Oxidative Stress and Diminished Mitochondrial Proteostatic Reserve Are Linked to Enhanced mtUPR Initiation in Aged Mouse Muscle

Mitochondrial dysfunction, impaired proteostasis, and reduced stress resistance and resilience are aging hallmarks. At the core of these hallmarks, the mitochondrial unfolded protein response (mtUPR) is a transcriptional pathway that restores mitochondrial proteostasis in response to proteotoxicity. Although the mtUPR is well studied in invertebrates and Cell Culture models, how the mtUPR is engaged in aged mammalian tissue is poorly defined. Here, we defined the extent to which repeated physical stress initiates mtUPR transcription in aged mouse skeletal muscle and assessed candidate regulatory mechanisms in vivo. Aged muscle exhibited reduced mitoprotective chaperone and protease availability and greater carbonylation of intermyofibrillar mitochondria relative to young muscle, suggesting diminished proteostatic reserve and increased oxidative burden. Short-term physical stress induced a greater initiation of mtUPR genes in aged muscle than young muscle, coinciding with reduced physiological reserve. Physical stress shifted ATF5 localization from the mitochondria to the nucleus in the muscle of both ages, whereas CHOP mRNA and nuclear localization were selectively elevated in aged muscle. Mechanistically, we show mitochondrial Reactive Oxygen Species (mtROS) contribute to mtUPR initiation in aged skeletal muscle. Using in vivo ChIP-qPCR and in vitro knockdown/inhibition experiments, we provide support for CHOP as a redox-sensitive factor contributing in part to the enhanced mtUPR initiation in aged mouse muscle, potentially linked to JNK signaling. Collectively, these data suggest reduced mitochondrial proteostatic reserve and mtROS signaling in aged muscle contribute to an amplified mtUPR transcriptional response following repetitive physical stress, providing the foundation to explore the mtUPR in mammalian aging.