title: Folding, activity and import of steroidogenic acute regulatory protein into mitochondria changed by nicotine exposure.
abstract: Nicotine, a pharmacologically active constituent of tobacco smoke, decreases sex steroid production and impairs reproductive function. The rate-limiting step in steroid hormone biosynthesis is the transport of substrate cholesterol from the outer to inner mitochondrial membrane by the steroidogenic acute regulatory protein (StAR). StAR is a 37 kDa cytoplasmic phosphoprotein processed as a 32 kDa intermediate to a mature 30 kDa inactive mitochondrial protein. StAR's cholesterol transport capacity is proportional to its residency time at the outer mitochondrial membrane (OMM). Nonsteroidogenic COS-1 cells transfected with StAR/F2, steroidogenic MA-10 cells induced with cAMP or transfected with StAR or the isolated steroidogenic mitochondria preincubated with nicotine reduced StAR expression, import and activity. Mitochondria isolated from steroidogenic tissues or cells, pretreated with nicotine, also reduced the association of StAR with the OMM, but had no effect on the import of signal sequence substituted SCC/N-62StAR. The fluorescence emission maximum of StAR was unchanged with nicotine, but StAR's free energy of unfolding and the surface area (m) increased in the presence of nicotine. Nicotine also blocked StAR from proteolysis with trypsin, suggesting that nicotine partially stabilised protein conformation by insertion into the molten globule conformation of StAR.
authors.affiliation: Department of Physiology and Functional Genomics, University of Florida, Room M 552, Box 100274, 1600 SW Archer Road, Gainesville, Florida 32610, USA. hbose@ufl.edu
authors.forename: Mahuya
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Bose
authors.forename: Dilip
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Debnath
authors.forename: Yue
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Chen
authors.forename: Himangshu S
authors.initials: HS
authors.lastname: Bose
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D019556:COS Cells; D002522:Chlorocebus aethiops; D007985:Leydig Cells; D008297:Male; D008565:Membrane Proteins / Q000187:drug effects / Q000378:metabolism; D051379:Mice; D008928:Mitochondria / Q000187:drug effects / Q000378:metabolism*; D009538:Nicotine / Q000494:pharmacology*; D010750:Phosphoproteins / Q000187:drug effects / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism*; D017510:Protein Folding; D011994:Recombinant Proteins / Q000378:metabolism; D014162:Transfection; D000098682:Steroidogenic Acute Regulatory Protein
chemical_list: D008565:Membrane Proteins; D010750:Phosphoproteins; D011994:Recombinant Proteins; D000098682:Steroidogenic Acute Regulatory Protein; D009538:Nicotine