Elucidation of tRNA-cytochrome c interactions through hydrogen/deuterium exchange mass spectrometry

•tRNAphe binding results in a compact conformation of cyto c.•The region 18-32 of cyt c selectively interacts with tRNA.•The N-terminus of cyt c can interact with oligonucleotides and tRNA.

Cytochrome c (cyt c) is a mitochondrial protein responsible for transferring electrons between electron transport chain complexes III and IV. The release of cyt c from the mitochondria has been considered as a commitment step in intrinsic apoptosis. Transfer RNA (tRNA) has recently been found to interact with the released cyt c to prevent the formation of the apoptosome complex, thus preventing cell apoptosis. To understand the molecular basis of tRNA-cyt c interactions, we applied hydrogen/deuterium exchange mass spectrometry (HDXMS) to analyze the interactions between tRNA and cyt c. tRNAPhe binding to cyt c reduced the deuteration level of cyt c in all analyzed regions, indicating that tRNA binding blocks the solvent-accessible regions and results in the formation of a more compact conformation. Substitution of the tRNAPhe with the total tRNA from brewer's yeast in the HDXMS experiment significantly reduced deuteration in the N-terminus and the region 18-32 residue of cyt c, where all tRNAs are bound. To clarify the cause of binding, we used synthesized single-stranded oligonucleotides of 12-mer dA and dT to form complexes with cyt c. The exchange of the nucleotide bases between adenine and thymine did not affect the deuteration level of cyt c. However, the regions 1-10 and 65-82 showed minor decreases after unstructured dA or dT DNA binding. Collectively, these results reveal that cyt c maintains its globular structure to interact with tRNA. The region 18-32 selectively interacts with tRNA, and N-terminal 1-10 interacts with oligonucleotides electrostatically.