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The import of superoxide dismutase-2 (SOD2) into mitochondria is vital for the survival of eukaryotic cells. SOD2 is encoded within the nuclear genome and translocated into mitochondria for activation after translation in the cytosol. The molecular chaperone Hsp70 modulates SOD2 activity by promoting import of SOD2 into mitochondria. In turn, the activity of Hsp70 is controlled by co-chaperones, particularly CHIP, which directs Hsp70-bound proteins for degradation in the proteasomes. We investigated the mechanisms controlling the activity of SOD2 to signal activation and maintain mitochondrial redox balance. We demonstrate that Akt1 binds to and phosphorylates the C terminus of Hsp70 on Serine631, which inhibits CHIP-mediated SOD2 degradation thereby stabilizing and promoting SOD2 import. Conversely, increased mitochondrial-H 2 O 2 formation disrupts Akt1-mediated phosphorylation of Hsp70, and non-phosphorylatable Hsp70 mutants decrease SOD2 import, resulting in mitochondrial oxidative stress. Our findings identify Hsp70 phosphorylation as a physiological mechanism essential for regulation of mitochondrial redox balance., (Copyright © 2018 The Author(s). Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

Stress-inducible heat shock protein 70 (hsp70) interacts with superoxide dismutase 2 (SOD2) in the cytosol after synthesis to transfer the enzyme to the mitochondria for subsequent activation. However, the structural basis for this interaction remains to be defined. To map the SOD2-binding site in hsp70, mutants of hsp70 were made and tested for their ability to bind SOD2. These studies showed that SOD2 binds in the amino acid 393-537 region of the chaperone. To map the hsp70-binding site in SOD2, we used a series of pulldown assays and showed that hsp70 binds to the amino-terminal domain of SOD2. To better define the binding site, we used a series of decoy peptides derived from the primary amino acid sequence in the SOD2-binding site in hsp70. This study shows that SOD2 specifically binds to hsp70 at 445 GERAMT 450 Small peptides containing GERAMT inhibited the transfer of SOD2 to the mitochondria and decreased SOD2 activity in vitro and in vivo To determine the amino acid residues in hsp70 that are critical for SOD2 interactions, we substituted each amino acid residue for alanine or more conservative residues, glutamine or asparagine, in the GERAMT-binding site. Substitutions of E446A/Q and R447A/Q inhibited the ability of the GERAMT peptide to bind SOD2 and preserved SOD2 function more than other substitutions. Together, these findings indicate that the GERAMT sequence is critical for hsp70-mediated regulation of SOD2 and that Glu 446 and Arg 447 cooperate with other amino acid residues in the GERAMT-binding site for proper chaperone-dependent regulation of SOD2 antioxidant function., (© 2017 by The American Society for Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Inc.)