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Mitochondrial Ca 2+ uniporter (MCU)-mediated Ca 2+ uptake promotes the buildup of reducing equivalents that fuel oxidative phosphorylation for cellular metabolism. Although MCU modulates mitochondrial bioenergetics, its function in energy homeostasis in vivo remains elusive. Here we demonstrate that deletion of the Mcu gene in mouse liver (MCU Δhep ) and in Danio rerio by CRISPR/Cas9 inhibits mitochondrial Ca 2+ ( m Ca 2+ ) uptake, delays cytosolic Ca 2+ ( c Ca 2+ ) clearance, reduces oxidative phosphorylation, and leads to increased lipid accumulation. Elevated hepatic lipids in MCU Δhep were a direct result of extramitochondrial Ca 2+ -dependent protein phosphatase-4 (PP4) activity, which dephosphorylates AMPK. Loss of AMPK recapitulates hepatic lipid accumulation without changes in MCU-mediated Ca 2+ uptake. Furthermore, reconstitution of active AMPK, or PP4 knockdown, enhances lipid clearance in MCU Δhep hepatocytes. Conversely, gain-of-function MCU promotes rapid m Ca 2+ uptake, decreases PP4 levels, and reduces hepatic lipid accumulation. Thus, our work uncovers an MCU/PP4/AMPK molecular cascade that links Ca 2+ dynamics to hepatic lipid metabolism., (Copyright © 2019 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

Mitochondria shape cytosolic calcium ([Ca 2+ ] c ) transients and utilize the mitochondrial Ca 2+ ([Ca 2+ ] m ) in exchange for bioenergetics output. Conversely, dysregulated [Ca 2+ ] c causes [Ca 2+ ] m overload and induces permeability transition pore and cell death. Ablation of MCU-mediated Ca 2+ uptake exhibited elevated [Ca 2+ ] c and failed to prevent stress-induced cell death. The mechanisms for these effects remain elusive. Here, we report that mitochondria undergo a cytosolic Ca 2+ -induced shape change that is distinct from mitochondrial fission and swelling. [Ca 2+ ] c elevation, but not MCU-mediated Ca 2+ uptake, appears to be essential for the process we term mitochondrial shape transition (MiST). MiST is mediated by the mitochondrial protein Miro1 through its EF-hand domain 1 in multiple cell types. Moreover, Ca 2+ -dependent disruption of Miro1/KIF5B/tubulin complex is determined by Miro1 EF1 domain. Functionally, Miro1-dependent MiST is essential for autophagy/mitophagy that is attenuated in Miro1 EF1 mutants. Thus, Miro1 is a cytosolic Ca 2+ sensor that decodes metazoan Ca 2+ signals as MiST., (Copyright © 2018 The Author(s). Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

Ca 2+ dynamics and oxidative signaling are fundamental mechanisms for mitochondrial bioenergetics and cell function. The MCU complex is the major pathway by which these signals are integrated in mitochondria. Whether and how these coactive elements interact with MCU have not been established. As an approach toward understanding the regulation of MCU channel by oxidative milieu, we adapted inflammatory and hypoxia models. We identified the conserved cysteine 97 (Cys-97) to be the only reactive thiol in human MCU that undergoes S-glutathionylation. Furthermore, biochemical, structural, and superresolution imaging analysis revealed that MCU oxidation promotes MCU higher order oligomer formation. Both oxidation and mutation of MCU Cys-97 exhibited persistent MCU channel activity with higher [Ca 2+ ] m uptake rate, elevated mROS, and enhanced [Ca 2+ ] m overload-induced cell death. In contrast, these effects were largely independent of MCU interaction with its regulators. These findings reveal a distinct functional role for Cys-97 in ROS sensing and regulation of MCU activity., (Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)