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Reduced cytosolic protein synthesis suppresses mitochondrial degeneration

Nature Cell Biology volume 10, pages 1090–1097 (2008)Cite this article

Abstract

Mitochondrial function degenerates with ageing and in ageing-related neuromuscular degenerative diseases, causing physiological decline of the cell1. Factors that can delay the degenerative process are actively sought after. Here, we show that reduced cytosolic protein synthesis is a robust cellular strategy that suppresses ageing-related mitochondrial degeneration. We modelled autosomal dominant progressive external ophthalmoplegia (adPEO), an adult- or later-onset degenerative disease, by introducing the A128P mutation into the adenine nucleotide translocase Aac2p of Saccharomyces cerevisiae. The aac2A128P allele dominantly induces ageing-dependent mitochondrial degeneration and phenotypically tractable degenerative cell death, independently of its ADP/ATP exchange activity. Mitochondrial degeneration was suppressed by lifespan-extending nutritional interventions and by eight longevity mutations, which are all known to reduce cytosolic protein synthesis. These longevity interventions also independently suppressed ageing-related mitochondrial degeneration in the pro-ageing prohibitin mutants. The aac2A128P mutant has reduced mitochondrial membrane potential (Δψm) and is synthetically lethal to low Δψm conditions, including the loss of prohibitin. Mitochondrial degeneration was accelerated by defects in protein turnover on the inner membrane and was suppressed by cycloheximide, a specific inhibitor of cytosolic ribosomes. Reduced cytosolic protein synthesis suppressed membrane depolarization and defects in mitochondrial gene expression in aac2A128P cells. Our finding thus establishes a link between protein homeostasis (proteostasis), cellular bioenergetics and mitochondrial maintenance during ageing.

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Figure 1: The aac2A128P alleles induces defects in mitochondrial biogenesis independently of ADP/ATP exchange activity or mtDNA instability.
Figure 2: Ageing accelerates mitochondrial degeneration and degenerative cell death.
Figure 3: Longevity interventions suppress mitochondrial degeneration.
Figure 4: Longevity interventions suppress ageing-dependent mitochondrial degeneration in prohibitin mutants.
Figure 5: Modulation of aac2A128P-induced cell death by mitochondrial protein loading.

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Acknowledgements

We thank M. Schmitt and M. Kucej for critical reading of the manuscript, and L. Sabova and C. Koehler for providing the anti-Aac2 antibody. This work was supported by grants from National Institutes of Health (AG023731) and the American Heart Association (0435047N).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, SUNY Upstate Medical University, Syracuse, 13210, New York, USA

    Xiaowen Wang & Xin Jie Chen

  2. Department of Molecular Biology, University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center at Dallas, Dallas, 75390-9148, Texas, USA

    Xiaowen Wang, Xiaoming Zuo, Blanka Kucejova & Xin Jie Chen

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  1. Xiaowen Wang
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Contributions

X.W., X.Z., B.K. and X.J.C. performed the experiments; X.J.C. designed the experiments, analysed data and wrote the manuscript. All authors discussed the results and commented on the manuscript.

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Correspondence to Xin Jie Chen.

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Supplementary Figures S1, S2, S3, S4, S5, Supplementary Methods, Supplementary Table S1, Supplementary Note and Supplementary Discussion (PDF 1374 kb)

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Wang, X., Zuo, X., Kucejova, B. et al. Reduced cytosolic protein synthesis suppresses mitochondrial degeneration. Nat Cell Biol 10, 1090–1097 (2008). https://doi.org/10.1038/ncb1769

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