scholarly journals DRP1-mediated mitochondrial fission is essential to maintain cristae morphology and bioenergetics

2022 ◽  
Author(s):  
Gabriella L. Robertson ◽  
Stellan Riffle ◽  
Mira Patel ◽  
Andrea Marshall ◽  
Heather Beasley ◽  
...  

Mitochondria and peroxisomes are both dynamic signaling organelles that constantly undergo fission. While mitochondrial fission is known to coordinate cellular metabolism, proliferation, and apoptosis, the physiological relevance of peroxisome dynamics and the implications for cell fate are not fully understood. DRP1 (dynamin-related protein 1) is an essential GTPase that executes both mitochondrial and peroxisomal fission. Patients with de novo heterozygous missense mutations in the gene that encodes DRP1, DNM1L, present with encephalopathy due to defective mitochondrial and peroxisomal fission (EMPF1). EMPF1 is a devastating neurodevelopmental disease with no effective treatment. To interrogate the mechanisms by which DRP1 mutations cause cellular dysfunction, we utilized human-derived fibroblasts from patients with mutations in DRP1 who present with EMPF1. As expected, patient cells display elongated mitochondrial morphology and lack of fission. Patient cells display a lower coupling efficiency of the electron transport chain, increased proton leak, and upregulation of glycolysis. In addition to these metabolic abnormalities, mitochondrial hyperfusion results in aberrant cristae structure and hyperpolarized mitochondrial membrane potential, both of which are tightly linked to the changes in metabolism. Peroxisome structure is also severely elongated in patient cells and results in a potential functional compensation of fatty acid oxidation. Understanding the mechanism by which DRP1 mutations cause these metabolic changes will give insight into the role of mitochondrial dynamics in cristae maintenance and the metabolic capacity of the cell, as well as the disease mechanism underlying EMPF1.

2021 ◽  
Vol 12 (5) ◽  
Author(s):  
Anthony R. Anzell ◽  
Garrett M. Fogo ◽  
Zoya Gurm ◽  
Sarita Raghunayakula ◽  
Joseph M. Wider ◽  
...  

AbstractMitochondrial dynamics and mitophagy are constitutive and complex systems that ensure a healthy mitochondrial network through the segregation and subsequent degradation of damaged mitochondria. Disruption of these systems can lead to mitochondrial dysfunction and has been established as a central mechanism of ischemia/reperfusion (I/R) injury. Emerging evidence suggests that mitochondrial dynamics and mitophagy are integrated systems; however, the role of this relationship in the context of I/R injury remains unclear. To investigate this concept, we utilized primary cortical neurons isolated from the novel dual-reporter mitochondrial quality control knockin mice (C57BL/6-Gt(ROSA)26Sortm1(CAG-mCherry/GFP)Ganl/J) with conditional knockout (KO) of Drp1 to investigate changes in mitochondrial dynamics and mitophagic flux during in vitro I/R injury. Mitochondrial dynamics was quantitatively measured in an unbiased manner using a machine learning mitochondrial morphology classification system, which consisted of four different classifications: network, unbranched, swollen, and punctate. Evaluation of mitochondrial morphology and mitophagic flux in primary neurons exposed to oxygen-glucose deprivation (OGD) and reoxygenation (OGD/R) revealed extensive mitochondrial fragmentation and swelling, together with a significant upregulation in mitophagic flux. Furthermore, the primary morphology of mitochondria undergoing mitophagy was classified as punctate. Colocalization using immunofluorescence as well as western blot analysis revealed that the PINK1/Parkin pathway of mitophagy was activated following OGD/R. Conditional KO of Drp1 prevented mitochondrial fragmentation and swelling following OGD/R but did not alter mitophagic flux. These data provide novel evidence that Drp1 plays a causal role in the progression of I/R injury, but mitophagy does not require Drp1-mediated mitochondrial fission.


Metabolites ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (5) ◽  
pp. 322
Author(s):  
Jae-Eun Song ◽  
Tiago C. Alves ◽  
Bernardo Stutz ◽  
Matija Šestan-Peša ◽  
Nicole Kilian ◽  
...  

