Protein kinase DYRK1A identified as a central integrator and synchronizer of the mitochondrial import machinery

Mitochondrial proteins are synthesized in the cytosol and are imported into mitochondria, where they are involved in converting the energy contained in our food into the cell-usable energy form adenosine triphosphate (ATP).

Network of mitochondria in human cells (green: mitochondria, blue: nucleus). Picture: Group Claudine Kraft, University of Freiburg

In a recent study the groups of Chris Meisinger (A06) and Nora Vögtle (B04) found that the protein machinery responsible for the import is regulated by a signal integrator which ensures that the mitochondria receive the proteins required for the respective metabolic state. This particular signalling integrator is the protein kinase DYRK1A (dual-specificity tyrosine-phosphorylation-regulated kinase 1A), which the researchers had previously identified as an activator of the TOM70 import receptor.

In further investigations, they were now able to show that the activity of DYRK1A regulates the availability of the other import receptors. This leads to a remodelling of the TOM complex and adaption of the import machinery to the acute metabolic situation.

The original publication has been published in Nature Communications.

Illustration: Marada et al. (2024), Nat Commun 15(1), 5265