CERKL, a retinal dystrophy gene, regulates mitochondrial function and dynamics in the mammalian retina

oleh: Serena Mirra, Rocío García-Arroyo, Elena B. Domènech, Aleix Gavaldà-Navarro, Carlos Herrera-Úbeda, Clara Oliva, Jordi Garcia-Fernàndez, Rafael Artuch, Francesc Villarroya, Gemma Marfany

Format: Article
Diterbitkan: Elsevier 2021-08-01

Deskripsi

The retina is a highly active metabolic organ that displays a particular vulnerability to genetic and environmental factors causing stress and homeostatic imbalance. Mitochondria constitute a bioenergetic hub that coordinates stress response and cellular homeostasis, therefore structural and functional regulation of the mitochondrial dynamic network is essential for the mammalian retina. CERKL (ceramide kinase like) is a retinal degeneration gene whose mutations cause Retinitis Pigmentosa in humans, a visual disorder characterized by photoreceptors neurodegeneration and progressive vision loss. CERKL produces multiple isoforms with a dynamic subcellular localization. Here we show that a pool of CERKL isoforms localizes at mitochondria in mouse retinal ganglion cells. The depletion of CERKL levels in CerklKD/KO (knockdown/knockout) mouse retinas cause increase of autophagy, mitochondrial fragmentation, alteration of mitochondrial distribution, and dysfunction of mitochondrial-dependent bioenergetics and metabolism. Our results support CERKL as a regulator of autophagy and mitochondrial biology in the mammalian retina.