2.A.105 The Mitochondrial Pyruvate Carrier (MPC) Family The transport of pyruvate, the end product of glycolysis, into mitochondria is an essential process that provides the organelle with a major oxidative fuel. Herzig et al. (2012) reported that MPC (SLC54) is a heterocomplex formed by two members of the MPC family that are conserved from yeast to mammals. Members of the MPC family are in the inner mitochondrial membrane, and yeast mutants lacking MPC proteins show severe defects in mitochondrial pyruvate uptake. Coexpression of mouse MPC1 and MPC2 in Lactococcus lactis promoted transport of pyruvate across the membrane (Herzig et al., 2012). Yeast MPC proteins with an odd number of transmembrane segments and a matrix-exposed N-terminus are imported by the carrier pathway, using the receptor Tom70, small TIM chaperones, and the TIM22 complex. The TIM9.10 complex chaperones MPC proteins through the mitochondrial intermembrane space using conserved hydrophobic motifs that are also required for the interaction with canonical carrier proteins. Thus, the carrier pathway can import paired and non-paired TMSs and translocate N-termini to either side of the mitochondrial inner membrane, revealing an unexpected versatility of the mitochondrial import pathway for non-cleavable inner membrane proteins (Rampelt et al. 2020). The MPC family has been designated the SLC54 family (Gyimesi and Hediger 2020). Mpc1 and Mpc2, are essential for mitochondrial pyruvate transport in yeast, Drosophila, and humans (Bricker et al., 2012). Mpc1 and Mpc2 associate to form an ~150-kilodalton complex in the inner mitochondrial membrane. Yeast and Drosophila mutants lacking MPC1 display impaired pyruvate metabolism, with an accumulation of upstream metabolites and a depletion of tricarboxylic acid cycle intermediates. Loss of yeast Mpc1 results in defective mitochondrial pyruvate uptake, and silencing of MPC1 or MPC2 in mammalian cells impairs pyruvate oxidation. A point mutation in MPC1 provides resistance to a known inhibitor of the mitochondrial pyruvate carrier. Human genetic studies of three families with children suffering from lactic acidosis and hyperpyruvatemia revealed a causal locus that mapped to MPC1, changing single amino acids that are conserved throughout eukaryotes. Thus, Mpc1 and Mpc2 form an essential part of the mitochondrial pyruvate carrier (Bricker et al., 2012). MPCs have been reviewed from historical and functional standpoints (McCommis and Finck 2015). Li et al. 2022 described the structures of yeast MPC1 and MPC2 reconstituted in dodecylphosphocholine (DPC) micelles and examined by NMR spectroscopy. They showed that both subunits contain three alpha-helical TMSs with substantial differences from what was predicted by AlphaFold2. The composition, structure, and function of the MPC complex has beendiscussed, and the different classes of small molecule inhibitors and their potential in therapeutics have been reviewed (Tavoulari et al. 2023). Cyano-cinnamate derivatives are mitochondrial pyruvate carrier inhibitors (Huang et al. 2024). Pyrazole-based inhibitors also target mitochondrial pyruvate carriers (Maram et al. 2025). Mitochondrial pyruvate carrier inhibitors for therapeutic applications have been reviewed (Politte et al. 2025).
References:
Bricker, D.K., E.B. Taylor, J.C. Schell, T. Orsak, A. Boutron, Y.C. Chen, J.E. Cox, C.M. Cardon, J.G. Van Vranken, N. Dephoure, C. Redin, S. Boudina, S.P. Gygi, M. Brivet, C.S. Thummel, and J. Rutter. (2012). A mitochondrial pyruvate carrier required for pyruvate uptake in yeast, Drosophila, and humans. Science 337: 96-100.
Cunningham, C.N. and J. Rutter. (2020). 20,000 picometers under the OMM: diving into the vastness of mitochondrial metabolite transport. EMBO Rep 21: e50071.
