Biophysical Society Thematic Meeting| Padova 2019

Quantitative Aspects of Membrane Fusion and Fission

Poster Abstracts

2-POS Board 2 THE PROTOTYPICAL G PROTEIN-COUPLED M 2 MUSCARINIC RECEPTOR ACTS AS A NOVEL REGULATORY ELEMENT OF THE MITOCHONDRIAL FUNCTION THROUGH ITS CARBOXYL TERMINAL DOMAIN Paolo Annibale ; Roberto Maggio 2 ; Martin J Lohse 1 ; 1 Max Delbrück Center Berlin, Signaling Processes of Receptors, Berlin, Germany 2 Universita` degli Studi dell'Aquila, Department of Life, Health and Environmental Sciences, L'Aquila, Italy Muscarinic acetylcholine receptors are prototypical G protein-coupled receptors activated by the endogenous neurotransmitter acetylcholine. We show that the carboxyl terminal fragment of the muscarinic M 2 receptor, containing the transmembrane regions VI and VII (M 2 tail), is expressed by virtue of an internal ribosome entry site. The M 2 tail fragment does not follow the normal route to the plasma membrane, as does the parental wild type M 2 receptor, but is sorted to the mitochondria where it appears to controls oxygen consumption and the formation of oxygen radical species. To the best of our knowledge, the expression of a carboxyl-terminal M 2 receptor that proves capable of regulating mitochondrial function, constitutes a novel mechanism that cells may use for controlling their metabolism under variable environmental conditions.

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