Loss of Dendritic Complexity Precedes Neurodegeneration in a Mouse Model with Disrupted Mitochondrial Distribution in Mature Dendrites

López-Doménech G, Higgs NF, Vaccaro V, Roš H, Arancibia-Cárcamo IL, MacAskill AF, Kittler JT

http://www.cell.com/cell-reports/abstract/S2211-1247(16)31208-6

Miro proteins link mitochondria to motor proteins, allowing them to be trafficked through neurons. In this study, the authors disrupted the expression of Miro proteins in neurons to understand the role of mitochondrial trafficking in neurodegeneration. The authors found that Miro1-KO caused the distribution of mitochondria in dendrites (the branched extensions of nerve cells which receive electrochemical signals from other neurons) to become more accumulated around the soma, and more sparse along dendrites. Miro1-KO cells also appeared smaller and less developed than wild-type neurons; this was also shown to be the case in an inducible Miro1-KO system in mature neurons of the forebrain of mice. The deletion of this gene was associated with neurodegeneration 12 months after induction of Miro1-KO.