More Like this

1. Two forms of Opa1 cooperate to complete fusion of the mitochondrial inner-membrane

   https://doi.org/10.7554/eLife.50973  

   Ge, Yifan; Shi, Xiaojun; Boopathy, Sivakumar; McDonald, Julie; Smith, Adam W; Chao, Luke H (January 2020, eLife)

   Mitochondrial membrane dynamics is a cellular rheostat that relates metabolic function and organelle morphology. Using an in vitro reconstitution system, we describe a mechanism for how mitochondrial inner-membrane fusion is regulated by the ratio of two forms of Opa1. We found that the long-form of Opa1 (l-Opa1) is sufficient for membrane docking, hemifusion and low levels of content release. However, stoichiometric levels of the processed, short form of Opa1 (s-Opa1) work together with l-Opa1 to mediate efficient and fast membrane pore opening. Additionally, we found that excess levels of s-Opa1 inhibit fusion activity, as seen under conditions of altered proteostasis. These observations describe a mechanism for gating membrane fusion. 

   more » « less
2. Creating Optimal Western Blot Conditions for OPA1 Isoforms in Skeletal Muscle Cells and Tissue

   https://doi.org/10.1002/cpz1.70004  

   Mungai, Margaret; Crabtree, Amber; Le, Han; Moore, Johnathan; Nguyen, Desiree; Rodriguez, Benjamin; Harris, Chanel; Stephens, Dominique C; Beasley, Heather K; Garza‐Lopez, Edgar; et al (February 2025, Current Protocols)

   Abstract OPA1 is a dynamin‐related GTPase that modulates mitochondrial dynamics and cristae integrity. Humans carry eight different isoforms of OPA1 and mice carry five, all of which are expressed as short‐ or long‐form isoforms. These isoforms contribute to OPA1's ability to control mitochondrial energetics and DNA maintenance. However, western blot isolation of all long and short isoforms of OPA1 can be difficult. To address this issue, we developed an optimized western blot protocol based on improving running time to isolate five different isoforms of OPA1 in mouse cells and tissues. This protocol can be applied to study changes in mitochondrial structure and function. © 2025 The Author(s). Current Protocols published by Wiley Periodicals LLC. Basic Protocol: Western Blot Protocol for Isolating OPA1 Isoforms in Mouse Primary Skeletal Muscle Cells 

   more » « less
3. Beta-Amyloid Instigates Dysfunction of Mitochondria in Cardiac Cells

   https://doi.org/10.3390/cells11030373  

   Jang, Sehwan; Chapa-Dubocq, Xavier R.; Parodi-Rullán, Rebecca M.; Fossati, Silvia; Javadov, Sabzali (February 2022, Cells)

   Alzheimer’s disease (AD) includes the formation of extracellular deposits comprising aggregated β-amyloid (Aβ) fibers associated with oxidative stress, inflammation, mitochondrial abnormalities, and neuronal loss. There is an associative link between AD and cardiac diseases; however, the mechanisms underlying the potential role of AD, particularly Aβ in cardiac cells, remain unknown. Here, we investigated the role of mitochondria in mediating the effects of Aβ1-40 and Aβ1-42 in cultured cardiomyocytes and primary coronary endothelial cells. Our results demonstrated that Aβ1-40 and Aβ1-42 are differently accumulated in cardiomyocytes and coronary endothelial cells. Aβ1-42 had more adverse effects than Aβ1-40 on cell viability and mitochondrial function in both types of cells. Mitochondrial and cellular ROS were significantly increased, whereas mitochondrial membrane potential and calcium retention capacity decreased in both types of cells in response to Aβ1-42. Mitochondrial dysfunction induced by Aβ was associated with apoptosis of the cells. The effects of Aβ1-42 on mitochondria and cell death were more evident in coronary endothelial cells. In addition, Aβ1-40 and Aβ1-42 significantly increased Ca2+ -induced swelling in mitochondria isolated from the intact rat hearts. In conclusion, this study demonstrates the toxic effects of Aβ on cell survival and mitochondria function in cardiac cells. 

