Project description:Contacts between organelles create microdomains that play major roles in regulating key intracellular activities and signaling pathways, but whether they also regulate systemic functions remains unknown. Here, we report the ultrastructural organization and dynamics of the inter-organellar contact established by rough-Endoplasmic Reticulum closely wrapped around the mitochondria (wrappER). To elucidate the in vivo function of this contact, mouse liver fractions enriched in wrappER-associated-mitochondria are analyzed by transcriptomics, proteomics and lipidomics. The biochemical signature of the wrappER points to a role in the biogenesis of very-low-density lipoproteins (VLDL). Altering wrappER-mitochondria contacts curtails VLDL secretion and increases hepatic fatty acids, lipid droplets and neutral lipid content. Conversely, acute liver-specific ablation of Mttp, the most upstream regulator of VLDL biogenesis, recapitulates this hepatic dyslipidemia phenotype and promotes remodelling of the wrappER-mitochondria contact. The discovery that liver wrappER-mitochondria contacts participate in VLDL biology suggests an involvement of inter-organelle contacts in systemic lipid homeostasis.
Project description:Contacts between organelles create microdomains that play major roles in regulating key intracellular activities and signaling pathways, but whether they also directly regulate systemic cellular activities, remains unknown. Here, we report the ultrastructural organization and dynamics of a new type of inter-organelle contact which is formed by rough-Endoplasmic Reticulum that is closely wrapped around the mitochondrion (wrappER). To elucidate the in vivo function of this inter-organelle association, mouse liver fractions enriched in wrappER-associated-mitochondria were analyzed in parallel by transcriptomics, proteomics, and lipidomics. The biochemical signature of the wrappER points to an unexpected role in the biogenesis of very-low-density lipoproteins (VLDLs). Altering wrappER-mitochondria contacts curtails liver VLDL secretion and increases hepatic fatty acids, lipid droplets and neutral lipid content. Conversely, acute liver-specific ablation of Mttp, the most upstream regulator of VLDL biogenesis, mirrors this hepatic dyslipidemia phenotype and promotes remodelling of the wrappER-mitochondria contact. The participation of liver wrappER-mitochondria contacts in VLDL biology reveals a role of inter-organelle contacts in systemic lipid homeostasis.
Project description:Organelles such as endoplasmic reticulum (ER) and mitochondria interact with each other at specialized domains on the ER known as mitochondria-associated membranes (MAMs). Here, using three-dimensional high-resolution imaging techniques, we show that the Sel1LHrd1 protein complex, the most conserved branch of ER-associated protein degradation (ERAD), exerts a profound impact on ER-mitochondria contacts and mitochondrial dynamics, at least in part, by regulating the turnover and hence the abundance of the MAM protein sigma receptor 1 (SigmaR1). Sel1L or Hrd1 deficiency in brown adipocytes impairs dynamic interaction between ER and mitochondria, leading to the formation of pleomorphic “megamitochondria” and, in some cases with penetrating ER tubule(s), in response to acute cold challenge. Mice with ERAD deficiency are cold sensitive and exhibit mitochondrial dysfunction in brown adipocytes. Mechanistically, endogenous SigmaR1 is targeted for proteasomal degradation by Sel1L-Hrd1 ERAD, whose accumulation in ERAD-deficient cells leads to mitofusin 2 (Mfn2) oligomerization, thereby linking ERAD to mitochondrial dynamics. Our study identifies Sel1L-Hrd1 ERAD as a critical determinant of ER-mitochondria contacts, thereby regulating mitochondrial dynamics and thermogenesis.
