Evidence That Phosphorylation of Iron Regulatory Protein 1 at Serine 138 Destabilizes the [4Fe-4S] Cluster in Cytosolic Aconitase by Enhancing 4Fe-3Fe Cycling

Iron-sulfur cluster-dependent interconversion of iron regulatory protein 1 (IRP1) between its RNA binding and cytosolic aconitase (c-acon) forms controls vertebrate iron homeostasis. Cluster removal from c-acon is thought to include oxidative demetallation as a required step, but little else is understood about the process of conversion to IRP1. In comparison with c-aconWT, Ser138 phosphomimetic mutants of c-acon contain an unstable [4Fe-4S] cluster and were used as tools to further define the pathway(s) of iron-sulfur cluster disassembly. Under anaerobic conditions cluster insertion into purified IRP1S138E and cluster loss on treatment with NO regulated aconitase and RNA binding activity over a similar range as observed for IRP1WT. However, activation of RNA binding of c-aconS138E was an order of magnitude more sensitive to NO than for c-aconWT. Consistent with this, an altered set point between RNA-binding and aconitase forms was observed for IRP1S138E when expressed in HEK cells. Active c-aconS138E could only accumulate under hypoxic conditions, suggesting enhanced cluster disassembly in normoxia. Cluster disassembly mechanisms were further probed by determining the impact of iron chelation on acon activity. Unexpectedly EDTA rapidly inhibited c-aconS138E activity without affecting c-aconWT. Additional chelator experiments suggested that cluster loss can be initiated in c-aconS138E through a spontaneous nonoxidative demetallation process. Taken together, our results support a model wherein Ser138 phosphorylation sensitizes IRP1/c-acon to decreased iron availability by allowing the [4Fe-4S]2+ cluster to cycle with [3Fe-4S]0 in the absence of cluster perturbants, indicating that regulation can be initiated merely by changes in iron availability.