The mitochondrial Ca2+ uniporter (MCU) complex mediates acute mitochondrial Ca2+ influx. In skeletal muscle, MCU links Ca2+ signaling to energy production by directly enhancing the activity of key metabolic enzymes in the mitochondria. Here, we examined the role of MCU in skeletal muscle development and metabolic function by generating mouse models for the targeted deletion of Mcu in embryonic, postnatal, and adult skeletal muscle. Loss of Mcu did not affect muscle growth and maturation or otherwise cause pathology. Skeletal muscle–specific deletion of Mcu in mice also did not affect myofiber intracellular Ca2+ handling, but it did inhibit acute mitochondrial Ca2+ influx and mitochondrial respiration stimulated by Ca2+, resulting in reduced acute exercise performance in mice. However, loss of Mcu also resulted in enhanced muscle performance under conditions of fatigue, with a preferential shift toward fatty acid metabolism, resulting in reduced body fat with aging. Together, these results demonstrate that MCU-mediated mitochondrial Ca2+ regulation underlies skeletal muscle fuel selection at baseline and under enhanced physiological demands, which affects total homeostatic metabolism.
Jennifer Q. Kwong, Jiuzhou Huo, Michael J. Bround, Justin G. Boyer, Jennifer A. Schwanekamp, Nasab Ghazal, Joshua T. Maxwell, Young C. Jang, Zaza Khuchua, Kevin Shi, Donald M. Bers, Jennifer Davis, Jeffery D. Molkentin
Title and authors | Publication | Year |
---|---|---|
Analyzing Mitochondrial Calcium Influx in Isolated Mitochondria.
Ghazal N, Kwong JQ |
Methods in molecular biology (Clifton, N.J.) | 2025 |
Regulation of calcium homeostasis in endoplasmic reticulum–mitochondria crosstalk: implications for skeletal muscle atrophy
Li X, Zhao X, Qin Z, Li J, Sun B, Liu L |
Cell Communication and Signaling : CCS | 2025 |
Leukemia inhibitory factor suppresses hepatic de novo lipogenesis and induces cachexia
Xue Yang, Jianming Wang, Chun-Yuan Chang, Fan Zhou, Juan Liu, Huiting Xu, Maria Ibrahim, Maria Gomez, Wei-Xing Zong, Fredric Wondisford, Xiaoyang Su, Eileen White, Zhaohui Feng, Wenwei Hu |
Nature Communications | 2024 |
Glucocorticoid intermittence coordinates rescue of energy and mass in aging-related sarcopenia through the myocyte-autonomous PGC1alpha-Lipin1 transactivation
Mattia Quattrocelli, Kevin McFarland, Karen Miz, Hima Durumutla, Kevin Piczer, Fadoua Soussi, Hannah Latimer, Cole Werbrich, N. Scott Blair, Douglas Millay, Brendan Prideaux, Brian Finck, Ashok Daniel Prabakaran |
Journal of Clinical Investigation | 2024 |
MCU-independent Ca(2+) uptake mediates mitochondrial Ca(2+) overload and necrotic cell death in a mouse model of Duchenne muscular dystrophy.
Bround MJ, Abay E, Huo J, Havens JR, York AJ, Bers DM, Molkentin JD |
Scientific Reports | 2024 |
Mitochondrial calcium uniporter promotes kidney aging in mice through inducing mitochondrial calcium-mediated renal tubular cell senescence.
Xiong YB, Huang WY, Ling X, Zhou S, Wang XX, Li XL, Zhou LL |
Acta Pharmacologica Sinica | 2024 |
Mitochondrial Calcium Signaling Regulates Branched-Chain Amino Acid Catabolism in Fibrolamellar Carcinoma
Marsh NM, MacEwen MJ, Chea J, Kenerson HL, Kwong AA, Locke TM, Miralles FJ, Sapre T, Gozali N, Atilla-Gokcumen GE, Ong SE, Scott JD, Yeung RS, Sancak Y |
2024 | |
Systematic mapping of mitochondrial calcium uniporter channel (MCUC)-mediated calcium signaling networks.
