Craig Blackstone

Cyclic AMP-dependent protein kinase phosphorylation of Drp1 regulates its GTPase activity and mitochondrial morphology.

Mitochondria in cells comprise a tubulovesicular reticulum shaped by dynamic fission and fusion events. The multimeric dynamin-like GTPase Drp1 is a critical protein mediating mitochondrial division. It harbors multiple motifs including GTP-binding, middle, and GTPase effector (GED) domains that are important for both intramolecular and intermolecular interactions. As for other members of the dynamin superfamily, such interactions are critical for assembly of higher-order structures and cooperative increases in GTPase activity. Although the functions of Drp1 in cells have been extensively studied, mechanisms underlying its regulation remain less clear. Here, we have identified cAMP-dependent protein kinase-dependent phosphorylation of Drp1 within the GED domain at Ser637 that inhibits Drp1 GTPase activity. Mechanistically, this change in GTPase activity likely derives from decreased interaction of GTP-binding/middle domains with the GED domain since the phosphomimetic S637D mutation impairs this intramolecular interaction but not Drp1-Drp1 intermolecular interactions. Using the phosphomimetic S637D substitution, we also demonstrate that mitochondrial fission is prominently inhibited in cells. Thus, protein phosphorylation at Ser637 results in clear alterations in Drp1 function and mitochondrial morphology that are likely involved in dynamic regulation of mitochondrial division in cells.

A class of dynamin-like GTPases involved in the generation of the tubular ER network.

The endoplasmic reticulum (ER) consists of tubules that are shaped by the reticulons and DP1/Yop1p, but how the tubules form an interconnected network is unknown. Here, we show that mammalian atlastins, which are dynamin-like, integral membrane GTPases, interact with the tubule-shaping proteins. The atlastins localize to the tubular ER and are required for proper network formation in vivo and in vitro. Depletion of the atlastins or overexpression of dominant-negative forms inhibits tubule interconnections. The Sey1p GTPase in S. cerevisiae is likely a functional ortholog of the atlastins; it shares the same signature motifs and membrane topology and interacts genetically and physically with the tubule-shaping proteins. Cells simultaneously lacking Sey1p and a tubule-shaping protein have ER morphology defects. These results indicate that formation of the tubular ER network depends on conserved dynamin-like GTPases. Since atlastin-1 mutations cause a common form of hereditary spastic paraplegia, we suggest ER-shaping defects as a neuropathogenic mechanism.

Hereditary spastic paraplegia proteins REEP1, spastin, and atlastin-1 coordinate microtubule interactions with the tubular ER network

Hereditary spastic paraplegias (HSPs; SPG1-45) are inherited neurological disorders characterized by lower extremity spastic weakness. More than half of HSP cases result from autosomal dominant mutations in atlastin-1 (also known as SPG3A), receptor expression enhancing protein 1 (REEP1; SPG31), or spastin (SPG4). The atlastin-1 GTPase interacts with spastin, a microtubule-severing ATPase, as well as with the DP1/Yop1p and reticulon families of ER-shaping proteins, and SPG3A caused by atlastin-1 mutations has been linked pathogenically to abnormal ER morphology. Here we investigated SPG31 by analyzing the distribution, interactions, and functions of REEP1. We determined that REEP1 is structurally related to the DP1/Yop1p family of ER-shaping proteins and localizes to the ER in cultured rat cerebral cortical neurons, where it colocalizes with spastin and atlastin-1. Upon overexpression in COS7 cells, REEP1 formed protein complexes with atlastin-1 and spastin within the tubular ER, and these interactions required hydrophobic hairpin domains in each of these proteins. REEP proteins were required for ER network formation in vitro, and REEP1 also bound microtubules and promoted ER alignment along the microtubule cytoskeleton in COS7 cells. A SPG31 mutant REEP1 lacking the C-terminal cytoplasmic region did not interact with microtubules and disrupted the ER network. These data indicate that the HSP proteins atlastin-1, spastin, and REEP1 interact within the tubularER membrane in corticospinal neurons to coordinate ER shaping and microtubule dynamics. Thus, defects in tubular ER shaping and network interactions with the microtubule cytoskeleton seem to be the predominant pathogenic mechanism of HSP.

