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The Mitochondrial Protein Import Pathway: Are Precursors Imported through Membrane Channels?

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Abstract

Mitochondrial biogenesis requires the import of hundreds of different proteins from the cytosol. Protein import into mitochondria is a multistep pathway that includes recognition of precursor proteins by machinery both in the cytoplasm and on the mitochondrial surface, translocation of the precursor across one or both mitochondrial membranes, and folding of the protein after its import into the organelle. Over the past several years, many components of the import machinery have been identified using both biochemical and genetic methods. Recently, significant progress has been made determining the function of some of these import proteins. One purpose of this minireview is to summarize our current understanding of the import pathway, and to introduce the topics of the minireviews that will follow. The other goal of this minireview is to discuss recent findings suggesting that proteins are translocated across both the mitochondrial inner and outer membranes through aqueous channels.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Cell Biology and Anatomy, The Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, Maryland, 21205

    Robert E. Jensen

  2. Department of Molecular Medicine, Wadsworth Center, New York State Department of Health, Empire State Plaza, P.O. Box 509, Albany, New York, 12201-0509

    Kathleen W. Kinnally

  3. Department of Biomedical Sciences, University at Albany, SUNY, Albany, New York

    Kathleen W. Kinnally

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  1. Robert E. Jensen
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Jensen, R.E., Kinnally, K.W. The Mitochondrial Protein Import Pathway: Are Precursors Imported through Membrane Channels?. J Bioenerg Biomembr 29, 3–10 (1997). https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1022470303365

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