Diaphragmatic Mitochondrial Myopathy in a Patient-Derived Mouse Model of Barth Syndrome

Barth syndrome (BTHS) is a rare, X-linked genetic disorder caused by mutations in the enzyme TAFAZZIN (TAZ), resulting in insufficient cardiolipin (CL) remodeling and mitochondrial dysfunction. While BTHS respiratory distress and breathing difficulties are commonly reported, the precise role of intrinsic respiratory tissue vulnerabilities has only recently begun to be appreciated. Historically, BTHS respiratory distress is frequently attributed to secondary consequences like cardiomyopathy or generalized skeletal myopathy, leaving the intrinsic vulnerability of vital respiratory muscles poorly understood. Using a patient-tailored point mutant knock-in mouse model (Taz^PM) harboring a stable but enzymatically deficient Taz^D75H protein, we investigated the autonomous physiological and metabolic responses in the diaphragm and lungs. Contrary to the paradigm that respiratory muscles are unaffected, Taz^PM diaphragms exhibit structurally abnormal mitochondria and undergo a survival-critical, bifurcated compensatory remodeling response to prevent fatal respiratory failure under severe bioenergetic stress. The Taz^PM adaptive mechanism is orchestrated by chronic activation of the mitochondrial Integrated Stress Response (ISR) via the Gcn2/eIF2α signaling pathway. This stress pathway halts global translation to conserve cellular ATP at the expense of reduced NAD+ levels, while selectively upregulating defensive mitokines and metabolic sirtuins and structural muscle remodeling. Furthermore, the Taz^PM diaphragm transitions into a highly specialized, slow-twitch motor system that is expected to reduce the energy cost per contraction. Concurrently, despite Taz^PM lungs exhibiting structurally abnormal mitochondria, they resist generalized mitochondrial collapse despite ADP reduction, executing tissue-specific metabolic reprogramming and localized biochemical adaptations to sustain respiratory homeostasis.