Reduction of PINK1 or DJ‐1 impair mitochondrial motility in neurites and alter ER‐mitochondria contacts

Subcellular distribution of mitochondria in neurons is crucial for meeting the energetic demands, as well as the necessity to buffer Ca(2+) within the axon, dendrites and synapses. Mitochondrial impairment is an important feature of Parkinson disease (PD), in which both familial parkinsonism genes DJ‐1 and PINK1 have a great impact on mitochondrial function. We used differentiated human dopaminergic neuroblastoma cell lines with stable PINK1 or DJ‐1 knockdown to study live motility of mitochondria in neurites. The frequency of anterograde and retrograde mitochondrial motility was decreased in PINK1 knockdown cells and the frequency of total mitochondrial motility events was reduced in both cell lines. However, neither the distribution nor the size of mitochondria in the neurites differed from the control cells even after downregulation of the mitochondrial fission protein, Drp1. Furthermore, mitochondria from PINK1 knockdown cells, in which motility was most impaired, had increased levels of GSK3βSer9 and higher release of mitochondrial Ca(2+) when exposed to CCCP‐induced mitochondrial uncoupling. Further analysis of the ER‐mitochondria contacts involved in Ca(2+) shuttling showed that PINK1 knockdown cells had reduced contacts between the two organelles. Our results give new insight on how PINK1 and DJ‐1 influence mitochondria, thus providing clues to novel PD therapies.