mitophagy tagged posts

Enzyme with central role in cancer and type 2 diabetes also activates. Researchers have discovered a direct link between a master sensor of cell stress and a protein that protects the power stations of cells. The same pathway is also tied to type 2 diabetes and cancer, which could open a new avenue for treating all three diseases.

When cells are stressed, chemical alarms go off, setting in motion a flurry of activity that protects the cell’s most important players. During the rush, a protein called Parkin hurries to protect the mitochondria, the power stations that generate energy for the cell. Now Salk researchers have discovered a direct link between a master sensor of cell stress and Parkin itself...

Mitochondrial DNA is the small circular chromosome found inside mitochondria. The mitochondria are organelles found in cells that are the sites of energy production. Credit: http://www.genome.gov/ (CC0)

Researchers from Caltech and UCLA have developed a new approach to removing cellular damage that accumulates with age. The technique can potentially help slow or reverse an important cause of aging. The team developed a technique to remove mutated DNA from mitochondria. There are hundreds to thousands of mitochondria per cell, each of which carries its own small circular DNA genome, mtDNA, the products of which are required for energy production...

PINK1 and parkin are key regulators of mitochondrial quality control. Credit: http://www.sciencedirect.com/…/pii/S0166223614000435

>> potential new pathway to treat ALS, other diseases. When mitochondia are damaged, they leak destructive molecules that can cause substantial harm and eventually kill brain cells. PINK1, a protein implicated in Parkinson’s disease is critical for helping cells get rid of dysfunctional mitochondria, by triggering an intricate process called mitophagy that breaks down and removes damaged mitochondria from the cell.

“PINK1 is a flag of damaged mitochondria,” said Richard Youle, Ph.D., the head of the Biochemistry Section of NINDS. “It identifies which mitochondria need to be eliminated to keep cells healthy...