Gyimesi, G. and M.A. Hediger. (2020). Sequence Features of Mitochondrial Transporter Protein Families. Biomolecules 10:.
Gyimesi, G. and M.A. Hediger. (2022). Systematic in silico discovery of novel solute carrier-like proteins from proteomes. PLoS One 17: e0271062.
Herzig, S., E. Raemy, S. Montessuit, J.L. Veuthey, N. Zamboni, B. Westermann, E.R. Kunji, and J.C. Martinou. (2012). Identification and functional expression of the mitochondrial pyruvate carrier. Science 337: 93-96.
Huang, Y., X. Peng, H. Zhang, M. Pan, X. Su, G. Li, and Q. Zhang. (2024). Design, synthesis and biological evaluation of novel cyano-cinnamate derivatives as mitochondrial pyruvate carrier inhibitors. Bioorg Med Chem Lett 112: 129923.
Li, L., M. Wen, C. Run, B. Wu, and B. OuYang. (2022). Experimental Investigations on the Structure of Yeast Mitochondrial Pyruvate Carriers. Membranes (Basel) 12:.
Maram, L., J.M. Michael, H. Politte, V.S. Srirama, A. Hadji, M. Habibi, M.O. Kelly, R.T. Brookheart, B.N. Finck, L. Hegazy, K.S. McCommis, and B. Elgendy. (2025). Advancing mitochondrial therapeutics: Synthesis and pharmacological evaluation of pyrazole-based inhibitors targeting the mitochondrial pyruvate carrier. Eur J Med Chem 283: 117150.
McCommis, K.S. and B.N. Finck. (2015). Mitochondrial pyruvate transport: a historical perspective and future research directions. Biochem. J. 466: 443-454.
Politte, H., L. Maram, and B. Elgendy. (2025). Advances in the Development of Mitochondrial Pyruvate Carrier Inhibitors for Therapeutic Applications. Biomolecules 15:.
Rampelt, H., I. Sucec, B. Bersch, P. Horten, I. Perschil, J.C. Martinou, M. van der Laan, N. Wiedemann, P. Schanda, and N. Pfanner. (2020). The mitochondrial carrier pathway transports non-canonical substrates with an odd number of transmembrane segments. BMC Biol 18: 2.
Tavoulari, S., M. Sichrovsky, and E.R.S. Kunji. (2023). Fifty years of the mitochondrial pyruvate carrier: New insights into its structure, function, and inhibition. Acta Physiol (Oxf) e14016. [Epub: Ahead of Print]
Vadvalkar, S.S., S. Matsuzaki, C.A. Eyster, J.R. Giorgione, L.B. Bockus, C.S. Kinter, M. Kinter, and K.M. Humphries. (2017). Decreased Mitochondrial Pyruvate Transport Activity in the Diabetic Heart: ROLE OF MITOCHONDRIAL PYRUVATE CARRIER 2 (MPC2) ACETYLATION. J. Biol. Chem. 292: 4423-4433.
Zhao, S., Y. Zhang, S. Bao, L. Jiang, Q. Li, Y. Kong, and J. Cao. (2024). A novel HMGA2/MPC-1/mTOR signaling pathway promotes cell growth via facilitating Cr (VI)-induced glycolysis. Chem Biol Interact 399: 111141.
Zou, H., Y. Yin, K. Xiong, X. Luo, Z. Sun, B. Mao, Q. Xie, M. Tan, and R. Kong. (2024). Mitochondrial Pyruvate Carrier 1 as a Novel Prognostic Biomarker in Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer. Technol Cancer Res Treat 23: 15330338241282080.
Examples:
TC#	Name	Organismal Type	Example
2.A.105.1.1	Mitochondrial pyruvate carrier, MPC1/2/3 (MPC1: 130 aas and probably 3 TMSs; MPC2: 129 aas and 3 TMSs; MPC3: 146 aas and 3 TMSs) (Bricker et al., 2012; Herzig et al., 2012). Yeast MPC proteins with 3 TMSs and a matrix-exposed N-terminus are imported by the carrier pathway, using the receptor Tom70, small TIM chaperones, and the TIM22 complex (Rampelt et al. 2020). The TIM9.10 complex chaperones MPC proteins through the mitochondrial intermembrane space using conserved hydrophobic motifs that are also required for the interaction with canonical carrier proteins. Thus, the carrier pathway can import paired and non-paired TMSs and translocate N-termini to either side of the mitochondrial inner membrane, revealing an unexpected versatility of the mitochondrial import pathway for non-cleavable inner membrane proteins (Rampelt et al. 2020). MPC transporters have been reviewed (Cunningham and Rutter 2020).	Yeast	MPC1/2/3 of Saccharomyces cerevisiae MPC1 (P53157) MPC2 (P38857) MPC3 (P53311)