Project description:Background: The phospholamban (PLN) p.Arg14del mutation belongs to the established causes of dilated cardiomyopathy, with the molecular disease mechanisms incompletely understood. We used human induced pluripotent stem cell (hiPSC)-derived cardiomyocytes, CRISPR/Cas9 gene editing and patient heart samples to investigate the molecular pathomechanisms of PLN p.Arg14del cardiomyopathy. Methods and results: Patient dermal fibroblasts carrying the PLN p.Arg14del mutation were reprogrammed into hiPSC, isogenic controls were established by CRISPR/Cas9. Cells were differentiated into cardiomyocytes and characterized in 2D and 3D-engineered heart tissue (EHT) format. Mutant cardiomyocytes revealed significantly prolonged Ca2+ transient decay time, Ca2+-load dependent irregular beating pattern and lower peak force compared to isogenic controls. While this data support the reported super-inhibitory effect of PLN p.Arg14del on the sarcoplasmic/endoplasmic reticulum Ca2+ ATPase, an unchanged SR Ca2+ content argued against disturbed SR Ca2+ cycling as the sole cause of contractile dysfunction. Label-free proteomic analysis of p.Arg14del EHTs revealed less endoplasmic reticulum (ER), ribosomal and mitochondrial proteins. Electron microscopy showed dilation of the rough ER, large lipid droplets in close association with mitochondria and reduced mitochondrial number. Follow-up experiments confirmed impairment of the rough ER/mitochondria compartment and enhanced oxidative stress in PLN p.Arg14del. Relevance for human disease was demonstrated by immunohistochemistry of human heart samples. PLN p.Arg14del end-stage heart failure samples revealed perinuclear aggregates positive for ER marker proteins and oxidative stress in comparison to ischemic heart failure - and non-failing donor heart samples. Surprisingly, transduction of PLN p.Arg14del EHTs with the Ca2+ binding protein GCaMP6f reversed the contractile, molecular and morphological disease phenotype. Conclusion: This study identified impairment of the rough ER/mitochondria compartment without SR dysfunction as a novel disease mechanism underlying PLN p.Arg14del cardiomyopathy. The pathology was improved by Ca2+-scavenging, suggesting impaired local Ca2+ cycling as an important disease culprit.
Project description:The intimate association between the endoplasmic reticulum (ER) and mitochondrial membranes at ER-mitochondria contact sites (ERMCS) serves as a platform for several critical cellular processes, particularly lipid synthesis. How contacts are remodeled and the subsequent biological consequences of altered contacts such as perturbed lipid metabolism remains poorly understood. Here we show that the p97 AAA-ATPase and its ER-tethered ubiquitin-X domain adaptor 8 (UBXD8) regulate the prevalence of ERMCS. The p97-UBXD8 complex localizes to contacts and its loss increases contacts in a manner that is dependent on p97 catalytic activity. Quantitative proteomics and lipidomics of ERMCS demonstrates alterations in proteins regulating lipid metabolism and a significant change in saturated or monounsaturated lipid species in UBXD8 knockout cells. We show that loss of p97-UBXD8 results in perturbed contacts due to an increase in membrane lipid saturation via SREBP1 and the lipid desaturase SCD1. These aberrant contacts can be rescued by supplementation with unsaturated fatty acids or overexpression of SCD1. Notably, we find that the SREBP1-SCD1 pathway is negatively impacted in the brains of mice with p97 mutations that cause neurodegeneration. Our results suggest that contacts are exquisitely sensitive to alterations to membrane lipid composition and saturation in a p97-UBXD8 dependent manner.
