Structural Basis for Oxidized Glutathione Recognition by the Yeast Cadmium Factor 1.

Transporters from the ABCC family have an essential role in detoxifying electrophilic compounds including metals, drugs, and lipids, often through conjugation with glutathione complexes. The Yeast Cadmium Factor 1 (Ycf1) transports glutathione alone as well as glutathione conjugated to toxic heavy metals including Cd, Hg, and As. To understand the complicated selectivity and promiscuity of heavy metal substrate binding, we determined the cryo-EM structure of Ycf1 bound to the substrate, oxidized glutathione.