In the presence of high abundance of exogenous fatty acids, cells either store fatty acids in lipid droplets or oxidize them in mitochondria. In this study, we aimed to explore a novel and direct role of mitochondrial fission in lipid homeostasis in HeLa cells. We observed the association between mitochondrial morphology and lipid droplet accumulation in response to high exogenous fatty acids. We inhibited mitochondrial fission by silencing dynamin-related protein 1(DRP1) and observed the shift in fatty acid storage-usage balance. Inhibition of mitochondrial fission resulted in an increase in fatty acid content of lipid droplets and a decrease in mitochondrial fatty acid oxidation. Next, we overexpressed carnitine palmitoyltransferase-1 (CPT1), a key mitochondrial protein in fatty acid oxidation, to further examine the relationship between mitochondrial fatty acid usage and mitochondrial morphology. Mitochondrial fission plays a role in distributing exogenous fatty acids. CPT1A controlled the respiratory rate of mitochondrial fatty acid oxidation but did not cause a shift in the distribution of fatty acids between mitochondria and lipid droplets. Our data reveals a novel function for mitochondrial fission in balancing exogenous fatty acids between usage and storage, assigning a role for mitochondrial dynamics in control of intracellular fuel utilization and partitioning.


2021 ◽  
Vol 12 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Qing-Rui Wu ◽  
Dan-Lin Zheng ◽  
Pei-Ming Liu ◽  
Hui Yang ◽  
Lu-An Li ◽  
...  

AbstractMitochondrial dysfunction and impaired Ca2+ handling are involved in the development of diabetic cardiomyopathy (DCM). Dynamic relative protein 1 (Drp1) regulates mitochondrial fission by changing its level of phosphorylation, and the Orai1 (Ca2+ release-activated calcium channel protein 1) calcium channel is important for the increase in Ca2+ entry into cardiomyocytes. We aimed to explore the mechanism of Drp1 and Orai1 in cardiomyocyte hypertrophy caused by high glucose (HG). We found that Zucker diabetic fat rats induced by administration of a high-fat diet develop cardiac hypertrophy and impaired cardiac function, accompanied by the activation of mitochondrial dynamics and calcium handling pathway-related proteins. Moreover, HG induces cardiomyocyte hypertrophy, accompanied by abnormal mitochondrial morphology and function, and increased Orai1-mediated Ca2+ influx. Mechanistically, the Drp1 inhibitor mitochondrial division inhibitor 1 (Mdivi-1) prevents cardiomyocyte hypertrophy induced by HG by reducing phosphorylation of Drp1 at serine 616 (S616) and increasing phosphorylation at S637. Inhibition of Orai1 with single guide RNA (sgOrai1) or an inhibitor (BTP2) not only suppressed Drp1 activity and calmodulin-binding catalytic subunit A (CnA) and phosphorylated-extracellular signal-regulated kinase (p-ERK1/2) expression but also alleviated mitochondrial dysfunction and cardiomyocyte hypertrophy caused by HG. In addition, the CnA inhibitor cyclosporin A and p-ERK1/2 inhibitor U0126 improved HG-induced cardiomyocyte hypertrophy by promoting and inhibiting phosphorylation of Drp1 at S637 and S616, respectively. In summary, we identified Drp1 as a downstream target of Orai1-mediated Ca2+ entry, via activation by p-ERK1/2-mediated phosphorylation at S616 or CnA-mediated dephosphorylation at S637 in DCM. Thus, the Orai1–Drp1 axis is a novel target for treating DCM.


Biomolecules ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 10 (3) ◽  
pp. 450 ◽  
Author(s):  
Takeshi Tokuyama ◽  
Asei Hirai ◽  
Isshin Shiiba ◽  
Naoki Ito ◽  
Keigo Matsuno ◽  
...  

Mitochondria are highly dynamic organelles that constantly fuse, divide, and move, and their function is regulated and maintained by their morphologic changes. Mitochondrial disease (MD) comprises a group of disorders involving mitochondrial dysfunction. However, it is not clear whether changes in mitochondrial morphology are related to MD. In this study, we examined mitochondrial morphology in fibroblasts from patients with MD (mitochondrial myopathy, encephalopathy, lactic acidosis, and stroke-like episodes (MELAS) and Leigh syndrome). We observed that MD fibroblasts exhibited significant mitochondrial fragmentation by upregulation of Drp1, which is responsible for mitochondrial fission. Interestingly, the inhibition of mitochondrial fragmentation by Drp1 knockdown enhanced cellular toxicity and led to cell death in MD fibroblasts. These results suggest that mitochondrial fission plays a critical role in the attenuation of mitochondrial damage in MD fibroblasts.


2021 ◽  
Vol 13 ◽  
Author(s):  
Afzal Misrani ◽  
Sidra Tabassum ◽  
Qingwei Huo ◽  
Sumaiya Tabassum ◽  
Jinxiang Jiang ◽  
...  

