Mfn2 induces NCLX-mediated calcium release from mitochondria

Mfn2 is a mitochondrial outer membrane fusion protein with the additional role of tethering mitochondria to the ER. Here, we describe a novel connection between Mfn2 and calcium release from mitochondria. We show that Mfn2 controls the mitochondrial inner membrane sodium-calcium exchange protein NCLX, which is a major source for calcium release from mitochondria. This discovery was made with the fungal toxin Phomoxanthone (PXA), which induces calcium release from mitochondria. PXA-induced calcium release is blocked by a chemical inhibitor of NCLX, while NCLX and Mfn2 deletions both also prevent PXA-induced calcium release. CETSA experiments show that PXA directly targets Mfn2, which likely controls NCLX through physical interactions since co-immunoprecipitation and proximity ligation assays show increased association between Mfn2 and NCLX upon treatment with PXA. Interactions between Mfn2 and NCLX also increase when cells are treated with mitochondrial ROS-inducing conditions, such as oligomycin treatment of respiring cells, while the interactions do not increase in Oma1 -/- cells. It seems likely that opening of cristae by Oma1-mediated cleavage of Opa1 promotes translocation of NCLX from cristae to the rim where it can come into contact with Mfn2 thus promoting PXA-induced calcium release from mitochondria. These results therefore delineate a pathway that connects ROS produced inside mitochondria with calcium release and signaling in the cytosol.