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MPV17 encodes an inner mitochondrial membrane protein and is mutated in infantile hepatic mitochondrial DNA depletion

Nature Genetics volume 38, pages 570–575 (2006)Cite this article

Abstract

The mitochondrial (mt) DNA depletion syndromes (MDDS) are genetic disorders characterized by a severe, tissue-specific decrease of mtDNA copy number, leading to organ failure. There are two main clinical presentations: myopathic (OMIM 609560) and hepatocerebral1 (OMIM 251880). Known mutant genes, including TK2 (ref. 2), SUCLA2 (ref. 3), DGUOK (ref. 4) and POLG5,6, account for only a fraction of MDDS cases7. We found a new locus for hepatocerebral MDDS on chromosome 2p21-23 and prioritized the genes on this locus using a new integrative genomics strategy. One of the top-scoring candidates was the human ortholog of the mouse kidney disease gene Mpv17 (ref. 8). We found disease-segregating mutations in three families with hepatocerebral MDDS and demonstrated that, contrary to the alleged peroxisomal localization of the MPV17 gene product9, MPV17 is a mitochondrial inner membrane protein, and its absence or malfunction causes oxidative phosphorylation (OXPHOS) failure and mtDNA depletion, not only in affected individuals but also in Mpv17−/− mice.

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Figure 1: Linkage analysis, selection of candidate genes and mutation analysis.
Figure 2: MPV17 transcript, gene organization and protein.
Figure 3: Complementation studies in Saccharomyces cerevisiae.
Figure 4: Mitochondrial localization of MPV17.
Figure 5: Mpv17 versus peroxisomal PMP70 immunostaining.
Figure 6: Characterization of Mpv17−/− mice.

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Acknowledgements

We are indebted to B. Geehan for revising the manuscript, E. Lamantea for technical assistance and L. Palmieri for critical discussion. This work was supported by Fondazione Telethon-Italy (grant GGP030039), Fondazione Pierfranco e Luisa Mariani and MITOCIRCLE and EUMITOCOMBAT network grants from the European Union Framework Program 6.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Unit of Molecular Neurogenetics, Pierfranco and Luisa Mariani Center for the Study of Children's Mitochondrial Disorders, National Neurological Institute “C. Besta”, Milan, 20126, Italy

    Antonella Spinazzola, Carlo Viscomi, Erika Fernandez-Vizarra, Franco Carrara, Valeria Tiranti & Massimo Zeviani

  2. Linkage Unit & Service, Telethon Institute for Genetic Medicine (TIGEM), Naples, 80131, Italy

    Pio D'Adamo & Paolo Gasparini

  3. Center for Human Genetic Research, Massachusetts General Hospital, Cambridge, 02114, Massachusetts, USA

    Sarah Calvo & Vamsi K Mootha

  4. Department of Systems Biology, Harvard Medical School, Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA

    Sarah Calvo & Vamsi K Mootha

  5. Broad Institute of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Harvard University, Cambridge, 02446, Massachusetts, USA

    Sarah Calvo & Vamsi K Mootha

  6. Department of Genetics Anthropology Evolution, University of Parma, Parma, 43100, Italy

    René Massimiliano Marsano, Claudia Donnini & Iliana Ferrero

  7. University for Applied Sciences Bonn-Rhein-Sieg, Bonn, 53359, Germany

    Hans Weiher

  8. Department of Clinical and Experimental Medicine, University of Catanzaro Magna Graecia, Catanzaro, 88100, Italy

    Pietro Strisciuglio

  9. Unit of Pediatrics, Pierfranco and Luisa Mariani Center for the Study of Children's Metabolic Disorders, University Hospital, Milano-Bicocca State University, Monza, 20052, Italy

    Rossella Parini

  10. Department of Genetics and INSERM Unit U393, Hôpital Necker-Enfants Malades, Paris, 75015, France

    Emmanuelle Sarzi & Agnes Rötig

  11. Department of Medical Genetics, University of Alberta, Edmonton, T6G 2H7, Alberta, Canada

    Alicia Chan

  12. Department of Neurology, College of Physicians and Surgeons, Columbia University, New York, 10032, New York, USA

    Salvatore DiMauro

  13. Department of Medical Genetics, University of Trieste, Trieste, 34137, Italy

    Paolo Gasparini

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Correspondence to Massimo Zeviani.

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Supplementary information

Supplementary Fig. 1

Clinical and molecular characterization of individuals with mutant MPV17. (PDF 101 kb)

Supplementary Fig. 2

Alkali treatment of mitochondrial membranes. (PDF 87 kb)

Supplementary Table 1

Strategy for site-directed mutagenesis. (PDF 40 kb)

Supplementary Table 2

Oligonucleotides used for DNA blot and real-time PCR analyses on mouse genome. (PDF 32 kb)

Supplementary Table 3

Strategy for nucleotide sequencing of the human MPV17 gene. (PDF 31 kb)

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Spinazzola, A., Viscomi, C., Fernandez-Vizarra, E. et al. MPV17 encodes an inner mitochondrial membrane protein and is mutated in infantile hepatic mitochondrial DNA depletion. Nat Genet 38, 570–575 (2006). https://doi.org/10.1038/ng1765

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