Research at the Kafasla lab revealed the involvement of alternative splicing in the communication between the nucleus and the mitochondria.
The study, led by Panagiota Kafasla and Zoi Erpapazoglou provides the first proof of the involvement of alternative splicing (AS) in the mitochondrial anterograde (nucleus to mitochondria) signalling pathway.
Using proteomic and RNA-seq analyses, Papadaki, Erpapazoglou et al. showed that IQGAP1, a scaffold protein regulating the AS of distinct gene subsets in gastric cancer cells, participates in AS regulation that strongly affects mitochondrial respiration. Reduction of the levels of IQGAP1 results in mitochondrial phenotypes resembling the ones observed in patients with the rare mitochondrial Leigh syndrome.
Reference:
Vasiliki Papadaki, Zoi Erpapazoglou, Maria Kokkori, Malgorzata Ewa Rogalska, Myrto Potiri, Andrada Birladeanu, Eleni N Tsakiri, Hassan Ashktorab, Duane T Smoot, Katerina Papanikolopoulou, Martina Samiotaki, Panagiota Kafasla
NAR Cancer, Volume 5, Issue 3, September 2023, zcad046, https://doi.org/10.1093/narcan/zcad046