Mitochondrial contagion induced by Parkin deficiency in Drosophila hearts and its containment by suppressing mitofusin.

ABSTRACT:

Rationale

Dysfunctional Parkin-mediated mitophagic culling of senescent or damaged mitochondria is a major pathological process underlying Parkinson disease and a potential genetic mechanism of cardiomyopathy. Despite epidemiological associations between Parkinson disease and heart failure, the role of Parkin and mitophagic quality control in maintaining normal cardiac homeostasis is poorly understood.

Objective

We used germline mutants and cardiac-specific RNA interference to interrogate Parkin regulation of cardiomyocyte mitochondria and examine functional crosstalk between mitophagy and mitochondrial dynamics in Drosophila heart tubes.

Methods and results

Transcriptional profiling of Parkin knockout mouse hearts revealed compensatory upregulation of multiple relate

SUBMITTER: Bhandari P 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4392818 | biostudies-literature | 2014 Jan

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature