Department of Biomedical Sciences and Public Health, University "Politecnica delle Marche", Via Tronto 10/A, 60126, Ancona, Italy.
Department of Biomedical Sciences, University of Padova, via U. Basi 58/b, 35131, Padova, Italy.
Sci Rep. 2018 Sep 21;8(1):14199. doi: 10.1038/s41598-018-32551-7.
The mitochondrial Ca uniporter machinery is a multiprotein complex composed by the Ca selective pore-forming subunit, the mitochondrial uniporter (MCU), and accessory proteins, including MICU1, MICU2 and EMRE. Their concerted action is required to fine-tune the uptake of Ca into the mitochondrial matrix which both sustains cell bioenergetics and regulates the apoptotic response. To adequately fulfil such requirements and avoid impairment in mitochondrial Ca handling, the intracellular turnover of all the MCU components must be tightly regulated. Here we show that the MCU complex regulator MICU1, but not MCU and MICU2, is rapidly and selectively degraded by the Ubiquitin Proteasome System (UPS). Moreover, we show that the multifunctional E3 ubiquitin ligase Parkin (PARK2), whose mutations cause autosomal recessive early-onset Parkinson's disease (PD), is a potential candidate involved in this process since its upregulation strongly decreases the basal level of MICU1. Parkin was found to interact with MICU1 and, interestingly, Parkin Ubl-domain, but not its E3-ubquitin ligase activity, is required for the degradation of MICU1, suggesting that in addition to the well documented role in the control of Parkin basal auto-inhibition, the Ubl-domain might exert important regulatory functions by acting as scaffold for the proteasome-mediated degradation of selected substrates under basal conditions, i.e. to guarantee their turnover. We have found that also MICU2 stability was affected upon Parkin overexpression, probably as a consequence of increased MICU1 degradation. Our findings support a model in which the PD-related E3 ubiquitin ligase Parkin directly participates in the selective regulation of the MCU complex regulator MICU1 and, indirectly, also of the MICU2 gatekeeper, thus indicating that Parkin loss of function could contribute to the impairment of the ability of mitochondria to handle Ca and consequently to the pathogenesis of PD.
线粒体钙单向转运体(MCU)由钙离子选择性通道形成亚基(MCU)和辅助蛋白(包括 MICU1、MICU2 和 EMRE)组成,是一个多蛋白复合物。它们的协同作用对于微调 Ca 进入线粒体基质的摄取至关重要,这既维持了细胞的生物能量,又调节了细胞凋亡反应。为了充分满足这些要求并避免线粒体 Ca 处理受损,所有 MCU 成分的细胞内周转都必须受到严格调节。本文表明,MCU 复合物调节剂 MICU1,而不是 MCU 和 MICU2,可被泛素蛋白酶体系统(UPS)快速且选择性地降解。此外,本文还表明,多功能 E3 泛素连接酶 Parkin(PARK2)可能是参与该过程的潜在候选物,因为其上调强烈降低了 MICU1 的基础水平。Parkin 被发现与 MICU1 相互作用,有趣的是,Parkin Ubl 结构域,但不是其 E3-泛素连接酶活性,是 MICU1 降解所必需的,这表明除了在控制 Parkin 基础自动抑制方面的已有作用外,Ubl 结构域可能通过充当支架来发挥重要的调节功能,以确保其在基础条件下的降解。我们发现,Parkin 过表达也会影响 MICU2 的稳定性,可能是由于 MICU1 降解增加所致。我们的研究结果支持这样一种模型,即 PD 相关的 E3 泛素连接酶 Parkin 直接参与 MCU 复合物调节剂 MICU1 的选择性调节,并间接参与 MICU2 守门员的调节,这表明 Parkin 功能丧失可能导致线粒体处理 Ca 的能力受损,从而导致 PD 的发病机制。