Hereditary spastic paraplegias: membrane traffic and the motor pathway

Voluntary movement is a fundamental way in which animals respond to, and interact with, their environment. In mammals, the main CNS pathway controlling voluntary movement is the corticospinal tract, which encompasses connections between the cerebral motor cortex and the spinal cord. Hereditary spastic paraplegias (HSPs) are a group of genetic disorders that lead to a length-dependent, distal axonopathy of fibres of the corticospinal tract, causing lower limb spasticity and weakness. Recent work aimed at elucidating the molecular cell biology underlying the HSPs has revealed the importance of basic cellular processes — especially membrane trafficking and organelle morphogenesis and distribution — in axonal maintenance and degeneration.

Bax/Bak-dependent release of DDP/TIMM8a promotes Drp1-mediated mitochondrial fission and mitoptosis during programmed cell death.

Mitochondrial morphology within cells is controlled by precisely regulated rates of fusion and fission . During programmed cell death (PCD), mitochondria undergo extensive fragmentation and ultimately caspase-independent elimination through a process known as mitoptosis . Though this increased fragmentation is due to increased fission through the recruitment of the dynamin-like GTPase Drp1 to mitochondria , as well as to a block in mitochondrial fusion , cellular mechanisms underlying these processes remain unclear. Here, we describe a mechanism for the increased mitochondrial Drp1 levels and subsequent stimulation of mitochondrial fission seen during PCD. We observed Bax/Bak-mediated release of DDP/TIMM8a, a mitochondrial intermembrane space (IMS) protein , into the cytoplasm, where it binds to and promotes the mitochondrial redistribution of Drp1, a mediator of mitochondrial fission. Using both loss- and gain-of-function assays, we also demonstrate that the Drp1- and DDP/TIMM8a-dependent mitochondrial fragmentation observed during PCD is an important step in mitoptosis, which in turn is involved in caspase-independent cell death. Thus, following Bax/Bak-mediated mitochondrial outer membrane permeabilization (MOMP), IMS proteins released comprise not only apoptogenic factors such as cytochrome c involved in caspase activation but also DDP/TIMM8a, which activates Drp1-mediated fission to promote mitochondrial fragmentation and subsequently elimination during PCD.

Cellular Pathways of Hereditary Spastic Paraplegia

Human voluntary movement is controlled by the pyramidal motor system, a long CNS pathway comprising corticospinal and lower motor neurons. Hereditary spastic paraplegias (HSPs) are a large, genetically diverse group of inherited neurologic disorders characterized by a length-dependent distal axonopathy of the corticospinal tracts, resulting in lower limb spasticity and weakness. A range of studies are converging on alterations in the shaping of organelles, particularly the endoplasmic reticulum, as well as intracellular membrane trafficking and distribution as primary defects underlying the HSPs, with clear relevance for other long axonopathies affecting peripheral nerves and lower motor neurons.

Metalloprotease‐mediated OPA1 processing is modulated by the mitochondrial membrane potential

Background information. Human OPA1 (optic atrophy type 1) is a dynamin‐related protein of the mitochondrial IMS (intermembrane space) involved in membrane fusion and remodelling. Similarly to its yeast orthologue Mgm1p that exists in two isoforms generated by the serine protease Pcp1p/Rbd1p, OPA1 exists in various isoforms generated by alternative splicing and processing. In the present paper, we focus on protease processing of OPA1.

Intra- and Intermolecular Domain Interactions of the C-terminal GTPase Effector Domain of the Multimeric Dynamin-like GTPase Drp1

Mammalian Drp1 is a dynamin-like GTPase required for mitochondrial fission. Although it exists primarily as a cytosolic homo-tetramer in vivo, it can also self-assemble into higher order structures on the mitochondrial outer membrane, where it is required for proper mitochondrial division. Functional studies and sequence comparisons have revealed four different structural domains in Drp1, comprising N-terminal GTP-binding, middle, insert B, and C-terminal GTPase effector (GED) domains. Here we describe an intramolecular interaction within Drp1 between the GED and the N-terminal GTP-binding and middle domains. A point mutation (K679A) within the C-terminal GED domain inhibits this intramolecular association, without affecting the formation of Drp1 tetramers or the intermolecular associations among isolated C-terminal domains. Mutant Drp1 K679A exhibits impaired GTPase activity, and when overexpressed in mammalian cells it decreases mitochondrial division. Sedimentation experiments indicate that the K679A mutation either increases Drp1 complex formation or, more likely, decreases complex disassembly as compared with wild-type Drp1. Taken together, these data suggest that the C-terminal GED domain is important for stimulation of GTPase activity, formation and stability of higher order complexes, and efficient mitochondrial division.

