Sequestration and autophagy of mitochondria do not cut proteins across the board
Year: 2013
Type: article
Abstract: Mitochondria that acquire deleterious DNA mutations or sustain chemical damage to proteins are sequestered and cleared by autophagy, purportedly to maintain the fidelity of the remaining organelles. In PNAS, Vincow et al. demonstrate that two proteins, phosphatase and tensin homolog-induced putative kinase 1 (PINK1) and Parkin, which are mutated in forms of familial parkinsonism, promote mitochondrial autophagy (mitophagy) in vivo in Drosophila raised in a normal laboratory environment (1). Thus, mitophagy appears to be a routine and necessary housekeeping activity that may be essential for survival of certain neurons and muscle cells that die in PINK1 and Parkin mutant flies. The work also uncovers a mystery that some mitochondrial respiratory chain (RC) proteins appear to be selectively routed for autophagosomal degradation, a process generally thought to remove entire mitochondria and indiscriminately eliminate RC components.
Language: English
Subfield: Epidemiology
Field: Medicine
Domain: Health Sciences
Open Access status: green
OpenAlex ID: W2087916166