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Published on: November 10, 2023
Mitochondrial disruption in Drosophila apoptosis
Eltyeb Abdelwahid1, Takakazu Yokokura, Ronald J Krieser
1Cutaneous Biology Research Center, Massachusetts General Hospital/Harvard Medical School, Building 149, 13th Street, Charlestown, MA 02129, USA.
Developmental Cell
|May 10, 2007
Summary
Mitochondrial disruption is confirmed in fly apoptosis. Reaper and Hid proteins trigger mitochondrial permeability, a process involving caspases and Drp1, crucial for developmental cell death.
Area of Science:
- Cell Biology
- Developmental Biology
- Genetics
Background:
- Mitochondrial disruption is a conserved mechanism in apoptosis across many species.
- The role of mitochondrial changes in Drosophila (fruit fly) apoptosis remains largely unconfirmed despite conserved apoptotic pathways.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the role of mitochondrial permeability in Drosophila apoptosis.
- To determine if endogenous apoptosis regulators, Reaper and Hid, induce mitochondrial changes in flies.
Main Methods:
- Studied the effect of Reaper and Hid expression on Drosophila mitochondria.
- Utilized microscopy to observe mitochondrial ultrastructure changes.
- Investigated the involvement of caspases and the dynamin-related protein, Drp1, in mitochondrial disruption.
- Assessed the impact of inhibiting Reaper/Hid mitochondrial localization or Drp1 on apoptosis.
Main Results:
- Drosophila mitochondria become permeable upon expression of Reaper and Hid.
- Reaper and Hid rapidly localize to mitochondria, altering their ultrastructure.
- Caspase activation alone is insufficient for mitochondrial permeabilization but contributes to Reaper/Hid-induced changes.
- The dynamin-related protein, Drp1, is essential for Reaper- and DNA-damage-induced mitochondrial disruption.
Conclusions:
- Mitochondrial disruption plays a significant role in Reaper- and Hid-mediated developmental apoptosis in Drosophila.
- Inhibiting mitochondrial localization of Reaper/Hid or Drp1 function effectively suppresses apoptosis in flies.
