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Background: MT-ATP6 is a mitochondrial gene which encodes for the intramembrane subunit 6 (or A) of the mitochondrial ATP synthase, also known asl complex V, which is involved in the last step of oxidative phosphorylation to produce cellular ATP through aerobic metabolism. Although classically associated with the NARP syndrome, recent evidence highlights an important role of MT-ATP6 pathogenic variants in complicated adult-onset ataxias., Methods: We describe two unrelated patients with adult-onset cerebellar ataxia associated with severe optic atrophy and mild cognitive impairment. Whole mitochondrial DNA sequencing was performed in both patients. We employed patients' primary fibroblasts and cytoplasmic hybrids (cybrids), generated from patients-derived cells, to assess the activity of respiratory chain complexes, oxygen consumption rate (OCR), ATP production and mitochondrial membrane potential., Results: In both patients, we identified the same novel m.8777 T > C variant in MT-ATP6 with variable heteroplasmy level in different tissues. We identifed an additional heteroplasmic novel variant in MT-ATP6, m.8879G > T, in the patients with the most severe phenotype. A significant reduction in complex V activity, OCR and ATP production was observed in cybrid clones homoplasmic for the m.8777 T > C variant, while no functional defect was detected in m.8879G > T homoplasmic clones. In addition, fibroblasts with high heteroplasmic levelsof m.8777 T > C variant showed hyperpolarization of mitochondrial membranes., Conclusions: We describe a novel pathogenic mtDNA variant in MT-ATP6 associated with adult-onset ataxia, reinforcing the value of mtDNA screening within the diagnostic workflow of selected patients with late onset ataxias., (© 2024. The Author(s).)

TIMM50 is an essential component of the TIM23 complex, the mitochondrial inner membrane machinery that imports cytosolic proteins containing a mitochondrial targeting presequence into the mitochondrial inner compartment. Whole exome sequencing (WES) identified compound heterozygous pathogenic mutations in TIMM50 in an infant patient with rapidly progressive, severe encephalopathy. Patient fibroblasts presented low levels of TIMM50 and other components of the TIM23 complex, lower mitochondrial membrane potential, and impaired TIM23-dependent protein import. As a consequence, steady-state levels of several components of mitochondrial respiratory chain were decreased, resulting in decreased respiration and increased ROS production. Growth of patient fibroblasts in galactose shifted energy production metabolism toward oxidative phosphorylation (OxPhos), producing an apparent improvement in most of the above features but also increased apoptosis. Complementation of patient fibroblasts with TIMM50 improved or restored these features to control levels. Moreover, RNASEH1 and ISCU mutant fibroblasts only shared a few of these features with TIMM50 mutant fibroblasts. Our results indicate that mutations in TIMM50 cause multiple mitochondrial bioenergetic dysfunction and that functional TIMM50 is essential for cell survival in OxPhos-dependent conditions., (© 2018 The Authors. Published under the terms of the CC BY 4.0 license.)