Delgado de la Herran H, Vecellio Reane D, Cheng Y, Katona M, Hosp F, Greotti E, Wettmarshausen J, Patron M, Mohr H, Prudente de Mello N, Chudenkova M, Gorza M, Walia S, Feng MS, Leimpek A, Mielenz D, Pellegata NS, Langer T, Hajnóczky G, Mann M, Murgia M, Perocchi F |
The EMBO journal | 2024 |
Mitochondrial Calcium Regulation of Cardiac Metabolism in Health and Disease.
Balderas E, Lee SHJ, Rai NK, Mollinedo DM, Duron HE, Chaudhuri D |
Physiology (Bethesda, Md.) | 2024 |
MCU genetically altered mice suggest how mitochondrial Ca2+ regulates metabolism
Huo J, Molkentin J |
Trends in endocrinology and metabolism: TEM | 2024 |
Rpl3l gene deletion in mice reduces heart weight over time
Grimes KM, Prasad V, Huo J, Kuwabara Y, Vanhoutte D, Baldwin TA, Bowers SL, Johansen AK, Sargent MA, Lin SC, Molkentin JD |
Frontiers in physiology | 2023 |
IGF-1 boosts mitochondrial function by a Ca2+ uptake-dependent mechanism in cultured human and rat cardiomyocytes
Sánchez-Aguilera P, López-Crisosto C, Norambuena-Soto I, Penannen C, Zhu J, Bomer N, Hoes MF, Van Der Meer P, Chiong M, Westenbrink BD, Lavandero S |
Frontiers in physiology | 2023 |
The mitochondrial Ca2+ channel MCU is critical for tumor growth by supporting cell cycle progression and proliferation
García EF, Paudel U, Noji MC, Bowman CE, Pitarresi JR, Rustgi AK, Wellen KE, Arany Z, Weissenrieder JS, Foskett JK |
2023 | |
Mitochondrial membrane potential instability on reperfusion after ischemia does not depend on mitochondrial Ca2+ uptake
Ashok D, Papanicolaou K, Sidor A, Wang M, Solhjoo S, Liu T, O\u2019Rourke B |
The Journal of biological chemistry | 2023 |
The mitochondrial Ca2+ channel MCU is critical for tumor growth by supporting cell cycle progression and proliferation
Fernandez Garcia E, Paudel U, Noji MC, Bowman CE, Rustgi AK, Pitarresi JR, Wellen KE, Arany Z, Weissenrieder JS, Foskett JK |
Frontiers in Cell and Developmental Biology | 2023 |
Energy (and Reactive Oxygen Species Generation) Saving Distribution of Mitochondria for the Activation of ATP Production in Skeletal Muscle.
Espinosa A, Casas M, Jaimovich E |
2023 | |
Mitochondrial Properties in Skeletal Muscle Fiber
Dong H, Tsai SY |
Cells | 2023 |
Beyond the TCA cycle: new insights into mitochondrial calcium regulation of oxidative phosphorylation.
Lee SH, Duron HE, Chaudhuri D |
Biochemical Society Transactions | 2023 |
Distinct effects of cardiac mitochondrial calcium uniporter inactivation via EMRE deletion in the short and long term
Chapoy Villanueva H, Sung JH, Stevens JA, Zhang MJ, Nelson PM, Denduluri S, Feng F, O\u2019Connell TD, Townsend D, Liu JC |
Journal of Molecular and Cellular Cardiology | 2023 |
Microcirculation and Mitochondria: The Critical Unit
Wang G, Lian H, Zhang H, Wang X |
Journal of Clinical Medicine | 2023 |
MCUb is an inducible regulator of calcium-dependent mitochondrial metabolism and substrate utilization in muscle.
