Aprataxin localizes to mitochondria and preserves mitochondrial function

• Published in: Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences - PNAS Vol. 108; no. 18; pp. 7437 - 7442
• Main Authors: Sykora, Peter, Croteau, Deborah L, Bohr, Vilhelm A, Wilson, David M. III
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: United States National Academy of Sciences 03.05.2011; National Acad Sciences
• Subjects: amino acid sequences; Amino acids; Ataxia; Biological Sciences; Cell Line, Tumor; Cell lines; Cells; cerebellum; Cerebellum - metabolism; citrate (si)-synthase; Citrate (si)-Synthase - metabolism; DNA; DNA Damage; DNA repair; DNA-Binding Proteins - metabolism; Ethidium - analogs & derivatives; Fluorescent Antibody Technique; Gene Knockdown Techniques; genes; histidine; Humans; hydrolases; Linear Models; Mitochondria; Mitochondria - metabolism; Mitochondria - physiology; Mitochondrial DNA; Musculoskeletal system; Mutation; myoblasts; Myoblasts - metabolism; Neurons; nuclear genome; Nuclear Proteins - metabolism; protein isoforms; Proteins; Purkinje cells; Reactive Oxygen Species - metabolism; Reverse Transcriptase Polymerase Chain Reaction; skeletal muscle
• ISSN: 0027-8424; 1091-6490
• DOI: 10.1073/pnas.1100084108

Ataxia with oculomotor apraxia 1 is caused by mutation in the APTX gene, which encodes the DNA strand-break repair protein aprataxin. Aprataxin exhibits homology to the histidine triad superfamily of nucleotide hydrolases and transferases and removes 5'-adenylate groups from DNA that arise from aborted ligation reactions. We report herein that aprataxin localizes to mitochondria in human cells and we identify an N-terminal amino acid sequence that targets certain isoforms of the protein to this intracellular compartment. We also show that transcripts encoding this unique N-terminal stretch are expressed in the human brain, with highest production in the cerebellum. Depletion of aprataxin in human SH-SY5Y neuroblastoma cells and primary skeletal muscle myoblasts results in mitochondrial dysfunction, which is revealed by reduced citrate synthase activity and mtDNA copy number. Moreover, mtDNA, not nuclear DNA, was found to have higher levels of background DNA damage on aprataxin knockdown, suggesting a direct role for the enzyme in mtDNA processing.