Possible existence of lysosome-like organella within mitochondria

2016 Fiscal Year Final Research Report

• Project/Area Number: 15K15093
• Research Category: Grant-in-Aid for Challenging Exploratory Research
• Allocation Type: Multi-year Fund
• Research Field: Pathological medical chemistry
• Research Institution: National Cancer Center Japan
• Principal Investigator: Arakawa Hirofumi 国立研究開発法人国立がん研究センター, 研究所, 分野長 (70313088)
• Project Period (FY): 2015-04-01 – 2017-03-31
• Keywords: リソソーム / ミトコンドリア / タンパク質分解 / 品質管理 / 活性酸素種 / 酸化ストレス / 酸化タンパク質

Outline of Final Research Achievements

In order to evaluate the existence of the intramitochondrial lysosome, we performed electron microscopic analysis using the various organs and/or tissues of Mieap-wild and knockout mice. As the result, we did not morphologically observe any lysosome-like structures within the mitochondria. However, in the live-imaging experiment with various cell lines, we succeeded to visualize the process of the Mieap-induced accumulation of lysosome-like organelles within mitochondria. These results suggest that Mieap-regulated mitochondrial quality control is critically different from canonical lysosomal function.

Free Research Field

腫瘍生物学