Mitochondrial fission and fusion play critical roles in maintaining functional mitochondria when cells experience metabolic or environmental stresses. Fusion helps mitigate stress by mixing the contents of partially damaged mitochondria as a form of complementation. Fission is needed to create new mitochondria, but it also contributes to quality control by enabling the removal of damaged mitochondria and can facilitate apoptosis during high levels of cellular stress. Disruptions in these processes affect normal development, and they have been implicated in neurodegenerative diseases, such as Parkinson’s.

Mitochondrial Fission, Fusion, and Stress

Mitochondria: In Sickness and in Health

https://www.cell.com/neuron/pdf/S0896-6273(14)01088-5.pdf

The Roles of PINK1, Parkin and Mitochondrial Fidelity in Parkinson's Disease

Mitochondria are one of the major ancient endomembrane systems in eukaryotic cells. Owing to their ability to produce ATP through respiration, they became a driving force in evolution. As an essential step in the process of eukaryotic evolution, the size of the mitochondrial chromosome was drastically reduced, and the behaviour of mitochondria within eukaryotic cells radically changed. Recent advances have revealed how the organelle's behaviour has evolved to allow the accurate transmission of its genome and to become responsive to the needs of the cell and its own dysfunction.

/pdf/mitochondrial-form-and-function-1x51ier51r.pdf

Mitochondrial form and function

Selective autophagy of mitochondria, known as mitophagy, is an important mitochondrial quality control mechanism that eliminates damaged mitochondria. Mitophagy also mediates removal of mitochondria from developing erythrocytes, and contributes to maternal inheritance of mitochondrial DNA through the elimination of sperm-derived mitochondria. Recent studies have identified specific regulators of mitophagy that ensure selective sequestration of mitochondria as cargo. In yeast, the mitochondrial outer membrane protein autophagy-related gene 32 (ATG32) recruits the autophagic machinery to mitochondria, while mammalian Nix is required for degradation of erythrocyte mitochondria. The elimination of damaged mitochondria in mammals is mediated by a pathway comprised of PTEN-induced putative protein kinase 1 (PINK1) and the E3 ubiquitin ligase Parkin. PINK1 and Parkin accumulate on damaged mitochondria, promote their segregation from the mitochondrial network, and target these organelles for autophagic degradation in a process that requires Parkin-dependent ubiquitination of mitochondrial proteins. Here we will review recent advances in our understanding of the different pathways of mitophagy. In addition, we will discuss the relevance of these pathways in neurons where defects in mitophagy have been implicated in neurodegeneration.

/pdf/the-pathways-of-mitophagy-for-quality-control-and-clearance-3rhpfp1b21.pdf

The pathways of mitophagy for quality control and clearance of mitochondria.

PINK1 and Parkin Target Miro for Phosphorylation and Degradation to Arrest Mitochondrial Motility

To minimize oxidative damage to the cell, malfunctioning mitochondria need to be removed by mitophagy. In neuronal axons, mitochondrial damage may occur in distal regions, far from the soma where most lysosomal degradation is thought to occur. In this paper, we report that PINK1 and Parkin, two Parkinson’s disease–associated proteins, mediate local mitophagy of dysfunctional mitochondria in neuronal axons. To reduce cytotoxicity and mimic physiological levels of mitochondrial damage, we selectively damaged a subset of mitochondria in hippocampal axons. Parkin was rapidly recruited to damaged mitochondria in axons followed by formation of LC3-positive autophagosomes and LAMP1-positive lysosomes. In PINK1−/− axons, damaged mitochondria did not accumulate Parkin and failed to be engulfed in autophagosomes. Similarly, initiation of mitophagy was blocked in Parkin−/− axons. Our findings demonstrate that the PINK1–Parkin-mediated pathway is required for local mitophagy in distal axons in response to focal damage. Local mitophagy likely provides rapid neuroprotection against oxidative stress without a requirement for retrograde transport to the soma.

/pdf/mitophagy-of-damaged-mitochondria-occurs-locally-in-distal-g79ln6tia5.pdf

Ghazaleh Ashrafi

Papers

PINK1 and Parkin Target Miro for Phosphorylation and Degradation to Arrest Mitochondrial Motility

Mitophagy of damaged mitochondria occurs locally in distal neuronal axons and requires PINK1 and Parkin