Springer, W. | bioRxiv Science

bioRxiv2022

LUBAC assembles a signaling platform at mitochondria for signal amplification and shuttling of NF-ĸB to the nucleus

Mitochondria are increasingly recognized as cellular hubs to orchestrate signaling pathways that regulate metabolism, redox homeostasis, and cell fate decisions. Recent research revealed a role of mitochondria also in innate immune signaling, however, the mechanisms of how mitochondria affect signal transduction are poorly understood. Here we show that the NF-B pathway activated by TNF employs mitochondria as a platform for signal amplification and shuttling of activated NF-B to the nucleus. TNF induces the recruitment of HOIP, the catalytic component of the linear ubiquitin chain assembly complex (LUBAC), and its substrate NEMO to the outer mitochondrial membrane, where M1- and K63-linked ubiquitin chains are generated. NF-B is locally activated and transported to the nucleus by mitochondria, resulting in an increase in mitochondria-nucleus contact sites in a HOIP-dependent manner. Notably, TNF-induced stabilization of the mitochondrial kinase PINK1 contributes to signal amplification by antagonizing the M1-ubiquitin-specific deubiquitinase OTULIN.

cell biology↗

bioRxiv2022

Structure-based design and characterization of Parkin activating mutations

Human autosomal recessive mutations in the Parkin gene are causal for Parkinsons disease (PD). Parkin encodes a ubiquitin E3 ligase that functions together with the PD associated kinase, PINK1, in a mitochondrial quality control pathway. Structural studies reveal that Parkin exists in an inactive conformation mediated by multiple autoinhibitory domain interfaces. Here we have performed comprehensive mutational analysis of both human and rat Parkin to unbiasedly determine Parkin activating mutations across all major autoinhibitory interfaces. Out of 31 mutations tested, we identify 11 activating mutations clustered near the RING0:RING2 or REP:RING1 interfaces, which reduce the thermal stability of Parkin. Of these, we demonstrate that three mutations, V393D, A401D, and W403A located at the REP:RING1 interface were able to completely rescue a Parkin S65A mutant, defective in mitophagy, in cell-based studies. Overall our data extends previous analysis of Parkin activation mutants and suggests that small molecules that mimic REP:RING1 destabilisation offer therapeutic potential for PD patients harbouring select Parkin mutations. Summary blurbParkin, an E3 ubiquitin ligase involved in Parkinsons disease, is inactive in the basal state and is activated by PINK1 to mediate mitophagy. Here we characterized 31 mutations and discovered three that activate Parkin and rescue loss of PINK1 phosphorylation.

biochemistry↗