vivo by microscopy with the synthesis, turnover and assembly of COX.

• PMID: 16120314
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Reference Type

Journal Article

Authors

Ugalde C, Coenen MJ, Farhoud MH, Gilinsky S, Koopman WJ, van den Heuvel LP, Smeitink JA, Nijtmans LG

Primary Lit For

Additional Lit For

COX4 | COX2 | COX3

Review For