Drp1 Proteins Released from Hydrolysis-Driven Scaffold Disassembly Trigger Nucleotide-Dependent Membrane Remodeling to Promote Scission.

Journal: Journal of the American Chemical Society
Published Date: Jul 8, 2025

Abstract

Dynamin-related protein (Drp1) drives mitochondrial fission, dysregulation of which leads to neurodegenerative, metabolic, and apoptotic disorders. The precise mechanism of fission completion is unclear. One prevailing model is based on GTP-driven of Drp1 helices that increase confinement via force generation. However, constriction to nanoscopic tubule radii appears necessary but not sufficient for scission. The other is based on GTP-driven of a constricting Drp1 scaffold that drives a membrane disturbance, but the relation of disassembly to scission and GTP hydrolysis remain uncertain. Elucidation of mitochondrial fission is complicated by the multiple time-involved in the dynamics of mechanoenzyme activity, oligomer disassembly, and membrane remodeling. Using machine learning, synchrotron X-ray scattering, and a theoretical model, our data support a model where progressive GTP hydrolysis enables free Drp1s to increase their capacity for inducing membrane negative Gaussian curvature (NGC). Furthermore, we identify Drp1 variants that diminish this progressive capacity. Machine learning reveals that predicted NGC-generating sequences of the Drp1 oligomer are not in contact with the confined lipid tube and that scission-enhancing membrane remodeling is triggered by free Drp1 released upon disassembly.

Authors

  • Elizabeth Wei-Chia Luo
    Department of Bioengineering, University of California, Los Angeles, California 90025, United States.
  • Kelsey A Nolden
    Department of Biochemistry, Medical College of Wisconsin, Milwaukee, Wisconsin 53226, United States.
  • Haleh Alimohamadi
    Department of Bioengineering, University of California, Los Angeles, California 90025, United States.
  • Michelle W Lee
    Department of Bioengineering, Department of Chemistry, California NanoSystems Institute, University of California, Los Angeles, CA 90095, United States.
  • Liting Duan
    Department of Biomedical Engineering, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Sha Tin, Hong Kong 999077, China.
  • R Blake Hill
    Department of Biochemistry, Medical College of Wisconsin, Milwaukee, Wisconsin 53226, United States.
  • Gerard C L Wong
    Department of Bioengineering, Department of Chemistry, California NanoSystems Institute, University of California, Los Angeles, CA 90095, United States.

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