Mitochondrial Calcium Uptake: LETM1 and MICU1 Are Mitochondrial Proteins That Regulate Mitochondrial Calcium Homeostasis and Cellular Bioenergetics
type: CreativeWork
description: Mitochondrial calcium (Ca2+) uptake has been studied for over five decades, with crucial insights into its underlying mechanisms enabled by development of the chemi-osmotic hypothesis and appreciation of the considerable voltage present across the inner mitochondrial membrane (ΔΨm) generated by proton pumping by the respiratory chain (Carafoli, 1987; Nicholls, 2005). However, the molecules that regulate mitochondrial Ca2+ uptake have only recently been identified (Jiang et. al., 2009; Perocchi et. al., 2010) and further work was needed to clarify how these molecules regulate mitochondrial Ca2+ uptake. Leucine Zipper EF hand containing Transmembrane Protein 1 (LETM1) acts as a regulator of mitochondrial Ca2+ uptake distinct from the mitochondrial Ca2+ uniporter (MCU) pathway (Jiang et. al., 2009). However, a controversy exists regarding the function of LETM1 (Nowikovsky et. al., 2004). Therefore, I asked if LETM1 played a role in mitochondrial Ca2+ uptake and if LETM1 regulated cellular bioenergetics and basal autophagy. To further characterize mitochondrial calcium uptake, we asked how Mitochondrial Calcium Uptake 1 (MICU1) regulates MCU activity by quantifying basal mitochondrial Ca2+ and MCU uptake rates in MICU1 ablated cells. The following work characterizes the molecules that regulate mitochondrial Ca2+ uptake and their mechanistic function on decoding calcium signals. Since LETM1 is the Ca2+/H+ antiporter, I hypothesize that alterations in LETM1 expression and activity will decrease mitochondrial Ca2+ uptake and will result in impaired mitochondrial bioenergetics. As a regulator of free intracellular Ca2+, mitochondrial Ca2+ uptake and the orchestra of its regulatory molecules have been implicated in many human diseases. Mitochondria act both upstream by regulating cytosolic Ca2+ concentration and as downstream effectors that respond to Ca2+ signals. Recently, LETM1 was proposed as a mitochondrial Ca2+/H+ antiporter (Jiang et. al., 2009); however characterizat…
abstract: Mitochondrial calcium (Ca2+) uptake has been studied for over five decades, with crucial insights into its underlying mechanisms enabled by development of the chemi-osmotic hypothesis and appreciation of the considerable voltage present across the inner mitochondrial membrane (ΔΨm) generated by proton pumping by the respiratory chain (Carafoli, 1987; Nicholls, 2005). However, the molecules that regulate mitochondrial Ca2+ uptake have only recently been identified (Jiang et. al., 2009; Perocchi et. al., 2010) and further work was needed to clarify how these molecules regulate mitochondrial Ca2+ uptake. Leucine Zipper EF hand containing Transmembrane Protein 1 (LETM1) acts as a regulator of mitochondrial Ca2+ uptake distinct from the mitochondrial Ca2+ uniporter (MCU) pathway (Jiang et. al., 2009). However, a controversy exists regarding the function of LETM1 (Nowikovsky et. al., 2004). Therefore, I asked if LETM1 played a role in mitochondrial Ca2+ uptake and if LETM1 regulated cellular bioenergetics and basal autophagy. To further characterize mitochondrial calcium uptake, we asked how Mitochondrial Calcium Uptake 1 (MICU1) regulates MCU activity by quantifying basal mitochondrial Ca2+ and MCU uptake rates in MICU1 ablated cells. The following work characterizes the molecules that regulate mitochondrial Ca2+ uptake and their mechanistic function on decoding calcium signals. Since LETM1 is the Ca2+/H+ antiporter, I hypothesize that alterations in LETM1 expression and activity will decrease mitochondrial Ca2+ uptake and will result in impaired mitochondrial bioenergetics. As a regulator of free intracellular Ca2+, mitochondrial Ca2+ uptake and the orchestra of its regulatory molecules have been implicated in many human diseases. Mitochondria act both upstream by regulating cytosolic Ca2+ concentration and as downstream effectors that respond to Ca2+ signals. Recently, LETM1 was proposed as a mitochondrial Ca2+/H+ antiporter (Jiang et. al., 2009); however characterizat…
author: Doonan, Patrick John
language: eng
keywords: Biochemistry, Biology, Molecular, Calcium, Letm1, Micu1, Mitochondria, Mitochondria Calcium Uniporter, Uniporter
license: http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/
date published: 2012
date modified: 2026-07-27T21:20:51Z
provider: Temple University
publisher: Networked Digital Library of Theses and Dissertations
type: WebPage
source organization: Temple University. Libraries

PropertyValue
property ID: Handle
value: http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.12613/1116