Atlastin GTPases are required for Golgi apparatus and ER morphogenesis

The hereditary spastic paraplegias (SPG1-33) comprise a cluster of inherited neurological disorders characterized principally by lower extremity spasticity and weakness due to a length-dependent, retrograde axonopathy of corticospinal motor neurons. Mutations in the gene encoding the large oligomeric GTPase atlastin-1 are responsible for SPG3A, a common autosomal dominant hereditary spastic paraplegia. Here we describe a family of human GTPases, atlastin-2 and -3 that are closely related to atlastin-1. Interestingly, while atlastin-1 is predominantly localized to vesicular tubular complexes and cis-Golgi cisternae, mostly in brain, atlastin-2 and -3 are localized to the endoplasmic reticulum (ER) and are most enriched in other tissues. Knockdown of atlastin-2 and -3 levels in HeLa cells using siRNA (small interfering RNA) causes disruption of Golgi morphology, and these Golgi structures remain sensitive to brefeldin A treatment. Interestingly, expression of SPG3A mutant or dominant-negative atlastin proteins lacking GTPase activity causes prominent inhibition of ER reticularization, suggesting a role for atlastin GTPases in the formation of three-way junctions in the ER. However, secretory pathway trafficking as assessed using vesicular stomatitis virus G protein fused to green fluorescent protein (VSVG-GFP) as a reporter was essentially normal in both knockdown and dominant-negative overexpression conditions for all atlastins. Thus, the atlastin family of GTPases functions prominently in both ER and Golgi morphogenesis, but they do not appear to be required generally for anterograde ER-to-Golgi trafficking. Abnormal morphogenesis of the ER and Golgi resulting from mutations in atlastin-1 may ultimately underlie SPG3A by interfering with proper membrane distribution or polarity of the long corticospinal motor neurons.

Whole-Exome Sequencing Identifies Homozygous AFG3L2 Mutations in a Spastic Ataxia-Neuropathy Syndrome Linked to Mitochondrial m-AAA Proteases

We report an early onset spastic ataxia-neuropathy syndrome in two brothers of a consanguineous family characterized clinically by lower extremity spasticity, peripheral neuropathy, ptosis, oculomotor apraxia, dystonia, cerebellar atrophy, and progressive myoclonic epilepsy. Whole-exome sequencing identified a homozygous missense mutation (c.1847G>A; p.Y616C) in AFG3L2, encoding a subunit of an m-AAA protease. m-AAA proteases reside in the mitochondrial inner membrane and are responsible for removal of damaged or misfolded proteins and proteolytic activation of essential mitochondrial proteins. AFG3L2 forms either a homo-oligomeric isoenzyme or a hetero-oligomeric complex with paraplegin, a homologous protein mutated in hereditary spastic paraplegia type 7 (SPG7). Heterozygous loss-of-function mutations in AFG3L2 cause autosomal-dominant spinocerebellar ataxia type 28 (SCA28), a disorder whose phenotype is strikingly different from that of our patients. As defined in yeast complementation assays, the AFG3L2Y616C gene product is a hypomorphic variant that exhibited oligomerization defects in yeast as well as in patient fibroblasts. Specifically, the formation of AFG3L2Y616C complexes was impaired, both with itself and to a greater extent with paraplegin. This produced an early-onset clinical syndrome that combines the severe phenotypes of SPG7 and SCA28, in additional to other “mitochondrial” features such as oculomotor apraxia, extrapyramidal dysfunction, and myoclonic epilepsy. These findings expand the phenotype associated with AFG3L2 mutations and suggest that AFG3L2-related disease should be considered in the differential diagnosis of spastic ataxias.