Mitochondria are structurally complex organelles that undergo fragmentation or fission in apoptotic cells. Mitochondrial fission requires the cytoplasmic dynamin-related protein, Drp1, which translocates to the mitochondria during apoptosis and interacts with the mitochondrial protein, Fis1. Finely tuned changes in cellular calcium modulate a variety of intracellular functions; in resting cells...

While oxidative stress has been implicated in small-fiber painful peripheral neuropathies, antioxidants are only partially effective to treat patients. We have tested the hypothesis that Drp1 (dynamin-related protein 1), a GTPase that catalyzes the process of mitochondrial fission, which is a mechanism central for the effect and production of reactive oxygen species (ROS), plays a central role ...

Background Restoration of blood supply to the heart after a prolonged ischaemic episode causes myocardial ischaemia-reperfusion (I/R) injury. Paradoxically, short periods of ischaemia and reperfusion, known as preconditioning, has a potent cardioprotective effect. One key aspect of I/R injury is cytotoxic mitochondrial fission that allows cytochrome c release and promotes apoptotic cell death. ...

Our objective was to investigate the mitochondrial dynamics following oxygen-glucose deprivation (OGD) in cultured rat cortical neurons. We documented changes in morphology, protein expression, and DNA levels in mitochondria following OGD and examined the roles of mitochondrial fission [dynamin-related protein 1 (Drp1), fission protein-1 (Fis1)] and fusion [mitofusin-1 (Mfn1), mitofusin-2 (Mfn2...

In yeast, C-tail-anchored mitochondrial outer membrane protein Fis1 recruits the mitochondrial-fission-regulating GTPase Dnm1 to mitochondrial fission sites. However, the function of its mammalian homologue remains enigmatic because it has been reported to be dispensable for the mitochondrial recruitment of Drp1, a mammalian homologue of Dnm1. We identified TBC1D15 as a Fis1-binding protein in ...

BackgroundChanges in vascular smooth muscle cells (vSMC) have proven to be a contributing factor the development and progression of atherosclerosis. Following arterial injury, vSMCs can undergo differentiation acquire phenotypes resembling foam cells, mesenchymal stem osteochondrogenic which all aid intimal plaque formation promote stenosis. Dynamin-related protein 1 (Drp1) is cytosolic GTPase ...

We recently showed that infection by Listeria monocytogenes causes mitochondrial network fragmentation through the secreted pore-forming toxin listeriolysin O (LLO). Here, we examine factors involved in canonical fusion and fission. Strikingly, LLO-induced mitochondrial fragmentation does not require the traditional fission machinery, as Drp1 oligomers are absent from fragmented mitochondria fo...

Ginkgolide K (GK) belongs to the ginkgolide family of natural compounds found in Ginkgo biloba leaves, which have been used for centuries to treat cerebrovascular and cardiovascular diseases. We evaluated the protective effects of GK against neuronal apoptosis by assessing its ability to sustain mitochondrial integrity and function. Co-immunoprecipitation showed that Drp1 binding to GSK-3β was ...

Mitochondria consume O₂ to produce ATP and are critical for adaption of hypoxia, but the role of mitochondria in HIF-1α pathway is as yet unclear. In this study, mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) enriched (SK-N-AS) and depleted (ρ⁰) cells of neuroblastoma were cultured in a hypoxic chamber to simulate a hypoxic condition and then the major components involved in mitochondrial related pathways, hypoxia-...