2. Academic Validation
  3. Cdk5rap1-mediated 2-methylthio modification of mitochondrial tRNAs governs protein translation and contributes to myopathy in mice and humans

Cdk5rap1-mediated 2-methylthio modification of mitochondrial tRNAs governs protein translation and contributes to myopathy in mice and humans

  • Cell Metab. 2015 Mar 3;21(3):428-42. doi: 10.1016/j.cmet.2015.01.019.
Fan-Yan Wei 1,  Bo Zhou 1,  Takeo Suzuki 2,  Keishi Miyata 3,  Yoshihiro Ujihara 4,  Haruki Horiguchi 3,  Nozomu Takahashi 1,  Peiyu Xie 1,  Hiroyuki Michiue 5,  Atsushi Fujimura 5,  Taku Kaitsuka 1,  Hideki Matsui 5,  Yasutoshi Koga 6,  Satoshi Mohri 4,  Tsutomu Suzuki 2,  Yuichi Oike 3,  Kazuhito Tomizawa 7
Affiliations

Affiliations

  • 1 Department of Molecular Physiology, Faculty of Life Sciences, Kumamoto University, Kumamoto 860-8556, Japan.
  • 2 Department of Chemistry and Biotechnology, School of Engineering, The University of Tokyo, Tokyo 113-8656, Japan.
  • 3 Department of Molecular Genetics, Faculty of Life Sciences, Kumamoto University, Kumamoto 860-8556, Japan.
  • 4 First Department of Physiology, Kawasaki Medical School, Okayama 701-0192, Japan.
  • 5 Department of Physiology, Okayama University Graduate School of Medicine, Dentistry and Pharmaceutical Sciences, Okayama 700-8558, Japan.
  • 6 Department of Pediatrics and Child Health, Kurume University Graduate School of Medicine, Fukuoka 830-0011, Japan.
  • 7 Department of Molecular Physiology, Faculty of Life Sciences, Kumamoto University, Kumamoto 860-8556, Japan. Electronic address: [email protected].
PMID: 25738458 DOI: 10.1016/j.cmet.2015.01.019
Abstract

Transfer RNAs (tRNAs) contain a wide variety of posttranscriptional modifications that are important for accurate decoding. Mammalian mitochondrial tRNAs (mt-tRNAs) are modified by nuclear-encoded tRNA-modifying enzymes; however, the physiological roles of these modifications remain largely unknown. In this study, we report that CDK5 regulatory subunit-associated protein 1 (Cdk5rap1) is responsible for 2-methylthio (ms(2)) modifications of mammalian mt-tRNAs for Ser(UCN), Phe, Tyr, and Trp codons. Deficiency in ms(2) modification markedly impaired mitochondrial protein synthesis, which resulted in respiratory defects in Cdk5rap1 knockout (KO) mice. The KO mice were highly susceptive to stress-induced mitochondrial remodeling and exhibited accelerated myopathy and cardiac dysfunction under stressed conditions. Furthermore, we demonstrate that the ms(2) modifications of mt-tRNAs were sensitive to oxidative stress and were reduced in patients with mitochondrial disease. These findings highlight the fundamental role of ms(2) modifications of mt-tRNAs in mitochondrial protein synthesis and their pathological consequences in mitochondrial disease.

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