   more » « less
4. Flexibility underlies differences in mitochondrial respiratory performance between migratory and non-migratory White-crowned Sparrows (Zonotrichia leucophrys)

   https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-024-59715-y  

   Rhodes, Emma M.; Yap, Kang Nian; Mesquita, Paulo H. C.; Parry, Hailey A.; Kavazis, Andreas N.; Krause, Jesse S.; Hill, Geoffrey E.; Hood, Wendy R. (April 2024, Scientific Reports)

   Abstract Migration is one of the most energy-demanding behaviors observed in birds. Mitochondria are the primary source of energy used to support these long-distance movements, yet how mitochondria meet the energetic demands of migration is scarcely studied. We quantified changes in mitochondrial respiratory performance in the White-crowned Sparrow (Zonotrichia leucophrys), which has a migratory and non-migratory subspecies. We hypothesized that the long-distance migratory Gambel’s subspecies (Z. l. gambelii) would show higher mitochondrial respiratory performance compared to the non-migratory Nuttall’s subspecies (Z. l. nuttalli). We sampled Gambel’s individuals during spring pre-migration, active fall migration, and a period with no migration or breeding (winter). We sampled Nuttall’s individuals during periods coinciding with fall migration and the winter period of Gambel’s annual cycle. Overall, Gambel’s individuals had higher citrate synthase, a proxy for mitochondrial volume, than Nuttall’s individuals. This was most pronounced prior to and during migration. We found that both OXPHOS capacity (state 3) and basal respiration (state 4) of mitochondria exhibit high seasonal flexibility within Gambel’s individuals, with values highest during active migration. These values in Nuttall’s individuals were most similar to Gambel’s individuals in winter. Our observations indicate that seasonal changes in mitochondrial respiration play a vital role in migration energetics. 

   more » « less
5. Gut bacterial lactate stimulates lung epithelial mitochondria and exacerbates acute lung injury

   https://doi.org/10.1101/2025.03.24.645052  

   Upadhyay, Vaibhav; Ortega, Edwin F; Ramirez_Hernandez, Luis A; Alexander, Margaret; Kaur, Gagandeep; Trepka, Kai; Rock, Rachel R; Shima, Rafaella T; Cheshire, W Colby; Alipanah-Lechner, Narges; et al (March 2025, bioRxiv)

   ABSTRACT Acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) is an often fatal critical illness where lung epithelial injury leads to intrapulmonary fluid accumulation. ARDS became widespread during the COVID-19 pandemic, motivating a renewed effort to understand the complex etiology of this disease. Rigorous prior work has implicated lung endothelial and epithelial injury in response to an insult such as bacterial infection; however, the impact of microorganisms found in other organs on ARDS remains unclear. Here, we use a combination of gnotobiotic mice, cell culture experiments, and re-analyses of a large metabolomics dataset from ARDS patients to reveal that gut bacteria impact lung cellular respiration by releasing metabolites that alter mitochondrial activity in lung epithelium. Colonization of germ-free mice with a complex gut microbiota stimulated lung mitochondrial gene expression. A single human gut bacterial species,Bifidobacterium adolescentis,was sufficient to replicate this effect, leading to a significant increase in mitochondrial membrane potential in lung epithelial cells. We then used genome sequencing and mass spectrometry to confirm thatB. adolescentisproducesL-lactate, which was sufficient to increase mitochondrial activity in lung epithelial cells. Finally, we found that serum lactate was significantly associated with disease severity in patients with ARDS from the Early Assessment of Renal and Lung Injury (EARLI) cohort. Together, these results emphasize the importance of more broadly characterizing the microbial etiology of ARDS and other lung diseases given the ability of gut bacterial metabolites to remotely control lung cellular respiration. Our discovery of a single bacteria-metabolite pair provides aproof-of-conceptfor systematically testing other microbial metabolites and a mechanistic biomarker that could be pursued in future clinical studies. Furthermore, our work adds to the growing literature linking the microbiome to mitochondrial function, raising intriguing questions as to the bidirectional communication between our endo- and ecto-symbionts. 

   more » « less