Structural highlights
Function
[MFN1_MOUSE] Essential transmembrane GTPase, which mediates mitochondrial fusion. Fusion of mitochondria occurs in many cell types and constitutes an important step in mitochondria morphology, which is balanced between fusion and fission. MFN1 acts independently of the cytoskeleton. Overexpression induces the formation of mitochondrial networks.[1] [2]
Evolutionary Conservation
Check, as determined by ConSurfDB. You may read the explanation of the method and the full data available from ConSurf.
Publication Abstract from PubMed
Vesicle fusion involves vesicle tethering, docking, and membrane merger. We show that mitofusin, an integral mitochondrial membrane protein, is required on adjacent mitochondria to mediate fusion, which indicates that mitofusin complexes act in trans (that is, between adjacent mitochondria). A heptad repeat region (HR2) mediates mitofusin oligomerization by assembling a dimeric, antiparallel coiled coil. The transmembrane segments are located at opposite ends of the 95 angstrom coiled coil and provide a mechanism for organelle tethering. Consistent with this proposal, truncated mitofusin, in an HR2-dependent manner, causes mitochondria to become apposed with a uniform gap. Our results suggest that HR2 functions as a mitochondrial tether before fusion.
Structural basis of mitochondrial tethering by mitofusin complexes.,Koshiba T, Detmer SA, Kaiser JT, Chen H, McCaffery JM, Chan DC Science. 2004 Aug 6;305(5685):858-62. PMID:15297672[3]
From MEDLINE®/PubMed®, a database of the U.S. National Library of Medicine.
References
- ↑ Chen H, Detmer SA, Ewald AJ, Griffin EE, Fraser SE, Chan DC. Mitofusins Mfn1 and Mfn2 coordinately regulate mitochondrial fusion and are essential for embryonic development. J Cell Biol. 2003 Jan 20;160(2):189-200. Epub 2003 Jan 13. PMID:12527753 doi:http://dx.doi.org/10.1083/jcb.200211046
- ↑ Koshiba T, Detmer SA, Kaiser JT, Chen H, McCaffery JM, Chan DC. Structural basis of mitochondrial tethering by mitofusin complexes. Science. 2004 Aug 6;305(5685):858-62. PMID:15297672 doi:10.1126/science.1099793
- ↑ Koshiba T, Detmer SA, Kaiser JT, Chen H, McCaffery JM, Chan DC. Structural basis of mitochondrial tethering by mitofusin complexes. Science. 2004 Aug 6;305(5685):858-62. PMID:15297672 doi:10.1126/science.1099793