Project description:SEPN1 is a type II protein of the endoplasmic reticulum (ER) whose loss of function gives rise to a collection of debilitating autosomal recessive myopathies gathered under the umbrella term of SEPN1-related myopathy (RM). At the moment, SEPN1-RM lacks an effective pharmacological treatment; thus, the medical management of the disease is only supportive. The potentially fatal diaphragmatic weakness leading to respiratory insufficiency in patients still ambulant is the main reason for medical concerns. Thus, studies on SEPN1-RM pathogenesis are necessary to implement a targeted pharmacological therapy aimed at relieving the general muscle weakness and the more worrisome diaphragmatic dysfunction. Here, we show a physical and functional interaction between SEPN1 and the ER stress mediator ERO1 alpha (henceforth, ERO1). Both SEPN1 and ERO1 are involved in the redox regulation of proteins into the ER, although in an opposite way SEPN1 imposes a less oxidant ER poise while ERO1 a more oxidant one, conceivable with a reductase function of SEPN1 and an oxidase one of ERO1. Furthermore, both are mainly localized in a region of the ER in close contact with mitochondria termed mitochondria-associated membranes (MAMs) and their loss impacts oppositely on the short-range MAMs, thereby impinging ER-mitochondria Ca2+ dynamics, OXPHOS, and bioenergetics. We find that ERO1 depletion restores the impaired short-range MAMs due to SEPN1 loss together with mitochondrial ATP. ERO1 knockout in a mouse background of SEPN1 loss blunts ER stress and the consequent Unfolded Protein Response (UPR) while it rescues the diaphragmatic weakness by improving ER/mitochondria contacts, calcium dynamics, and OXPHOS. Importantly, treatments of SEPN1 knock out mice with the chemical chaperone tauroursodeoxycholic acid (TUDCA) mimic the results of ERO1 loss improving calcium dynamics, OXPHOS, ER/mitochondria contacts, thereby rescuing diaphragmatic weakness as well. In addition, TUDCA-treated SEPN1-RM patients-derived myoblasts show a dynamic dose-dependent increase in ATP levels under ER stress conditions suggesting improved mitochondrial function. Thus, our findings point to the ERO1 axis in the pathogenesis of SEPN1-RM thereby impinging on MAMs and mitochondria bioenergetics and recall for the efficacy of a pharmacology therapy with ad hoc ER stress/ERO1 inhibitors for SEPN1-RM.
Project description:Most mitochondrial proteins are synthesized on cytosolic ribosomes and imported into mitochondria in a post-translational reaction. Mitochondrial precursor proteins which use the ER-SURF pathway employ the surface of the endoplasmic reticulum (ER) as an important sorting platform. How they reach the mitochondrial import machinery from the ER is not known. Here we show that mitochondrial contact sites play a crucial role in the ER-to-mitochondria transfer of precursor proteins. The ER encounter structure (ERMES) and Tom70 are part of two cooperative and partially redundant ER-to-mitochondria transfer routes. If the ER-to-mitochondria transfer is prevented, many mitochondrial precursor proteins accumulate non-productively on the ER surface, resulting in mitochondrial dysfunction. Our observations support an active role of the ER in mitochondrial protein biogenesis.
Project description:Most mitochondrial proteins are synthesized on cytosolic ribosomes and imported into mitochondria in a post-translational reaction. Mitochondrial precursor proteins which use the ER-SURF pathway employ the surface of the endoplasmic reticulum (ER) as an important sorting platform. How they reach the mitochondrial import machinery from the ER is not known. Here we show that mitochondrial contact sites play a crucial role in the ER-to-mitochondria transfer of precursor proteins. The ER encounter structure (ERMES) and Tom70 are part of two cooperative and partially redundant ER-to-mitochondria transfer routes. If the ER-to-mitochondria transfer is prevented, many mitochondrial precursor proteins accumulate non-productively on the ER surface, resulting in mitochondrial dysfunction. Our observations support an active role of the ER in mitochondrial protein biogenesis.
Project description:Most mitochondrial proteins are synthesized on cytosolic ribosomes and imported into mitochondria in a post-translational reaction. Mitochondrial precursor proteins which use the ER-SURF pathway employ the surface of the endoplasmic reticulum (ER) as an important sorting platform. How they reach the mitochondrial import machinery from the ER is not known. Here we show that mitochondrial contact sites play a crucial role in the ER-to-mitochondria transfer of precursor proteins. The ER encounter structure (ERMES) and Tom70 are part of two cooperative and partially redundant ER-to-mitochondria transfer routes. If the ER-to-mitochondria transfer is prevented, many mitochondrial precursor proteins accumulate non-productively on the ER surface, resulting in mitochondrial dysfunction. Our observations support an active role of the ER in mitochondrial protein biogenesis.