Imbalance of mitochondrial dynamics in Drosophila models of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis

Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) is the most common neurodegenerative disease, characterized by progressive and selective loss of motor neurons in the brain and spinal cord. DNA/RNA-binding proteins such as TDP-43, FUS, and TAF15 have been linked with the sporadic and familial forms of ALS. However, the exact pathogenic mechanism of ALS is still unknown. Recently, we found that ALS-causing genes such as TDP-43, FUS, and TAF15 genetically interact with mitochondrial dynamics regulatory genes. In this study, we show that mitochondrial fission was highly enhanced in muscles and motor neurons of TDP-43, FUS, and TAF15-induced fly models of ALS. Furthermore, the mitochondrial fission defects were rescued by co-expression of mitochondrial dynamics regulatory genes such as Marf, Opa1, and the dominant negative mutant form of Drp1. Moreover, we found that the expression level of Marf was decreased in ALS-induced flies. These results indicate that the imbalance of mitochondrial dynamics caused by instability of Marf is linked to the pathogenesis of TDP-43, FUS, and TAF15-associated ALS.