Bioenergetic defect associated with mKATP channel opening in a mouse model carrying a mitofusin 2 mutation

Charcot‐Marie‐Tooth disease type 2A (CMT2A) is an autosomal dominant axonal form of peripheral neuropathy caused by mutations in the mitofusin 2 gene (MFN2), which encodes a mitochon‐drial outer membrane protein that promotes mito‐chondrial fusion. Emerging evidence also points to a role of MFN2 in the regulation of mitochondrial metabolism. To examine whether mitochondrial dysfunction is a feature of CMT2A, we used a transgenic mouse model expressing in neurons a mutated R94Q form of human MFN2 shown to induce a CMT2A phenotype. Oxygraphic and enzymatic measurements both revealed a combined defect of mitochondrial complexes II and V (40 and 30% decrease, respectively) in the brain of Tg‐R94 mice, leading to a drastic decrease of ATP synthesis. These deficiencies were reversed by the mitochondrial ATP‐sensitive potassium channel (mKATP) inhibitor 5‐hydroxyde‐canoate. Conversely, in controls and wild‐type human MFN2 mice, the mKATP activator diazoxide mimicked the deficiency observed with the R94Q mutation. The physical links between complexes II and V, previously proposed as part of mKATP, were reinforced in Tg‐R94Q mice. Our results show that the R94Q MFN2 mutation induces a combined defect of complexes II and V linked to the opening of mKATP, which could participate in the pathophysiology of the disease.—Guillet, V., Gueguen, N., Cartoni, R., Chevrollier, A., Desquiret, V., Angebault, C., Amati‐Bonneau, P., Procaccio, V., Bonneau, D., Martinou, J.‐C., Reynier, P. Bioenergetic defect associated with mKATP channel opening in a mouse model carrying a mitofusin 2 mutation. FASEB J. 25, 1618–1627 (2011). www.fasebj.org