AMPK activation induces mitophagy and promotes mitochondrial fission while activating TBK1 in a PINK1-Parkin independent manner

Alex Seabright, Nicholas Fine, Jonathan Barlow, Samuel Lord, Ibrahim Musa, Alexander Gray, Jack Bryant, Manuel Banzhaf, Gareth Lavery, David Grahame Hardie, David Hodson, Andrew Philp, Yu-Chiang Lai

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

11 Citations (Scopus)
258 Downloads (Pure)

Abstract

Mitophagy is a key process regulating mitochondrial quality control. Several mechanisms have been proposed to regulate mitophagy, but these have mostly been studied using stably expressed non-native proteins in immortalized cell lines. In skeletal muscle, mitophagy and its molecular mechanisms require more thorough investigation. To measure mitophagy directly, we generated a stable skeletal muscle C2C12 cell line, expressing a mitophagy reporter construct (mCherry-green fluorescence protein-mtFIS1 101-152). Here, we report that both carbonyl cyanide m-chlorophenyl hydrazone (CCCP) treatment and adenosine monophosphate activated protein kinase (AMPK) activation by 991 promote mitochondrial fission via phosphorylation of MFF and induce mitophagy by ~20%. Upon CCCP treatment, but not 991, ubiquitin phosphorylation, a read-out of PTEN-induced kinase 1 (PINK1) activity, and Parkin E3 ligase activity toward CDGSH iron sulfur domain 1 (CISD1) were increased. Although the PINK1-Parkin signaling pathway is active in response to CCCP treatment, we observed no change in markers of mitochondrial protein content. Interestingly, our data shows that TANK-binding kinase 1 (TBK1) phosphorylation is increased after both CCCP and 991 treatments, suggesting TBK1 activation to be independent of both PINK1 and Parkin. Finally, we confirmed in non-muscle cell lines that TBK1 phosphorylation occurs in the absence of PINK1 and is regulated by AMPK-dependent signaling. Thus, AMPK activation promotes mitophagy by enhancing mitochondrial fission (via MFF phosphorylation) and autophagosomal engulfment (via TBK1 activation) in a PINK1-Parkin independent manner.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)6284-6301
Number of pages18
JournalFASEB Journal
Volume34
Issue number5
Early online date22 Mar 2020
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - May 2020

Bibliographical note

© 2020 The Authors. The FASEB Journal published by Wiley Periodicals, Inc. on behalf of Federation of American Societies for Experimental Biology.

Keywords

  • endogenous
  • mitophagy
  • skeletal muscle
  • tandem ubiquitin-binding entity (TUBE)
  • ubiquitin

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Biotechnology
  • Biochemistry
  • Molecular Biology
  • Genetics

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