Abstract Mitochondrial calcium ion unidirectional transporter is a kind of transport protein located in the inner membrane of mitochondria, which has the function of selecting and conducting calcium ions and participates in various physiological processes of cells. The components of the uniporter have been identified, including ion transporter MCU, negative regulatory subunit MCUb of MCU, two Ca2+ binding MICU1 and MICU2 proteins, and the regulatory subunit EMRE protein of MCU. Over the past decade, a large number of studies have proposed and constructed various models of mitochondrial Ca2+ uptake regulation through this uniporter. The focus of recent studies has shifted to the structure of individual components of unidirectional transporters and the structural characterization of their common complexes. These problems are solved by the continuous development of nuclear magnetic resonance, X-ray diffraction and the breakthrough of cryo-electron microscopy in structural biology. In this paper, we review the application of structural biology techniques to solve problems concerning the structure of unidirectional transporters. This paper will help us to understand the advantages and disadvantages of NMR, X-ray crystallography and cryo-electron microscopy, as well as the structure and function of each part of mitochondrial calcium ion uniporter.
HUANG Ke, ZHENG Ji-Min. Application of Structural Biology Techniques to Study the Structure and Function of Mitochondrial Calcium Ion Uniporter[J]. Chinese Journal of Chemical Education, 2022, 43(16): 110-119.
