Department of Cell Biology, Physiology and Immunology, Celltec-UB, University of Barcelona, Barcelona, Spain.
Institute of Neurosciences, University of Barcelona, Barcelona, Spain.
EMBO Rep. 2021 Sep 6;22(9):e51954. doi: 10.15252/embr.202051954. Epub 2021 Jul 23.
Mfn2 is a mitochondrial fusion protein with bioenergetic functions implicated in the pathophysiology of neuronal and metabolic disorders. Understanding the bioenergetic mechanism of Mfn2 may aid in designing therapeutic approaches for these disorders. Here we show using endoplasmic reticulum (ER) or mitochondria-targeted Mfn2 that Mfn2 stimulation of the mitochondrial metabolism requires its localization in the ER, which is independent of its fusion function. ER-located Mfn2 interacts with mitochondrial Mfn1/2 to tether the ER and mitochondria together, allowing Ca transfer from the ER to mitochondria to enhance mitochondrial bioenergetics. The physiological relevance of these findings is shown during neurite outgrowth, when there is an increase in Mfn2-dependent ER-mitochondria contact that is necessary for correct neuronal arbor growth. Reduced neuritic growth in Mfn2 KO neurons is recovered by the expression of ER-targeted Mfn2 or an artificial ER-mitochondria tether, indicating that manipulation of ER-mitochondria contacts could be used to treat pathologic conditions involving Mfn2.
Mfn2 是一种线粒体融合蛋白,具有生物能量学功能,与神经元和代谢紊乱的病理生理学有关。了解 Mfn2 的生物能量学机制可能有助于为这些疾病设计治疗方法。在这里,我们使用内质网 (ER) 或线粒体靶向 Mfn2 表明,Mfn2 对线粒体代谢的刺激需要其在 ER 中的定位,这与其融合功能无关。位于 ER 中的 Mfn2 与线粒体 Mfn1/2 相互作用,将 ER 和线粒体连接在一起,允许 Ca 从 ER 转移到线粒体,从而增强线粒体的生物能量学。这些发现的生理相关性在神经突生长过程中得到了体现,此时 Mfn2 依赖性 ER-线粒体接触增加,这对于正确的神经元树突生长是必要的。Mfn2 KO 神经元中神经突生长减少可通过表达 ER 靶向 Mfn2 或人工 ER-线粒体连接物来恢复,表明可以操纵 ER-线粒体接触来治疗涉及 Mfn2 的病理状况。