IN-VITRO ASSOCIATION OF MITOCHONDRIAL ATP-DEPENDENT PROTEASE WITH MITOCHONDRIAL HEAT-SHOCK PROTEINS

Specific antibodies against the mitochondrial ATP-dependent protease a nd heat-shock proteins were used to study the association of these pro teins with an abnormal bacterial protein, CRAG. It was shown that the mitochondrial ATP-dependent protease from rat liver and Zajdela hepato ma bind to the CRAG protein and that this binding was mediated through the heat-shock proteins. It was also demonstrated that the protease a ssociated with heat-shock proteins is capable of degrading large prote ins as well as small peptides in an ATP-dependent fashion. Zajdela hep atoma mitochondria, with enhanced mitochondrial proteolysis, were show n to contain more ATP-dependent protease associated with heat-shock pr oteins.