HDAC6 maintains mitochondrial connectivity under hypoxic stress by suppressing MARCH5/MITOL dependent MFN2 degradation

Mitochondria undergo fusion and fission in response to various metabolic stresses. Growing evidences have suggested that the morphological change of mitochondria by fusion and fission plays a critical role in protecting mitochondria from metabolic stresses. Here, we showed that hypoxia treatment could induce interaction between HDAC6 and MFN2, thus protecting mitochondrial connectivity. Mechanistically, we demonstrated that a mitochondrial ubiquitin ligase MARCH5/MITOL was responsible for hypoxia-induced MFN2 degradation in HDAC6 deficient cells. Notably, genetic abolition of HDAC6 in amyotrophic lateral sclerosis model mice showed MFN2 degradation with MARCH5 induction. Our results indicate that HDAC6 is a critical regulator of MFN2 degradation by MARCH5, thus protecting mitochondrial connectivity from hypoxic stress.