2.A.105.1.10	MPC homologue of 268 aas and 6 - 8 TMSs.	Stramenopiles	*MPC homologue of Aureococcus anophagefferens* (Harmful bloom alga)**

2.A.105.1.11	MPC homologue of 319 aas and 6 - 8 TMSs.	Stramenopiles	MPC homologue of Phytophthora sojae (Soybean stem and root rot agent) (Phytophthora megasperma)

2.A.105.1.12	MPC homologue of 189 aas and 3 - 4 TMSs.	Fungi	MPC homologue of Uncinocarpus reesii

2.A.105.1.13	Mitochondrial pyruvate carrier 1-like, MPC1L (SLC54A3) of 1136 aas and probably 3 TMSs.		MPC1L of Homo sapiens

2.A.105.1.14	Mitochondrial pyruvate carrier, MPC, of 106 aas and 3 TMSs.		MPC of Plasmodium falciparum

2.A.105.1.15	Mitochondrial pyruvate carrier, MPC2, of 129 aas and 3 TMSs		MPC2 of Plasmodium falciparum

2.A.105.1.2	Mitochondrial pyruvate carrier, MPC1/2, SLC4A1/SLC4A2 (Gyimesi and Hediger 2022): (MPC1: 109aas; 2-3 TMSs; MPC2: 127aas; 3 TMSs) (Bricker et al., 2012; Herzig et al., 2012). Aceylation of lys19 and lys26 in MPC2 decreases activity of this transporter. Deficient pyruvate transport activity, mediated in part by acetylation of MPC2, is a contributor to metabolic inflexibility in the diabetic heart (Vadvalkar et al. 2017). Both subunits (MPC1 and 2) contain three TMSs with substantial differences from what was predicted by AlphaFold2 (Li et al. 2022). MPC1,2 and 3 localize tp mitochondrial outer membrane to mediate the transport of pyruvate from the cytosol to mitochondria (Zhao et al. 2024). Mitochondrial pyruvate carrier 1 is a prognostic biomarker in non-small cell lung cancer (Zou et al. 2024). A novel HMGA2/MPC-1/mTOR signaling pathway promotes cell growth via facilitating Cr(VI)-induced glycolysis (Zhao et al. 2024).	Animals	MPC1/2 of Homo sapiens MPC1 (Q9Y5U8) MPC2 (O95563)

2.A.105.1.3	*Mitochondrial pyruvate carrier (MPC1/2) (MPC1: 107aas; 3 TMSs; MPC2: 154aas; 3 TMSs) (Bricker et al., 2012).*	Animals	MPC1/2 of Drosophila melanogaster MPC1 (Q7KSC4) MPC2 (Q9VHB1)

2.A.105.1.4	MPC1/2 (MPC1: 146aas; 4 TMSs; MPC2: 108aas; 3 TMSs; MPC3?: 110aas; 2-3 TMSs)	Plants	MPC1/2 of Arabidopsis thaliana MPC1 (Q84VZ9) MPC2 (Q8L7H8) MPC3? (Q949R9)

2.A.105.1.5	MPC (117aas; 3 TMSs)	Ciliates	*MPC of Paramecium tetraurelia* (A0CVJ5)**

2.A.105.1.6	MPC (97aas; 3 TMSs)	Alveolata	*MPC of Theileria parva* (Q4N4U8)**

2.A.105.1.7	MPC (140aas; 3 TMSs)	Euglenozoa	*MPC of Leishmania braziliensis* (A4H7W6)**

2.A.105.1.8	MPC homologue of 267 aas and 5 - 8 TMSs.	Alveolata	MPC homologue of Perkinsus marinus

2.A.105.1.9	MPC homologue of 349 aas and 8 putative TMSs	Alveolata	MPC homologue of Perkinsus marinus