Abstract
Protein import into mitochondria is initiated by the recognition and binding of precursor proteins by import components in the cytosol, on the mitochondrial surface, and in the mitochondrial outer membrane. Following their synthesis on cytoplasmic ribosomes, some precursor proteins interact with molecular chaperones in the cytosol which function in maintaining the precursor protein in an import-competent state and may also aid in the delivery of the precursor to the mitochondria. A multisubunit protein import receptor then recognises and binds precursor proteins before feeding them into the outer membrane import site. Some proteins are sorted from the import site into the outer membrane, but most precursor proteins travel through the outer membrane import site into the mitochondria, where the later steps of protein import take place.
Similar content being viewed by others
REFERENCES
Alconada, A., Kübrich, M., Moczko, M., Hönlinger, A., and Pfanner, N. (1995). Mol. Cell. Biol. 15, 6196–6205.
Attardi, G., and Schatz, G. (1988). Annu. Rev. Cell Biol. 4, 289–333.
Bolliger, L., Junne, T., Schatz, G., and Lithgow, T. (1995). EMBO J. 14, 6318–6326.
Bömer, U., Pfanner, N., and Dietmeier, K. (1996). FEBS Lett. 382, 153–158.
Craig, E. A., Weissman, J. S., and Horwich, A. L. (1994). Cell 78, 365–372.
Cyr, D. M., Langer, T., and Douglas, M. G. (1994). Trends Biochem. Sci. 19, 176–181.
Eilers, M., and Schatz, G. (1986). Nature 322, 228.
Gärtner, F., Voos, W., Querol, A., Miller, B. R., Craig, E. A., Cumsky, M. G., and Pfanner, N. (1995). J. Biol. Chem. 270, 3788–3795.
Goebl, M., and Yanagida, M. (1991). Trends Biochem. Sci. 16, 173.
Gratzer, S., Lithgow, T., Bauer, R., Lamping, E., Paltauf, F., Kohlwein, S., Haucke, V., Junne, T., Schatz, G., and Horst, M. (1995). J. Cell Biol. 129, 25–34.
Hachiya, N., Alam, R., Sakasegawa, Y., Sakaguchi, M., Mihara, K., and Omura, T. (1993). EMBO J. 12, 1579.
Hachiya, N., Komiya, T., Alam, R., Iwahashi, J., Sakaguchi, M., Omura, T., and Mihara, K. (1994). EMBO J. 13, 5146–5154.
Hachiya, N., Mihara, K., Suda, K., Horst, M., Schatz, G., and Lithgow, T. (1995). Nature 376, 705–709.
Hahne, K., Haucke, V., Ramage, L., and Schatz, G. (1994). Cell 79, 829–839.
Hase, T., Muller, U., Riezman, H., and Schatz, G. (1984). EMBO J. 3, 3157–3164.
Haucke, V., Lithgow, T., Rospert, S., Hahne, K., and Schatz, G. (1995). J. Biol. Chem. 270, 5565–5570.
Haucke, V., Horst, M., Schatz, G., and Lithgow, T. (1996). EMBO J. 15, 1231–1237.
Herman, C., Therenet, D., d'Ari, R., and Bouloc, P. (1995). Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA 92, 3516–3520.
Hines, V., Brandt, A., Griffiths, G., Horstmann, H., Brütsch, H., and Schatz, G. (1990). EMBO J. 9, 3191–3200.
Hines, V., and Schatz, G. (1993). J. Biol. Chem. 268, 449–454.
Hönlinger, A., Kubrich, M., Moczko, M., Gartner, F., Mallet, L., Bussereau, F., Eckershorn, C., Lottspeich, F., Dietmeier, K., Jacquet, M., and Pfanner, N. (1995). Mol. Cell. Biol. 15, 3382–3389.
Hönlinger, A., Bömer, U., Alconada, A., Eckerskorn, C., Lottspeich, F., Dietmeier, K., and Pfanner, N. (1996). EMBO J. 15, 2125–2137.
Jentsch, S., (1992). Annu. Rev. Genet. 26, 179–207.
Johnston, M., Andrews, S., Brinkman, R., Cooper, J., Ding, H., Dover, J., Du, Z., Favello, A., Fulton, L., Gattung, S., Geisel, C., Kirsten, J., Kucaba, T., Hillier, L., Jier, M., Johnston, L., Langston, Y., Latrielle, P., Louis, E. J., Macri, E., and Marclis, E. (1994). Science 265, 2077–2082.