Alzheimer’s disease (AD) is the most common neurodegenerative disorder worldwide. Mitochondrial dysfunction is thought to be an early event in the onset and progression of AD; however, the precise underlying mechanisms remain unclear. In this study, we investigated mitochondrial proteins involved in organelle dynamics, morphology and energy production in the medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC) and hippocampus (HIPP) of young (1∼2 months), adult (4∼5 months) and aged (9∼10, 12∼18 months) APP/PS1 mice. We observed increased levels of mitochondrial fission protein, Drp1, and decreased levels of ATP synthase subunit, ATP5A, leading to abnormal mitochondrial morphology, increased oxidative stress, glial activation, apoptosis, and altered neuronal morphology as early as 4∼5 months of age in APP/PS1 mice. Electrophysiological recordings revealed abnormal miniature excitatory postsynaptic current in the mPFC together with a minor connectivity change between the mPFC and HIPP, correlating with social deficits. These results suggest that abnormal mitochondrial dynamics, which worsen with disease progression, could be a biomarker of early-stage AD. Therapeutic interventions that improve mitochondrial function thus represent a promising approach for slowing the progression or delaying the onset of AD.


2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jae Eun Song ◽  
Tiago C. Alves ◽  
Bernardo Stutz ◽  
Matija Sestan-Pesa ◽  
Nicole Kilian ◽  
...  

ABSTRACTThe bioenergetic function of mitochondrial fission is associated with uncoupled respiration or elimination of damaged mitochondria to maintain a healthy mitochondrial population. In the presence of a high abundance of exogenous fatty acids, cells can either store fatty acids in lipid droplets or oxidize them in mitochondria. Even though carnitine palmitoyltransferase-1 (CPT1) controls the respiratory capacity of mitochondria in fatty acid oxidation, we observed that it did not dictate the balance of storage and usage of lipids in HeLa cells. On the other hand, inhibition of mitochondrial fission by silencing dynamic-related protein 1 (DRP1) resulted in an increase in fatty acid content of lipid droplets and a decrease in fatty acid oxidation. Mitochondrial fission was not only reflective of the amount of exogenous fatty acid being processed by mitochondria, but also found to be actively involved in the distribution of fatty acids between mitochondria and lipid droplets. Our data reveals a novel function for mitochondrial fission in balancing exogenous fatty acids between usage and storage, assigning a role for mitochondrial dynamics in control of intracellular fuel utilization and partitioning.


2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yanjun Kou ◽  
Yunlong He ◽  
Jiehua Qiu ◽  
Shu Yazhou ◽  
Fan Yang ◽  
...  

SUMMARYMagnaporthe oryzaecauses Blast disease, which is one of the most devastating infections in rice and several important cereal crops.M. oryzaeneeds to coordinate gene regulation, morphological changes, nutrient acquisition, and host evasion, in order to invade and proliferate within the plant tissues. Thus far, the molecular mechanisms underlying the regulation of invasive growthin plantahave remained largely unknown. We identified a precise filamentous-punctate-filamentous cycle in mitochondrial morphology duringMagnaporthe-Rice interaction. Interestingly, loss of either the mitochondrial fusion (MoFzo1) or fission (MoDnm1) machinery, or inhibition of mitochondrial fission using Mdivi-1 caused significant reduction inM. oryzaepathogenicity. Furthermore, exogenous carbon source(s) but not antioxidant treatment delayed such mitochondrial dynamics/transition during invasive growth. Such nutrient-based regulation of organellar dynamics preceded MoAtg24-mediated mitophagy, which was found to be essential for proper biotrophic development and invasive growthin planta. We propose that precise mitochondrial dynamics and mitophagy occur during the transition from biotrophy to necrotrophy, and are required for proper induction and establishment of the blast disease in rice.


2017 ◽  
Vol 28 (3) ◽  
pp. 396-410 ◽  
Author(s):  
Edward Cherok ◽  
Shan Xu ◽  
Sunan Li ◽  
Shweta Das ◽  
W. Alex Meltzer ◽  
...  

MARCH5, an OMM-associated E3 ubiquitin ligase, controls mitochondrial function. Despite its importance, the mechanism and factors controlling MARCH5 activity are largely unknown. Here we report that the MARCH5 C-terminal domain plays a critical role in degradation of MARCH5 substrates, likely by facilitating release of ubiquitinated proteins from the OMM. We also found that the mitochondrial fission proteins Drp1 and Mff negatively regulate MARCH5’s activity toward MiD49 and Mcl1. Knockouts of either Drp1 or Mff led to reduced expression, shorter half-lives, and increased ubiquitination of MiD49 and Mcl1. Effects of Mff and Drp1 depletion on degradation rates and ubiquitination of Mcl1 and MiD49 were eliminated in Drp1−/−/MARCH5−/− and Mff−/−/MARCH5−/− cells. Our data show that it is not mitochondrial morphology per se but rather Mff and Drp1 that directly control MARCH5. Consistently, we find that Mff is an integral component of the MARCH5/p97/Npl4 complex, which is also controlled by MARCH5’s C-terminal domain. Furthermore, not only mitochondrial fission but also fusion is regulated through Mff and Drp1 protein activities. Thus, in addition to their canonical roles in mitochondrial fission, Mff and Drp1 also act as regulatory factors that control mitochondrial fission and fusion.


