Parkin is transcriptionally regulated by ATF4: evidence for an interconnection between mitochondrial stress and ER stress.

Loss of parkin function is responsible for the majority of autosomal recessive parkinsonism. Here, we show that parkin is not only a stress-protective, but also a stress-inducible protein. Both mitochondrial and endoplasmic reticulum (ER) stress induce an increase in parkin-specific mRNA and protein levels. The stress-induced upregulation of parkin is mediated by ATF4, a transcription factor of the unfolded protein response (UPR) that binds to a specific CREB/ATF site within the parkin promoter. Interestingly, c-Jun can bind to the same site, but acts as a transcriptional repressor of parkin gene expression. We also present evidence that mitochondrial damage can induce ER stress, leading to the activation of the UPR, and thereby to an upregulation of parkin expression. Vice versa, ER stress results in mitochondrial damage, which can be prevented by parkin. Notably, the activity of parkin to protect cells from stress-induced cell death is independent of the proteasome, indicating that proteasomal degradation of parkin substrates cannot explain the cytoprotective activity of parkin. Our study supports the notion that parkin has a role in the interorganellar crosstalk between the ER and mitochondria to promote cell survival under stress, suggesting that both ER and mitochondrial stress can contribute to the pathogenesis of Parkinson's disease.

Loss of the Parkinson's disease-linked gene DJ-1 perturbs mitochondrial dynamics.

Growing evidence highlights a role for mitochondrial dysfunction and oxidative stress as underlying contributors to Parkinson's disease (PD) pathogenesis. DJ-1 (PARK7) is a recently identified recessive familial PD gene. Its loss leads to increased susceptibility of neurons to oxidative stress and death. However, its mechanism of action is not fully understood. Presently, we report that DJ-1 deficiency in cell lines, cultured neurons, mouse brain and lymphoblast cells derived from DJ-1 patients display aberrant mitochondrial morphology. We also show that these DJ-1-dependent mitochondrial defects contribute to oxidative stress-induced sensitivity to cell death since reversal of this fragmented mitochondrial phenotype abrogates neuronal cell death. Reactive oxygen species (ROS) appear to play a critical role in the observed defects, as ROS scavengers rescue the phenotype and mitochondria isolated from DJ-1 deficient animals produce more ROS compared with control. Importantly, the aberrant mitochondrial phenotype can be rescued by the expression of Pink1 and Parkin, two PD-linked genes involved in regulating mitochondrial dynamics and quality control. Finally, we show that DJ-1 deficiency leads to altered autophagy in murine and human cells. Our findings define a mechanism by which the DJ-1-dependent mitochondrial defects contribute to the increased sensitivity to oxidative stress-induced cell death that has been previously reported.

Contractile activity-induced transcriptional activation of cytochrome C involves Sp1 and is proportional to mitochondrial ATP synthesis in C2C12 muscle cells.

Contractile activity induces adaptations in the expression of genes encoding skeletal muscle mitochondrial proteins; however, the putative signals responsible for these adaptations remain unknown. We used electrical stimulation (5 Hz, 65 V) of C2C12 muscle cells in culture to define some of the mechanisms involved in contractile activity-induced changes in cytochrome c gene expression. Chronic contractile activity (4 days, 3 h/day) augmented cytochrome c mRNA by 1.6-fold above control cells. This was likely mediated by increases in transcriptional activation, because cells transfected with full-length (-726 base pairs) or minimal (-66 base pairs) cytochrome c promoter/chloramphenicol acetyltransferase reporter constructs demonstrated contractile activity-induced 1.5-1.7-fold increases in the absence of contractile activity-induced increases in mRNA stability. Transcriptional activation of the -726 promoter was abolished when muscle contraction was inhibited at various subcellular locations by pretreatment with either the Na(+) channel blocker tetrodotoxin, the intracellular Ca(2+) chelator 1,2-bis(o-aminophenoxy)ethane-N,N,N',N'-tetraacetic acid tetra(acetoxymethyl) ester, or the myosin ATPase inhibitor 2,3-butanedione monoxime. It was further reduced in unstimulated cells when mitochondrial ATP synthesis was impaired using the uncoupler 2,4-dinitrophenol. Because the contractile activity-induced response was evident within the minimal promoter, electromobility shift assays performed within the first intron (+75 to +104 base pairs) containing Sp1 sites revealed an elevated DNA binding in response to contractile activity. This was paralleled by increases in Sp1 protein levels. Sp1 overexpression studies also led to increases in cytochrome c transactivation and mRNA levels. These data suggest that variations in the rate of mitochondrial ATP synthesis are important in determining cytochrome c gene expression in muscle cells and that this is mediated, in part, by Sp1-induced increases in cytochrome c transcription.