Kassenbrock, C. K., Cao, W., and Douglas, M. G. (1993). EMBO J. 12, 3023.
Kellems, R. E., Allison, V. G., and Butow, R. A. (1975). J. Cell Biol. 65, 1–14.
Kiebler, M., Pfaller, R., Söllner, T., Griffiths, G., Horstmann, H., Pfanner, N., and Neupert, W. (1990). Nature 348, 610.
Kiebler, M., Becker, K., Pfanner, N., and Neupert, W. (1993). J. Membr. Biol. 135, 191–207.
Komiya, T., Sakaguchi, M., and Mihara, K. (1996). EMBO J. 15, 399–407.
Lain, B., Iriate, A., Mattingly, J. R., Moreno, J., I., and Martinez-Carrion, M. (1995). J. Biol. Chem. 270, 24732–24739.
Lithgow, T., Junne, T., Suda, K., Gratzer, S., and Schatz, G. (1994). Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA 91, 11973–11977.
Lithgow, T., and Schatz, G. (1995). J. Biol. Chem. 270, 14267–14269.
Lithgow, T., Glick, B. S., and Schatz, G. (1995). Trends Biochem. Sci. 20, 98–101.
Mayer, A., Nargang, F. E., Neupert, W., and Lill, R. (1995a). EMBO J. 14, 4204–4211.
Mayer, A., Neupert, W., and Lill, R. (1995b). Cell 80, 127–137.
McBride, H. M., Millar, D. G., Li, J. M., and Shore, G. C. (1992). J. Cell Biol. 119, 1451.
Moczko, M., Ehmann, B., Gärtner, F., Hönlinger, A., Schafer, E., and Pfanner, N. (1994). J. Biol. Chem. 269, 9045–9051.
Mihara, K., and Omura, T. (1996). Trends Cell Biol. 6, 104–108.
Nakai, M., Hase, T., and Matsubara, H. (1989). J. Biochem. 105, 513–519.
Nakai, M., Endo, T., Hase, T., and Matsubara, H. (1993). J. Biol Chem. 268, 24262.
Nakai, M., Kinoshita, K., and Endo T. (1995). J. Biol. Chem. 270, 30571–30575.
Pfanner, N., Douglas, M. G., Endo, T., Hoogenraad, N. J., Jensen, R. E., Meijer, M., Neupert, W., Schatz, G., Schmitz, U. K., and Shore, G. C. (1996). Trends Biochem. Sci. 21, 51–52.
Pon, L., Moll, T., Vestweber, D., Marshallasay, B., and Schatz, G. (1989). J. Cell Biol. 109, 2603–2616.
Ramage, L., Junne, T., Hahne, K., Lithgow, T., and Schatz, G. (1993). EMBO J. 12, 4115–4123.
Roise, D., Horvath, S. J., Tomich, J. M., Richards, J. H., and Schatz, G. (1986). EMBO J. 5, 1327.
Rothman, J. E. (1989). Nature 340, 433.
Söllner, T., Griffiths, G., Pfaller, R., Pfanner, N., and Neupert, W. (1989). Cell 59, 1061.
Söllner, T., Pfaller, R., Griffiths, G., Pfanner, N., and Neupert, W. (1990). Cell 62, 107.
Söllner, T., Rassow, J., Wiedman, J., Schlossman, J., Keil, P., Neupert, W., and Pfanner, N. (1992). Nature 355, 84.
Steger, H. F., Söllner, T., Kiebler, M., Dietmeier, K. A., Pfaller, R., Trülzsch, K. S., Tropschug, M., Neupert, W., and Pfanner, N. (1990). J. Cell Biol. 111, 2353.
Stuart, R. A., and Neupert, W. (1990). Biochimie 72, 115–121.
Verner, K. (1993). Trends Biochem. Sci. 18, 366–370.
Vestweber, D., Brunner, J., Baker, A., and Schatz, G. (1989). Nature 341, 205–209.
von Heijne, G. (1986). EMBO J. 5, 1335–1342.
Wachter, C., Schatz, G., and Glick, B. S. (1994). Mol. Biol. Cell 5, 465–474.
Wolin, S. L. (1994). Cell 77, 787.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Haucke, V., Lithgow, T. The First Steps of Protein Import into Mitochondria. J Bioenerg Biomembr 29, 11–17 (1997). https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1022451520203
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1022451520203