Deficiencies in mitochondrial dynamics sensitize Caenorhabditis elegans to arsenite and other mitochondrial toxicants by reducing mitochondrial adaptability.

ABSTRACT: Mitochondrial fission, fusion, and mitophagy are interlinked processes that regulate mitochondrial shape, number, and size, as well as metabolic activity and stress response. The fundamental importance of these processes is evident in the fact that mutations in fission (DRP1), fusion (MFN2, OPA1), and mitophagy (PINK1, PARK2) genes can cause human disease (collectively >1/10,000). Interestingly, however, the age of onset and severity of clinical manifestations varies greatly between patients with these diseases (even those harboring identical mutations), suggesting a role for environmental factors in the development and progression of certain mitochondrial diseases. Using the model organism Caenorhabditis elegans, we screened ten mitochondrial toxicants (2, 4-dinitrophenol, acetaldehyde, a

SUBMITTER: Luz AL 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC5535741 | biostudies-literature | 2017 Jul

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature