Date:11/27/2012

correct levels of calcium in the mitochondria plays an important role in cellular physiology: Calcium flux across the inner mitochondrial membrane regulates cell energy production and activation of cell-death pathways, for example. In MICU1's absence mitochondria become overloaded with calcium, generating excessive amounts of reactive oxygen molecules and eventually cell death. In contrast, in the absence of MCUR1, mitochondria cannot take up enough calcium. This also has detrimental effects: the cells cannot make enough ATP and they activate autophagy, a mechanism in which cells "eat themselves" to provide sufficient nutrients for survival

Both papers deal with the function of the uniporter, the calcium channel in the inner membrane of mitochondria that lets calcium get into the mitochondrial matrix where it can do good things like promote ATP synthesis and healthy bioenergetics, or bad things, like mitochondrial-mediated cell death, apoptosis and necrosis.

Because of these two papers, the uniporter is now recognized as a channel complex, containing -- at least -- MCU, MCUR1 and MICU1. Since the uniporter can be a therapeutic target is reperfusion injury, ischemic injury, and programmed cell death, MCUR1 and its interaction with MCU are now targets for drug development.

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Contact: Karen Kreeger karen.kreeger@uphs.upenn.edu 215-349-5658 University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine Source:Eurekalert

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