Mitochondrial hitch-hiking of Pink1 mRNA supports axonal mitophagy

Angelika B. Harbauer, Thomas L. Schwarz

Research output: Contribution to journalComment/debate

3 Scopus citations

Abstract

Mitostasis, the process of mitochondrial maintenance by biogenesis and degradative mechanisms, is challenged by the extreme length of axons. PINK1 (PTEN induced putative kinase 1) is a mitochondrial protein that targets damaged mitochondria for mitophagy. In reconciling the short half-life of PINK1 with the need for mitophagy of damaged axonal mitochondria, we found that axonal mitophagy depends on local translation of the Pink1 mRNA. Using live-cell imaging, we detected co-transport of the Pink1 mRNA on mitochondria in neurons, which is crucial for mitophagy in distal parts of the cell. Here we discuss how the coupling of the transcript of a short-lived mitochondrial protein to the movement of its target organelles contributes to our understanding of mitostasis in neurons.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)3048-3049
Number of pages2
JournalAutophagy
Volume18
Issue number12
DOIs
StatePublished - 2022

Keywords

  • Axonal biology
  • RNA transport
  • local translation
  • mitochondria
  • mitophagy

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