Mitochondria are appreciated for their role in metabolism. It is less well understood how they contribute to protein homeostasis. Mitochondria contain several proteases that can exit into the cytosol. Also, extramitochondrial proteins can be transported into these organelles for degradation. The main cytosolic machinery that degrades proteins is the proteasome. Inhibitors of the proteasome are used for treatment of the hematopoietic cancer Multiple Myeloma. We found that the mitochondrial protease LonP1 is upregulated when cells are treated with proteasome inhibitors and reduces the effect of these drugs. Specific LonP1 inhibitors might therefore synergize with proteasome inhibitors in the treatment of this incurable cancer. A video abstract of our publication in Cancers is available here.
Catic Lab 