An Orchestrated Balance between Mitochondria Biogenesis, Iron-Sulfur Cluster Synthesis and Cellular Iron Acquisition

Fe-S clusters are essential cofactors for mitochondria functions, and mitochondria are required for Fe-S cluster synthesis. Additionally, mitochondria biogenesis demands cellular iron uptake, which is negatively regulated by Fe-S clusters. Fe-S clusters are synthesized in the mitochondria and cytosol by two different machineries. However, cytosolic Fe-S cluster synthesis necessitates the mitochondrial Fe-S cluster assembly machinery.

PGC-1α is a transcriptional coactivator and a master regulator of mitochondria biogenesis. We confirmed that overexpression of PGC-1α in adipocytes and hepatocytes stimulated mitochondria biogenesis, as measured by Mitotrack Green and Deep Red staining, which label total and alive mitochondria, respectively. We further measured Fe-S cluster synthesis by monitoring the gene expression of Fe-S cluster assembly machinery. By using RT-qPCR and Western Blot analyses, we confirmed that PGC-1α expression increases expression of ABCB7, ISCA1, ISCA2, ISD11, Nfu1 and ISCU, components of the Fe-S assembly machinery, suggesting a coordination between mitochondria biogenesis and Fe-S cluster synthesis.

Iron Regulatory Proteins (IRP1 and IRP2) control iron metabolism by binding to specific non-coding sequences within an mRNA, known as iron-responsive elements (IRE). In the absence of Fe-S clusters, IRP1 acts as an aconitase (aka ACO1), while IRP2 is degraded by ubiquitination. Aconitases, represented by the cytosolic form ACO1 and mitochondrial form ACO2, catalyze the isomerization of citrate to isocitrate and require Fe-S clusters to be enzymatically active. PGC-1α overexpression enhanced aconitase activity but not their protein levels, corroborating the notion that Fe-S cluster synthesis was increased.

To explore whether this coordination solely depends on PGC-1α, we evaluated the Fe-S cluster synthesis status during brown adipocyte maturation, which is characterized by enhanced mitochondria biogenesis and has been suggested to be PGC-1α-independent. We found that the synthesis of Fe-S cluster assembly machinery increased during maturation in both wild-type and PGC-1α-knockout brown adipocytes, indicating that Fe-S cluster synthesis coordinates with mitochondria biogenesis even in the absence of PGC-1α.

To explore the impact of Fe-S cluster synthesis on iron acquisition under enhanced mitochondria biogenesis, we evaluated the expression of the iron importer transferrin receptor 1 (TfR1). TfR1 mRNA contains IREs in the 3' untranslated region (UTR). These 3'UTR IREs can be bound by IRPs and responsible for the subsequent stabilization of TfR1 mRNA. Therefore, if IRP1 associates with Fe-S cluster and converted into ACO1, it is expected that both TfR1 mRNA and protein levels would decrease. In contrast, we found that stimulated Fe-S cluster synthesis increased levels of the TfR1 protein, despite reduced IRP1 activity and destabilized TfR1 mRNA. This suggests that Fe-S cluster synthesis coordinates with mitochondria biogenesis but does not block iron uptake.

Moreover, we extended our work to erythropoiesis by using murine erythroleukemia (MEL) cells. Stimulated mitochondria biogenesis enhanced expression of the Fe-S cluster assembly machinery and Fe-S cluster synthesis in these cells. TfR1 protein levels were increased despite elevated Fe-S cluster synthesis and reduced IRP activity. We also found increases in heme levels and the expression of aminolevulinic acid synthase 2 (ALAS2), the rate-limiting enzyme for erythroid heme synthesis. Of note, the ALAS2 mRNA contains IRE at the 5'UTR; binding of IRPs to the IRE inhibits translation while high Fe-S cluster levels lead to release. Moreover, as α- and β-globins chain expression is stimulated by increased heme availability, we also observed that mitochondria biogenesis was associated with increased synthesis of these two proteins and hemoglobinization. These data suggests that erythroid heme synthesis, hemoglobin expression and hemoglobinization coordinates with mitochondria biogenesis via Fe-S cluster synthesis.

In conclusion, our data show that Fe-S cluster synthesis coordinates with mitochondria biogenesis but does not block cellular iron uptake, thus suggesting a potential unidentified iron regulator to ensure adequate iron for mitochondria biogenesis. Moreover, our work suggests a mechanism underlying the essential role of mitochondria biogenesis in erythropoiesis.