Dynamic interplay between RPL3- and RPL3L-containing ribosomes modulates mitochondrial activity in the mammalian heart

Ivan Milenkovic, Helaine Graziele Santos Vieira, Morghan C Lucas, Jorge Ruiz-Orera, Giannino Patone, Scott Kesteven, Jianxin Wu, Michael Feneley, Guadalupe Espadas, Eduard Sabidó, Norbert Hübner, Sebastiaan van Heesch, Mirko Völkers, Eva Maria Novoa

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

Abstract

The existence of naturally occurring ribosome heterogeneity is now a well-acknowledged phenomenon. However, whether this heterogeneity leads to functionally diverse 'specialized ribosomes' is still a controversial topic. Here, we explore the biological function of RPL3L (uL3L), a ribosomal protein (RP) paralogue of RPL3 (uL3) that is exclusively expressed in skeletal muscle and heart tissues, by generating a viable homozygous Rpl3l knockout mouse strain. We identify a rescue mechanism in which, upon RPL3L depletion, RPL3 becomes up-regulated, yielding RPL3-containing ribosomes instead of RPL3L-containing ribosomes that are typically found in cardiomyocytes. Using both ribosome profiling (Ribo-seq) and a novel orthogonal approach consisting of ribosome pulldown coupled to nanopore sequencing (Nano-TRAP), we find that RPL3L modulates neither translational efficiency nor ribosome affinity towards a specific subset of transcripts. In contrast, we show that depletion of RPL3L leads to increased ribosome-mitochondria interactions in cardiomyocytes, which is accompanied by a significant increase in ATP levels, potentially as a result of fine-tuning of mitochondrial activity. Our results demonstrate that the existence of tissue-specific RP paralogues does not necessarily lead to enhanced translation of specific transcripts or modulation of translational output. Instead, we reveal a complex cellular scenario in which RPL3L modulates the expression of RPL3, which in turn affects ribosomal subcellular localization and, ultimately, mitochondrial activity.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)5301-5324
Number of pages24
JournalNucleic Acids Research
Volume51
Issue number11
Early online date7 Mar 2023
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 23 Jun 2023

Keywords

  • Animals
  • Heart
  • Mice
  • Mitochondria/metabolism
  • Muscle, Skeletal/metabolism
  • Protein Biosynthesis
  • Ribosomal Proteins/genetics
  • Ribosomes/genetics

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