Huo J, Prasad V, Grimes KM, Vanhoutte D, Blair NS, Lin SC, Bround MJ, Bers DM, Molkentin JD |
Cell Reports | 2023 |
Disruption of STIM1-mediated Ca2+ sensing and energy metabolism in adult skeletal muscle compromises exercise tolerance, proteostasis, and lean mass
R Wilson, S Lyons, T Koves, V Bryson, H Zhang, T Li, S Crown, J Ding, P Grimsrud, P Rosenberg, D Muoio |
Molecular Metabolism | 2022 |
Mitochondria in pathological cardiac remodeling
M Lazaropoulos, J Elrod |
Current Opinion in Physiology | 2022 |
Mitochondria and their potential role in acute lung injury (Review)
Zhan B, Shen J |
Experimental and therapeutic medicine | 2022 |
The mitochondrial calcium uniporter of pulmonary type 2 cells determines severity of acute lung injury
Islam MN, Gusarova GA, Das SR, Li L, Monma E, Anjaneyulu M, Mthunzi L, Quadri SK, Owusu-Ansah E, Bhattacharya S, Bhattacharya J |
Nature Communications | 2022 |
Enzymatically dissociated muscle fibers display rapid dedifferentiation and impaired mitochondrial calcium control
Gineste C, Youhanna S, Vorrink SU, Henriksson S, Hernández A, Cheng AJ, Chaillou T, Buttgereit A, Schneidereit D, Friedrich O, Hultenby K, Bruton JD, Ivarsson N, Sandblad L, Lauschke VM, Westerblad H |
iScience | 2022 |
Genetic Manipulation of CB1 Cannabinoid Receptors Reveals a Role in Maintaining Proper Skeletal Muscle Morphology and Function in Mice
Singlár Z, Ganbat N, Szentesi P, Osgonsandag N, Szabó L, Telek A, Fodor J, Dienes B, Gönczi M, Csernoch L, Sztretye M |
International journal of molecular sciences | 2022 |
Nicorandil protects podocytes via modulation of antioxidative capacity in acute puromycin aminonucleoside-induced nephrosis in rats
Yamanaka M, Tamura Y, Kuribayashi-Okuma E, Uchida S, Shibata S |
AJP Renal Physiology | 2022 |
Calcium influx through the mitochondrial calcium uniporter holocomplex, MCUcx
L Boyman, M Greiser, WJ Lederer |
Journal of Molecular and Cellular Cardiology | 2021 |
From the Identification to the Dissection of the Physiological Role of the Mitochondrial Calcium Uniporter: An Ongoing Story
G Pallafacchina, S Zanin, R Rizzuto |
Biomolecules | 2021 |
Changes in Gene Expression of the MCU Complex Are Induced by Electrical Stimulation in Adult Skeletal Muscle
ER Quezada, A Díaz-Vegas, E Jaimovich, M Casas |
Frontiers in physiology | 2021 |
Genome-wide association analysis of adaptation to oxygen stress in Nile tilapia (Oreochromis niloticus)
X Yu, HJ Megens, SB Mengistu, JW Bastiaansen, HA Mulder, JA Benzie, MA Groenen, H Komen |
BMC Genomics | 2021 |
Mitochondrial calcium exchange in physiology and disease
J Garbincius, J Elrod |
Physiological reviews | 2021 |
Arginase II protein regulates Parkin-dependent p32 degradation that contributes to Ca2+-dependent eNOS activation in endothelial cells
B Koo, M Won, Y Kim, S Ryoo |
Cardiovascular Research | 2021 |
Metabolic adaptation to the chronic loss of Ca2+ signaling induced by KO of IP3 receptors or the mitochondrial Ca2+ uniporter
Young MP, Schug ZT, Booth DM, Yule DI, Mikoshiba K, Hajnόczky G, Joseph SK |
The Journal of biological chemistry | 2021 |
EMRE is essential for mitochondrial calcium uniporter activity in a mouse model
Julia C. Liu, Nicole C. Syder, Nima S. Ghorashi, Thomas B. Willingham, Randi J. Parks, Junhui Sun, Maria M. Fergusson, Jie Liu, Kira M. Holmström, Sara Menazza, Danielle A. Springer, Chengyu Liu, Brian Glancy, Toren Finkel, Elizabeth Murphy |
JCI Insight | 2020 |
Is Mitochondrial Dysfunction a Common Root of Noncommunicable Chronic Diseases?
