Amyloid-b in mitochondrial disease: mutation in a human metallopeptidase links amyloidotic neurodegeneration with mitochondrial processing

There is increasing evidence that common molecular pathways in neurons are closely linked with mitochondrial function and that mitochondrial dysfunction is connected to various forms of neurodegenerative diseases. For instance, mitochondria are involved in amyloid-b (Ab) deposition in Alzheimer’s disease, although the exact molecular pathways remain largely unknown. Brunetti et al (2015) in this issue of EMBO Molecular Medicine provide a novel link between Ab accumulation and mitochondria. A pathogenic mutation in a Norwegian family in the mitochondrial metallopeptidase PITRM1 is found to underlie a novel mitochondrial neurodegenerative phenotype associated with Ab accumulation.