MT-ND5 is a

gene In biology, the word gene has two meanings. The Mendelian gene is a basic unit of heredity. The molecular gene is a sequence of nucleotides in DNA that is transcribed to produce a functional RNA. There are two types of molecular genes: protei ...

of the

mitochondrial genome Mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA and mDNA) is the DNA located in the mitochondria organelles in a eukaryotic cell that converts chemical energy from food into adenosine triphosphate (ATP). Mitochondrial DNA is a small portion of the DNA contained in ...

coding for the NADH-ubiquinone oxidoreductase chain 5

protein Proteins are large biomolecules and macromolecules that comprise one or more long chains of amino acid residue (biochemistry), residues. Proteins perform a vast array of functions within organisms, including Enzyme catalysis, catalysing metab ...

(ND5). The ND5 protein is a subunit of NADH dehydrogenase (ubiquinone), which is located in the mitochondrial inner membrane and is the largest of the five complexes of the

electron transport chain An electron transport chain (ETC) is a series of protein complexes and other molecules which transfer electrons from electron donors to electron acceptors via redox reactions (both reduction and oxidation occurring simultaneously) and couples th ...

. Variations in human MT-ND5 are associated with mitochondrial encephalomyopathy, lactic acidosis, and stroke-like episodes (MELAS) as well as some symptoms of Leigh's syndrome and

Leber's hereditary optic neuropathy Leber's hereditary optic neuropathy (LHON) is a mitochondrially inherited (transmitted from mother to offspring) degeneration of retinal ganglion cells (RGCs) and their axons that leads to an acute or subacute loss of central vision; it predomin ...

(LHON).

Structure

MT-ND5 is located in mitochondrial DNA from base pair 12,337 to 14,148. The MT-ND5 gene produces a 67 kDa protein composed of 603 amino acids. MT-ND5 is one of seven mitochondrial genes encoding subunits of the enzyme NADH dehydrogenase (ubiquinone), together with MT-ND1, MT-ND2, MT-ND3, MT-ND4, MT-ND4L, and MT-ND6. Also known as

Complex I Respiratory complex I, (also known as NADH:ubiquinone oxidoreductase, Type I NADH dehydrogenase and mitochondrial complex I) is the first large protein complex of the respiratory chains of many organisms from bacteria to humans. It catalyzes th ...

, this enzyme is the largest of the respiratory complexes. The structure is L-shaped with a long,

hydrophobic In chemistry, hydrophobicity is the chemical property of a molecule (called a hydrophobe) that is seemingly repelled from a mass of water. In contrast, hydrophiles are attracted to water. Hydrophobic molecules tend to be nonpolar and, thu ...

transmembrane A transmembrane protein is a type of integral membrane protein that spans the entirety of the cell membrane. Many transmembrane proteins function as gateways to permit the transport of specific substances across the membrane. They frequently u ...

domain and a

hydrophilic A hydrophile is a molecule or other molecular entity that is attracted to water molecules and tends to be dissolved by water.Liddell, H.G. & Scott, R. (1940). ''A Greek-English Lexicon'' Oxford: Clarendon Press. In contrast, hydrophobes are n ...

domain for the peripheral arm that includes all the known redox centres and the NADH binding site. MT-ND5 and the rest of the mitochondrially encoded subunits are the most hydrophobic of the subunits of Complex I and form the core of the transmembrane region.

Function

The MT-ND5 product is a subunit of the respiratory chain

that is supposed to belong to the minimal assembly of core proteins required to catalyze

NADH Nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide (NAD) is a coenzyme central to metabolism. Found in all living cells, NAD is called a dinucleotide because it consists of two nucleotides joined through their phosphate groups. One nucleotide contains an ade ...

dehydrogenation and

electron transfer Electron transfer (ET) occurs when an electron relocates from an atom, ion, or molecule, to another such chemical entity. ET describes the mechanism by which electrons are transferred in redox reactions. Electrochemical processes are ET reactio ...

ubiquinone Coenzyme Q10 (CoQ10 ), also known as ubiquinone, is a naturally occurring Cofactor (biochemistry), biochemical cofactor (coenzyme) and an antioxidant produced by the human body. It can also be obtained from dietary sources, such as meat, fish, ...

(coenzyme Q10). Initially,

binds to Complex I and transfers two electrons to the isoalloxazine ring of the

flavin mononucleotide Flavin mononucleotide (FMN), or riboflavin-5′-phosphate, is a biomolecule produced from riboflavin (vitamin B2) by the enzyme riboflavin kinase and functions as the prosthetic group of various oxidoreductases, including NADH dehydrogenase, as ...

(FMN) prosthetic arm to form FMNH₂. The electrons are transferred through a series of iron-sulfur (Fe-S) clusters in the prosthetic arm and finally to coenzyme Q10 (CoQ), which is reduced to

ubiquinol A ubiquinol is an electron-rich (reduced) form of coenzyme Q (ubiquinone). The term most often refers to ubiquinol-10, with a 10-unit tail most commonly found in humans. The natural ubiquinol form of coenzyme Q is 2,3-dimethoxy-5-methyl-6-poly p ...

(CoQH₂). The flow of electrons changes the redox state of the protein, resulting in a conformational change and p''K'' shift of the ionizable side chain, which pumps four hydrogen ions out of the mitochondrial matrix.

Clinical Significance

A small percentage of mitochondrial encephalomyopathy, lactic acidosis, and stroke-like episodes (MELAS) are caused by a G>A mutation at base pair 13513 in the MT-ND5 gene. Mutations in the MT-ND5 gene cause impaired

function of the mitochondrial electron transport system, impairing those tissues that require significant energy input, such as the brain and muscles. Cardiac and renal involvement as well as symptoms such as

myopathy In medicine, myopathy is a disease of the muscle in which the muscle fibers do not function properly. ''Myopathy'' means muscle disease ( Greek : myo- ''muscle'' + patheia '' -pathy'' : ''suffering''). This meaning implies that the primary defec ...

and

lactic acidosis Lactic acidosis refers to the process leading to the production of lactate by anaerobic metabolism. It increases hydrogen ion concentration tending to the state of acidemia or low pH. The result can be detected with high levels of lactate and lo ...

can also be observed. Those with MT-ND5 mutations can display the major features of MELAS and MERRF in some patients, as well as symptoms of Leigh's syndrome and/or

(LHON) in others.

Interactions

MT-ND5 interacts with

Glutamine synthetase Glutamine synthetase (GS) () is an enzyme that catalyzes the condensation of glutamate and ammonia to form glutamine: Glutamate + ATP + NH3 → Glutamine + ADP + phosphate Glutamine synthetase uses ammonia produced by nitrate reduction ...

(GLUL),

LIG4 DNA ligase 4 also DNA ligase IV, is an enzyme that in humans is encoded by the ''LIG4'' gene. Function DNA ligase 4 is an ATP-dependent DNA ligase that joins double-strand breaks during the non-homologous end joining pathway of double-stran ...

and YME1L1.

References

External links

Mass spectrometry characterization of MT-ND5 at COPaKB

GeneReviews/NCBI/NIH/UW entry on Mitochondrial DNA-Associated Leigh Syndrome and NARP
{{NLM content Proteins Human mitochondrial genes