OMA1 mediates local and global stress responses against protein misfolding in CHCHD10 mitochondrial myopathy

Mitochondrial stress triggers a response in the cell’s mitochondria and nucleus, but how these stress responses are coordinated in vivo is poorly understood. Here, we characterize a family with myopathy caused by a dominant p.G58R mutation in the mitochondrial protein CHCHD10. To understand the disease etiology, we developed a knockin (KI) mouse model and found that mutant CHCHD10 aggregated in affected tissues, applying a toxic protein stress to the inner mitochondrial membrane. Unexpectedly, the survival of CHCHD10-KI mice depended on a protective stress response mediated by the mitochondrial metalloendopeptidase OMA1. The OMA1 stress response acted both locally within mitochondria, causing mitochondrial fragmentation, and signaled outside the mitochondria, activating the integrated stress response through cleavage of DAP3-binding cell death enhancer 1 (DELE1). We additionally identified an isoform switch in the terminal complex of the electron transport chain as a component of this response. Our results demonstrate that OMA1 was critical for neonatal survival conditionally in the setting of inner mitochondrial membrane stress, coordinating local and global stress responses to reshape the mitochondrial network and proteome.