Moving or stopping mitochondria: Miro as a traffic cop by sensing calcium.
Mitochondrial transport in neurons and their spatial distribution among synapses are directly correlated with synaptic activity. One paper in this issue of Neuron (MacAskill et al.) and two papers recently published in Cell (Wang and Schwarz) and PNAS (Saotome et al.) provide compelling evidence that Miro serves as a calcium sensor that controls mitochondrial mobility.
Cai
Qian
Q
Synaptic Function Section, National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke, National Institutes of Health, Building 35, Room 3B203, 35 Convent Drive, Bethesda, MD 20892-3701, USA.
Sheng
Zu-Hang
ZH
D000818:Animals; D004330:Drosophila / Q000502:physiology; D029721:Drosophila Proteins / Q000502:physiology*; D008928:Mitochondria / Q000502:physiology*; D009419:Nerve Tissue Proteins / Q000502:physiology; D009474:Neurons / Q000502:physiology; D044169:Receptors, Calcium-Sensing / Q000502:physiology*; D013569:Synapses / Q000502:physiology; D020741:rho GTP-Binding Proteins / Q000502:physiology*
D029721:Drosophila Proteins; D009419:Nerve Tissue Proteins; D044169:Receptors, Calcium-Sensing; C470348:milt protein, Drosophila; C504427:Miro protein, Drosophila; D020741:rho GTP-Binding Proteins