Mitochondrial protein 18 is a positive apoptotic regulator in cardiomyocytes under oxidative stress.

Accumulation of reactive oxygen species is a common phenomenon in cardiac stress conditions, for instance, coronary artery disease, aging-related cardiovascular abnormalities, and exposure to cardiac stressors such as hydrogen peroxide (H2O2). Mitochondrial protein 18 (Mtp18) is a novel mitochondrial inner membrane protein, shown to involve in the regulation of mitochondrial dynamics. Although Mtp18 is abundant in cardiac muscles, its role in cardiac apoptosis remains elusive. The present study aimed to detect the role of Mtp18 in H2O2-induced mitochondrial fission and apoptosis in cardiomyocytes. We studied the effect of Mtp18 in cardiomyocytes by modulating its expression with lentiviral construct of Mtp18-shRNA and Mtp18 c-DNA, respectively. We then analyzed mitochondrial morphological dynamics with MitoTracker Red staining; apoptosis with terminal deoxynucleotidyl transferase-mediated dUTP nick-end-labeling (TUNEL) and cell death detection assays; and protein expression with immunoblotting. Here, we observed that Mtp18 could regulate oxidative stress- mediated mitochondrial fission and apoptosis in cardiac myocytes. Mechanistically, we found that Mtp8 induced mitochondrial fission and apoptosis by enhancing dynamin-related protein 1 (Drp1) accumulation. Conversely, knockdown of Mtp18 interfered with Drp1-associated mitochondrial fission and subsequent activation of apoptosis in both HL-1 cells and primary cardiomyocytes. However, overexpression of Mtp18 alone was not sufficient to execute apoptosis when Drp1 was minimally expressed, suggesting that Mtp18 and Drp1 are interdependent in apoptotic cascade. Together, these data highlight the role of Mtp18 in cardiac apoptosis and provide a novel therapeutic insight to minimize cardiomyocyte loss via targetting mitochondrial dynamics.

Knockdown of Mtfp1 can minimize doxorubicin cardiotoxicity by inhibiting Dnm1l-mediated mitochondrial fission.

The long-term usage of doxorubicin (DOX) is largely limited due to the development of severe cardiomyopathy. Many studies indicate that DOX-induced cardiac injury is related to reactive oxygen species generation and ultimate activation of apoptosis. The role of novel mitochondrial fission protein 1 (Mtfp1) in DOX-induced cardiotoxicity remains elusive. Here, we report the pro-mitochondrial fission and pro-apoptotic roles of Mtfp1 in DOX-induced cardiotoxicity. DOX up-regulates the Mtfp1 expression in HL-1 cardiac myocytes. Knockdown of Mtfp1 prevents cardiac myocyte from undergoing mitochondrial fission, and subsequently reduces the DOX-induced apoptosis by preventing dynamin 1-like (Dnm1l) accumulation in mitochondria. In contrast, when Mtfp1 is overexpressed, a suboptimal dose of DOX can induce a significant percentage of cells to undergo mitochondrial fission and apoptosis. These data suggest that knocking down of Mtfp1 can minimize the cardiomyocytes loss in DOX-induced cardiotoxicity. Thus, the regulation of Mtfp1 expression could be a novel therapeutic approach in chemotherapy-induced cardiotoxicity.

The mitochondrial ubiquitin ligase plays an anti-apoptotic role in cardiomyocytes by regulating mitochondrial fission.

Apoptosis plays a critical role in the development of myocardial infarction. Cardiomyocytes are enriched with mitochondria and excessive mitochondrial fission can trigger cellular apoptosis. Recently, the mitochondrial ubiquitin ligase (MITOL), localized in the mitochondrial outer membrane, was reported to play an important role in the regulation of mitochondrial dynamics and apoptosis. However, the underlying mechanism of its action remains uncertain. The present study was aimed at uncovering the role of MITOL in the regulation of cardiomyocyte apoptosis. Our results showed that MITOL expression was up-regulated in cardiomyocytes in response to apoptotic stimulation. Mitochondrial ubiquitin ligase overexpression blocked dynamin-related protein 1 accumulation in the mitochondria, and attenuated the mitochondrial fission induced by hydrogen peroxide. Conversely, MITOL knockdown sensitized cardiomyocytes to undergo mitochondrial fission, resulting in subsequent apoptosis. These findings suggest that MITOL plays a protective role against apoptosis in cardiomyocytes, and may serve as a potential therapeutic target for apoptosis-related cardiac diseases.

Mitochondrial protein 18 (MTP18) plays a pro-apoptotic role in chemotherapy-induced gastric cancer cell apoptosis.

One of the severe limitations of chemotherapy is the development of drug resistance. However, the mechanisms underlying chemotherapy resistance remain to be elucidated. Mitochondrial mediated apoptosis is a form of cell death induced by chemotherapy. Several chemotherapeutic agents have been shown to induce mitochondrial fission, and finally activate the apoptosis cascade in various cancer cells. Here, we report that the mitochondrial membrane protein 18 (MTP18) induced mitochondrial fragmentation in gastric cancer cells under doxorubicin (DOX) exposure. Upon over-expression of MTP18, a sub-cytotoxic dose of DOX could sensitize a significant number of cells to undergo mitochondrial fission and subsequent apoptosis. These findings suggest that MTP18 can enhance the sensitivity of gastric cancer cells to DOX. Mechanistically, we found that MTP18 enriched dynamic-related protein 1 (DRP1) accumulation in mitochondria and it was responsible for mediating DOX-induced signaling required for mitochondrial fission. Intriguingly, MTP18 expression was downregulated during DOX treatment. Thus, down-regulation of MTP18 expression could be one of the resistance factors interfering with DOX-induced apoptosis in gastric cancer cells.