title: Mutant huntingtin expression induces mitochondrial calcium handling defects in clonal striatal cells: functional consequences.
abstract: Huntington disease (HD) is caused by a pathological elongation of CAG repeats in the huntingtin protein gene and is characterized by atrophy and neuronal loss primarily in the striatum. Mitochondrial dysfunction and impaired Ca2+ homeostasis in HD have been suggested previously. Here, we elucidate the effects of Ca2+ on mitochondria from the wild type (STHdhQ7/Q7) and mutant (STHdhQ111/Q111) huntingtin-expressing cells of striatal origin. When treated with increasing Ca2+ concentrations, mitochondria from mutant huntingtin-expressing cells showed enhanced sensitivity to Ca2+, as they were more sensitive to Ca2+-induced decreases in state 3 respiration and DeltaPsim, than mitochondria from wild type cells. Further, mutant huntingtin-expressing cells had a reduced mitochondrial Ca2+ uptake capacity in comparison with wild type cells. Decreases in state 3 respiration were associated with increased mitochondrial membrane permeability. The DeltaPsim defect was attenuated in the presence of ADP and the decreases in Ca2+ uptake capacity were abolished in the presence of Permeability Transition Pore (PTP) inhibitors. These findings clearly indicate that mutant huntingtin-expressing cells have mitochondrial Ca2+ handling defects that result in respiratory deficits and that the increased sensitivity to Ca2+ induced mitochondrial permeabilization maybe a contributing mechanism to the mitochondrial dysfunction in HD.
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry, University of Alabama at Birmingham, Birmingham, Alabama 35294-0017, USA.
authors.forename: Tamara
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Milakovic
authors.forename: Rodrigo A
authors.initials: RA
authors.lastname: Quintanilla
authors.forename: Gail V W
authors.initials: GV
authors.lastname: Johnson
mesh_terms: D002118:Calcium / Q000378:metabolism*; D002460:Cell Line; D006801:Humans; D000071058:Huntingtin Protein; D008928:Mitochondria / Q000378:metabolism*; D051336:Mitochondrial Membranes / Q000378:metabolism; D009154:Mutation; D017072:Neostriatum / Q000166:cytology*; D009419:Nerve Tissue Proteins / Q000235:genetics* / Q000378:metabolism*; D009474:Neurons / Q000378:metabolism*; D009687:Nuclear Proteins / Q000235:genetics* / Q000378:metabolism*
chemical_list: C086055:HTT protein, human; D000071058:Huntingtin Protein; D009419:Nerve Tissue Proteins; D009687:Nuclear Proteins; D002118:Calcium