2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Cecilia Mancini ◽  
Eriola Hoxha ◽  
Luisa Iommarini ◽  
Alessandro Brussino ◽  
Uwe Richter ◽  
...  

Spinocerebellar ataxia 28 is an autosomal dominant neurodegenerative disorder caused by missense mutations affecting the proteolytic domain of AFG3L2, a major component of the mitochondrial m-AAA protease. However, little is known of the underlying pathogenetic mechanisms or how to treat patients with SCA28. Currently available Afg3l2 mutant mice harbour deletions that lead to severe, early-onset neurological phenotypes that do not faithfully reproduce the late-onset and slowly progressing SCA28 phenotype. Here we describe production and detailed analysis of a new knock-in murine model harbouring an Afg3l2 allele carrying the p.Met665Arg patient-derived mutation. Heterozygous mutant mice developed normally but signs of ataxia were detectable by beam test at 18 months. Cerebellar pathology was negative; electrophysiological analysis showed increased spontaneous firing in Purkinje cells from heterozygous mutants with respect to wild-type controls, although not statistically significant. As homozygous mutants died perinatally with evidence of cardiac atrophy, for each genotype we generated mouse embryonic fibroblasts (MEFs) to investigate mitochondrial function. MEFs from mutant mice showed altered mitochondrial bioenergetics, with decreased basal oxygen consumption rate, ATP synthesis and mitochondrial membrane potential. Mitochondrial network formation and morphology was also altered, in line with greatly reduced expression of Opa1 fusogenic protein L-isoforms. The mitochondrial alterations observed in MEFs were also detected in cerebella of 18-month-old heterozygous mutants, suggesting they may be a hallmark of disease. Pharmacological inhibition of de novo mitochondrial protein translation with chloramphenicol caused reversal of mitochondrial morphology in homozygous mutant MEFs, supporting the relevance of mitochondrial proteotoxicity for SCA28 pathogenesis and therapy development.


2015 ◽  
Vol 117 (suppl_1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Alexandra G Moyzis ◽  
Robert L Thomas ◽  
Jennifer Kuo ◽  
Åsa B Gustafsson

The BCL-2 family proteins are important regulators of mitochondrial structure and integrity. MCL-1 is an anti-apoptotic BCL-2 protein that is highly expressed in the myocardium compared to the other anti-apoptotic proteins BCL-2 and BCL-X L. Recently, we reported that MCL-1 is essential for myocardial homeostasis. Cardiac-specific deletion of MCL-1 in mice led to rapid mitochondrial dysfunction, hypertrophy, and lethal cardiomyopathy. Surprisingly, MCL-1 deficient myocytes did not undergo apoptotic cell death. Instead, the cells displayed signs of mitochondrial deterioration and necrotic cell death, suggesting that MCL-1 has an additional role in maintaining mitochondrial function in cardiac myocytes. Similarly, deletion of MCL-1 in fibroblasts caused rapid mitochondrial fragmentation followed by cell death at 72 hours. Interestingly, the MCL-1 deficient fibroblasts retained cytochrome c in the mitochondria , confirming that the cells were not undergoing apoptotic cell death. We have also identified that MCL-1 localizes to the mitochondrial outer membrane (OM) and the matrix in the myocardium and that the two forms respond differently to stress. MCL-1 OM was rapidly degraded after myocardial infarction or fasting, whereas MCL-1 Matrix levels were maintained. Similarly, starvation of MEFs resulted in rapid degradation of MCL-1 OM , whereas MCL-1 Matrix showed delayed degradation. Treatment with the mitochondrial uncoupler FCCP led to rapid degradation of both forms. This suggests that the susceptibility to degradation is dependent on its localization and the nature of the stress. Our data also suggests that these two forms perform distinct functions in regulating mitochondrial morphology and survival. Overexpression of MCL-1 Matrix promoted mitochondrial fusion in fibroblasts under baseline conditions and protected cells against FCCP-mediated mitochondrial fission and clearance by autophagosomes. Thus, our data suggest that MCL-1 exists in two separate locations where it performs different functions. MCL-1 Matrix promotes mitochondrial fusion, which protects cells against excessive mitochondrial clearance during unfavorable conditions.


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