Mitochondrial calcium ( m Ca 2+ ) has a central role in both metabolic regulation and cell death signalling, however its role in homeostatic function and disease is controversial 1 . Slc8b1 encodes the mitochondrial Na + /Ca 2+ exchanger (NCLX), which is proposed to be the primary mechanism for m Ca 2+ extrusion in excitable cells 2,3 . Here we show that tamoxifen-induced deletion of Slc8b1Reprints and permissions information is available at www.nature.com/reprints.

Impairments in neuronal intracellular calcium (i Ca 2+) handling may contribute to Alzheimer's disease (AD) development. Metabolic dysfunction and progressive neuronal loss are associated with AD progression, and mitochondrial calcium (m Ca 2+) signaling is a key regulator of both of these processes. Here, we report remodeling of the m Ca 2+ exchange machinery in the prefrontal cortex of individuals with AD. In the 3xTg-AD mouse model impaired m Ca 2+ efflux capacity precedes neuropathology. Neuronal deletion of the mitochondrial Na + /Ca 2+ exchanger (NCLX, Slc8b1 gene) accelerated memory decline and increased amyloidosis and tau pathology. Further, genetic rescue of neuronal NCLX in 3xTg-AD mice is sufficient to impede AD-associated pathology and memory loss. We show that m Ca 2+ overload contributes to AD progression by promoting superoxide generation, metabolic dysfunction and neuronal cell death. These results provide a link between the calcium dysregulation and metabolic dysfunction hypotheses of AD and suggest m Ca 2+ exchange as potential therapeutic target in AD.

Mitochondrial Calcium (mCa 2+) overload is a central event in myocardial-ischemia reperfusion (IR) injury that leads to metabolic derangement as well as activation of the mitochondrial permeability transition pore (mPTP). mPTP activation results in necrosis and loss of cardiomyocytes which results in acute death in some individuals while survivors are prone to developing heart failure and are predisposed to recurrent infarction events. mCa 2+ has also long been known to activate cellular bioenergetics implicating mCa 2+ in the highly metabolically demanding state of cardiac contractility. The mitochondrial calcium uniporter channel (mtCU) is a multi-subunit complex that resides in the inner mitochondrial membrane and is required for mitochondrial Ca 2+ (mCa 2+) uptake. Mitochondrial Calcium Uniporter B (MCUB, CCDC109B gene), a recently identified paralog of MCU, is reported to negatively regulate mCa 2+ uptake; however, its precise regulation of uniporter function and contribution to cardiac physiology remain unresolved. Size exclusion chromatography of mitochondria isolated from ventricular tissue revealed MCUB was undetectable in the high-molecular weight (MW) fraction of sham animals (~700kD, size of functional mtCU), but 24 hours following myocardial ischemia-reperfusion injury (IR) MCUB was clearly observed in the high-MW fraction. To investigate how MCUB contributes to mtCU regulation we created a stable MCUB-/-HeLa cell line using CRISPR-Cas9n. MCUB deletion increased histamine-mediated mCa 2+ transient amplitude by ~50% versus Wild-Type (WT) controls (mito-R-GECO1). Further, MCUB deletion increased mtCU capacitance (patch-clamp) and rate of [mCa 2+ ] uptake. Fast

Fibroblast to myofibroblast differentiation is crucial for the initial healing response but excessive myofibroblast activation leads to pathological fibrosis. Therefore, it is imperative to understand the mechanisms underlying myofibroblast formation. Here we report that mitochondrial calcium (mCa2+) signaling is a regulatory mechanism in myofibroblast differentiation and fibrosis. We demonstrate that fibrotic signaling alters gating of the mitochondrial calcium uniporter (mtCU) in a MICU1-dependent fashion to reduce mCa2+ uptake and induce coordinated changes in metabolism, i.e., increased glycolysis feeding anabolic pathways and glutaminolysis yielding increased α-ketoglutarate (αKG) bioavailability. mCa2+-dependent metabolic reprogramming leads to the activation of αKG-dependent histone demethylases, enhancing chromatin accessibility in loci specific to the myofibroblast gene program, resulting in differentiation. Our results uncover an important role for the mtCU beyond metabolic regulation and cell death and demonstrate that mCa2+ signaling regulates the epigenome to influence cellular differentiation.

No abstract