Related Experiment Video
Updated: May 27, 2026

Time-Lapse Video Microscopy for Assessment of EYFP-Parkin Aggregation as a Marker for Cellular Mitophagy
Published on: May 4, 2016
PINK1 and Parkin target Miro for phosphorylation and degradation to arrest mitochondrial motility
Xinnan Wang1, Dominic Winter, Ghazaleh Ashrafi
1F.M. Kirby Neurobiology Center, Children's Hospital Boston, Boston, MA 02115, USA.
Abstract:
Cells keep their energy balance and avoid oxidative stress by regulating mitochondrial movement, distribution, and clearance. We report here that two Parkinson's disease proteins, the Ser/Thr kinase PINK1 and ubiquitin ligase Parkin, participate in this regulation by arresting mitochondrial movement. PINK1 phosphorylates Miro, a component of the primary motor/adaptor complex that anchors kinesin to the mitochondrial surface. The phosphorylation of Miro activates proteasomal degradation of Miro in a Parkin-dependent manner. Removal of Miro from the mitochondrion also detaches kinesin from its surface. By preventing mitochondrial movement, the PINK1/Parkin pathway may quarantine damaged mitochondria prior to their clearance. PINK1 has been shown to act upstream of Parkin, but the mechanism corresponding to this relationship has not been known. We propose that PINK1 phosphorylation of substrates triggers the subsequent action of Parkin and the proteasome.
Related Concept Videos
PI3K/mTOR/AKT Signaling Pathway
Translocation of Proteins into the Mitochondria
Sorting of outer membrane proteins:
Mitochondrial outer membrane proteins are of two types: the transmembrane, beta-barrel porins, and the membrane-anchored, alpha-helical proteins. Beta-barrel porin precursors are translocated by the TOM complex and inserted into the outer mitochondrial membrane by the SAM complex. In contrast,...
Mitochondrial Precursor Proteins
Most of the mitochondrial precursors...
Destabilization of Microtubules
Microtubule Associated Proteins (MAPs)
Mitochondrial Protein Sorting
Most of these mitochondrial proteins are encoded by the nucleus and imported to the mitochondria as unfolded or loosely folded precursors. Mitochondrial precursors...
