Thiol oxidation is crucial in the desensitization of the mitochondrial F1FO-ATPase to oligomycin and other macrolide antibiotics

Background The macrolide antibiotics oligomycin, venturicidin and bafilomycin, sharing the polyketide ring and differing in the deoxysugar moiety, are known to block the transmembrane ion channel of ion-pumping ATPases; oligomycins are selective inhibitors of mitochondrial ATP synthases. Methods The inhibition mechanism of macrolides was explored on swine heart mitochondrial F1FO-ATPase by kinetic analyses. The amphiphilic membrane toxicant tributyltin (TBT) and the thiol reducing agent dithioerythritol (DTE) were used to elucidate the nature of the macrolide–enzyme interaction. Results When individually tested, the macrolide antibiotics acted as uncompetitive inhibitors of the ATPase activity. Binary mixtures of macrolide inhibitors I1 and I2 pointed out a non-exclusive mechanism, indicating that each macrolide binds to its binding site on the enzyme. When co-present, the two macrolides acted synergistically in the formed quaternary complex (ESI1I2), thus mutually strengthening the enzyme inhibition. The enzyme inhibition by macrolides displaying a shared mechanism was dose-dependently reduced by TBT ≥ 1 μM. The TBT-driven enzyme desensitization was reversed by DTE. Conclusions The macrolides tested share uncompetitive inhibition mechanism by binding to a specific site in a common macrolide-binding region of FO. The oxidation of highly conserved thiols in the ATP synthase c-ring of FO weakens the interaction between the enzyme and the macrolides. The native macrolide-inhibited enzyme conformation can be restored by reducing crucial thiols oxidized by TBT. General significance The findings, by elucidating the macrolide inhibitory mechanism on FO, indirectly cast light on the F1FO torque generation involving crucial amino acid residues and may address drug design and antimicrobial therapy.