A Diaz-Vegas, P Sanchez-Aguilera, JR Krycer, PE Morales, M Monsalves-Alvarez, M Cifuentes, BA Rothermel, S Lavandero |
Endocrine reviews | 2020 |
The Mitochondrial Ca2+ Uptake and the Fine-Tuning of Aerobic Metabolism
G Gherardi, H Monticelli, R Rizzuto, C Mammucari |
Frontiers in physiology | 2020 |
Molecular Mechanisms of Skeletal Muscle Hypertrophy
S Schiaffino, C Reggiani, T Akimoto, B Blaauw |
Journal of neuromuscular diseases | 2020 |
MCUb Induction Protects the Heart From Postischemic Remodeling
J Huo, S Lu, JQ Kwong, MJ Bround, KM Grimes, MA Sargent, ME Brown, ME Davis, DM Bers, JD Molkentin |
Circulation research | 2020 |
Is MCU dispensable for normal heart function?
JC Liu |
Journal of Molecular and Cellular Cardiology | 2020 |
Regulation of Mitochondrial ATP Production: Ca2+ Signaling and Quality Control
L Boyman, M Karbowski, WJ Lederer |
Trends in Molecular Medicine | 2020 |
Improved Tetanic Force and Mitochondrial Calcium Homeostasis by Astaxanthin Treatment in Mouse Skeletal Muscle
Sztretye, Singlár, Szabó, Angyal, Balogh, Vakilzadeh, Szentesi, Dienes, Csernoch |
Antioxidants | 2020 |
Mitochondrial Calcium Uniporter (MCU) deficiency reveals an alternate path for Ca2+ uptake in photoreceptor mitochondria
CM Bisbach, RA Hutto, D Poria, WM Cleghorn, F Abbas, F Vinberg, VJ Kefalov, JB Hurley, SE Brockerhoff |
Scientific Reports | 2020 |
Mitochondria and Critical Illness
GS Supinski, EA Schroder, LA Callahan |
Chest | 2020 |
How the mitochondrial calcium uniporter complex (MCU cx ) works
L Boyman, WJ Lederer |
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences | 2020 |
Regulation of Mitochondrial Ca(2+) Uptake.
Murphy E, Steenbergen C |
Annual Review of Physiology | 2020 |
ERK1/2 signaling induces skeletal muscle slow fiber-type switching and reduces muscular dystrophy disease severity
Justin Boyer, Vikram Prasad, Taejeong Song, Donghoon Lee, Xing Fu, Kelly Grimes, Michelle Sargent, Sakthivel Sadayappan, Jeffery D. Molkentin |
JCI Insight | 2019 |
Cell-specific ablation of Hsp47 defines the collagen producing cells in the injured heart
Hadi Khalil, Onur kanisicak, Ronald J. Vagnozzi, Anne Katrine Johansen, Bryan D. Maliken, Vikram Prasad, Justin Boyer, Matthew J Brody, Tobias Schips, Katja Kilian, Robert N Correll, Kunito Kawasaki, Kazuhiro Nagata, Jeffery D. Molkentin |
JCI Insight | 2019 |
Mitochondrial Calcium Uniporter Structure and Function in Different Types of Muscle Tissues in Health and Disease
N Tarasova, P Vishnyakova, Y Logashina, A Elchaninov |
International journal of molecular sciences | 2019 |
Calcium Deregulation and Mitochondrial Bioenergetics in GDAP1-Related CMT Disease
P González-Sánchez, J Satrústegui, F Palau, A del Arco |
International journal of molecular sciences | 2019 |
Crosstalk between Mitochondrial Ca 2+ Uptake and Autophagy in Skeletal Muscle
G Gherardi, GD Marco, R Rizzuto, C Mammucari |
Oxidative medicine and cellular longevity | 2019 |
Dysregulation of Mitochondrial Ca2+ Uptake and Sarcolemma Repair Underlie Muscle Weakness and Wasting in Patients and Mice Lacking MICU1
V Debattisti, A Horn, R Singh, EL Seifert, MW Hogarth, DA Mazala, KT Huang, R Horvath, JK Jaiswal, G Hajnóczky |
Cell Reports | 2019 |
Phosphoproteomics reveals conserved exercise‐stimulated signaling and AMPK regulation of store‐operated calcium entry
ME Nelson, BL Parker, JG Burchfield, NJ Hoffman, EJ Needham, KC Cooke, T Naim, L Sylow, NX Ling, D Francis, DM Norris, R Chaudhuri, JS Oakhill, EA Richter, GS Lynch, J Stöckli, DE James |
The EMBO Journal | 2019 |