Intracellular localization of 8-Oxo-dGTPase in human cells, with special reference to the role of the enzyme in mitochondria

We examined the intracellular distribution of 8-oxo-dGTPase (8-oxo-7,8- dihydrodeoxyguanosine triphosphatase) encoded by the MTH1 gene, a human mutator homologue. The activity of 8-oxo-dGTPase mainly located in cytosolic and mitochondrial soluble fractions of Jurkat cells, a human T-cell leukemia line. Electron microscopic immunocytochemistry, using a specific antibody against MTH1 protein, showed localization of MTH1 protein in the mitochondrial matrix. Activity in the mitochondria accounted for about 4% of the total activity. The specific activity in the mitochondrial soluble fraction (8093 units/mg protein) was as high as that in the cytosolic fraction (8111 unit/mg protein). The 8-oxo-dGTPase activities in cytosolic and mitochondrial soluble fractions co-eluted with MTH1 protein by union- exchange chromatography, and the molecular mass of the mitochondrial MTH1 protein was much the same as that of the cytosolic MTH1 protein (about 18 kDa). HeLa cells expressing MTH1 cDNA showed an increased cytoplasmic signal together with a weak signal in the nucleus in in situ immunostaining of MTH1 protein, and the overexpressed MTH1 protein was recovered from both cytosolic and mitochondrial fractions. Thus, the 8-oxo-dGTPase encoded by MTH1 gene is localized in mitochondria and cytosol.