Work

Transport and InsP8 gating mechanisms of the human inorganic phosphate exporter XPR1

Year: 2025

Type: article

Abstract: Inorganic phosphate (Pi) has essential metabolic and structural roles in living organisms. The Pi exporter, XPR1/SLC53A1, is critical for cellular Pi homeostasis. When intercellular Pi is high, cells accumulate inositol pyrophosphate (1,5-InsP8), a signaling molecule required for XPR1 function. Inactivating XPR1 mutations lead to brain calcifications, causing neurological symptoms including movement disorders, psychosis, and dementia. Here, cryo-electron microscopy structures of dimeric XPR1 and functional characterization delineate the substrate translocation pathway and how InsP8 initiates Pi transport. Binding of InsP8 to XPR1, but not the related inositol polyphosphate InsP6, rigidifies the intracellular SPX domains, with InsP8 bridging the dimers and SPX and transmembrane domains. Locked in this state, the C-terminal tail is sequestered, revealing the entrance to the transport pathway, thus explaining the obligate roles of the SPX domain and InsP8. Together, these findings advance our understanding of XPR1 transport activity and expand opportunities for rationalizing disease mechanisms and therapeutic intervention. The phosphate exporter XPR1 is essential for maintenance of cellular phosphate levels. Here authors present cryo-EM structures of XPR1 that reveal how binding of the signaling molecule 1,5-InsP8 to its regulatory domain initiates phosphate release.

Source: Nature Communications

DOI: 10.1038/s41467-025-58076-y

Authors: Qinyu Zhu, Madeleine F. Yaggi, Nikolaus Jork, Henning J. Jessen, Melinda M. Diver

Institutions: Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, Cornell University, Weill Cornell Medicine, University of Freiburg

Language: English

Topic: Ion Transport and Channel Regulation

Subfield: Molecular Biology

Field: Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology

Domain: Life Sciences

Open Access status: gold

Estimated APC paid: $6,990