The accumulation of unhealthy mitochondria results in mitochondrial dysfunction, which has been implicated in aging, cancer, and a variety of degenerative diseases. However, the mechanism by which mitochondrial quality is regulated remains unclear. Here, we show that Mieap, a novel p53-inducible protein, induces intramitochondrial lysosome-like organella that plays a critical role in mitochondrial quality control. Mieap expression is directly regulated by p53 and is frequently lost in human cancer as result of DNA methylation. Mieap dramatically induces the accumulation of lysosomal proteins within mitochondria and mitochondrial acidic condition without destroying the mitochondrial structure (designated MALM, for Mieap-induced accumulation of lysosome-like organelles within mitochondria) in response to mitochondrial damage. MALM was not related to canonical autophagy. MALM is involved in the degradation of oxidized mitochondrial proteins, leading to increased ATP synthesis and decreased reactive oxygen species generation. These results suggest that Mieap induces intramitochondrial lysosome-like organella that plays a critical role in mitochondrial quality control by eliminating oxidized mitochondrial proteins. Cancer cells might accumulate unhealthy mitochondria due to p53 mutations and/or Mieap methylation, representing a potential cause of the Warburg effect.

Maintenance of healthy mitochondria prevents aging, cancer, and a variety of degenerative diseases that are due to the result of defective mitochondrial quality control (MQC). Recently, we discovered a novel mechanism for MQC, in which Mieap induces intramitochondrial lysosome-like organella that plays a critical role in the elimination of oxidized mitochondrial proteins (designated MALM for Mieap-induced accumulation of lysosome-like organelles within mitochondria). However, a large part of the mechanisms for MQC remains unknown. Here, we report additional mechanisms for Mieap-regulated MQC. Reactive oxygen species (ROS) scavengers completely inhibited MALM. A mitochondrial outer membrane protein NIX interacted with Mieap in a ROS-dependent manner via the BH3 domain of NIX and the coiled-coil domain of Mieap. Deficiency of NIX also completely impaired MALM. When MALM was inhibited, Mieap induced vacuole-like structures (designated as MIV for Mieap-induced vacuole), which engulfed and degraded the unhealthy mitochondria by accumulating lysosomes. The inactivation of p53 severely impaired both MALM and MIV generation, leading to accumulation of unhealthy mitochondria. These results suggest that (1) mitochondrial ROS and NIX are essential factors for MALM, (2) MIV is a novel mechanism for lysosomal degradation of mitochondria, and (3) the p53-Mieap pathway plays a pivotal role in MQC by repairing or eliminating unhealthy mitochondria via MALM or MIV generation, respectively.

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The tumor suppressor p53 plays a crucial role in the cellular response to DNA damage by transcriptional activation of numerous downstream genes. Although a considerable number of p53 target genes have been reported, the precise mechanism of p53-regulated tumor suppression still remains to be elucidated. Here, we report a novel role of the DFNA5 gene in p53-mediated etoposide-induced cell death. The DFNA5 gene has been previously reported to be responsible for autosomal-dominant, nonsyndromic hearing impairment. The expression of the DFNA5 gene was strongly induced by exogenous and endogenous p53. The chromatin immunoprecipitation assay indicated that a potential p53-binding sequence is located in intron 1 of the DFNA5 gene. Furthermore, the reporter gene assay revealed that the sequence displays p53-dependent transcriptional activity. The ectopic expression of DFNA5 enhanced etoposide-induced cell death in the presence of p53; however, it was inhibited in the absence of p53. Finally, the expression of DFNA5 mRNA was remarkably induced by gammaray irradiation in the colon of p53(+/+) mice but not in that of p53(-/-) mice. These results suggest that DFNA5 plays a role in the p53-regulated cellular response to genotoxic stress probably by cooperating with p53.

Although the regulation of tumor angiogenesis is believed to be one of the core functions of p53, the mechanism still remains to be elucidated. Here, we report that semaphorin 3F (SEMA3F), an axon guidance molecule, is involved in p53-regulated antiangiogenesis. The expression level of SEMA3F mRNA was increased by both exogenous and endogenous p53. Chromatin immunoprecipitation assay indicated that a potent p53-binding sequence in intron 1 of SEMA3F interacts with p53 and that it has a p53-responsive transcriptional activity. Overexpression of SEMA3F inhibited in vitro cell growth of the lung cancer cell line H1299. In nude mice assay, the size of the H1299 tumors expressing SEMA3F was much smaller, and they showed lesser number of blood vessels as compared with the control tumors. Moreover, tumors derived from the p53-knockdown colorectal cancer cell line LS174T displayed a remarkable enhancement of tumor vessel formation as compared with control tumors containing normal levels of p53. The expression levels of SEMA3F and neuropilin-2 (NRP2), the functional receptor for SEMA3F, in p53-knockdown LS174T tumors were lower than those in the control tumors. Adenovirus-mediated SEMA3F gene transfer induced the remarkable in vitro growth suppression of the stable transformant of H1299 cells, which express high levels of NRP2. These results suggest that p53 negatively regulates tumor vessel formation and cell growth via the SEMA3F-NRP2 pathway.