Delayed protein translocation protects mitochondria against toxic CAT-tailed proteins
- PMID: 41118763
- DOI: 10.1016/j.molcel.2025.09.030
Delayed protein translocation protects mitochondria against toxic CAT-tailed proteins
Abstract
Ribosome-associated protein quality control (RQC) protects cells against the toxic effects of faulty polypeptides produced by stalled ribosomes. However, mitochondria are vulnerable to C-terminal alanyl and threonyl (CAT)-tailed proteins that are generated in this process, and faulty nuclear-encoded mitochondrial proteins are handled by the recently discovered mitoRQC. Here, we performed a genome-wide screen in yeast to identify additional proteins involved in mitoRQC. We found that peptidyl-tRNA hydrolase 2 (Pth2), present in the mitochondrial outer membrane, influences aggregation of CAT-tailed proteins without majorly affecting the CAT-tailing process itself. Peptidyl-tRNA hydrolase activity is essential during this process, yet the activity of Pth2 can be substituted by another peptidyl-tRNA hydrolase upon proper localization. Our data suggest that Pth2 acts by modulating protein translocation and that the mitochondrial proteostasis network is relieved through increased access of CAT-tailed proteins to cytosolic chaperones. Other hits obtained in the screen show that, in general, delayed protein translocation protects mitochondria against toxic CAT-tailed proteins.
Keywords: RQC; TOM complex; cellular homeostasis; mitoRQC; mitochondria; peptidyl-RNA hydrolase; protein translocation.
Copyright © 2025 The Author(s). Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
Conflict of interest statement
Declaration of interests The authors declare no competing interests.
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