Regulation of mitochondrial oxidative phosphorylation through cell signaling

The mitochondrial oxidative phosphorylation (OxPhos) system plays a key role in energy production, the generation of free radicals, and apoptosis. A lack of cellular energy, excessive radical production, and dysregulated apoptosis are found alone or in combination in most human diseases, including neurodegenerative diseases, stroke, cardiovascular disorders, ischemia/reperfusion, and cancer. In the context of its relevance to human disease, this article reviews current knowledge about the regulation of OxPhos with a focus on cell signaling and discusses identified phosphorylation sites with the aid of crystal structures of OxPhos complexes. Several recent studies have shown that all OxPhos components can be phosphorylated; even the small electron carrier cytochrome c is tyrosine phosphorylated in vivo. We propose that in higher organisms, in contrast to bacteria, cell signaling pathways are the main regulator of energy production, triggered for example by hormones. Pathways that have been identified to act on OxPhos include protein kinases A and C and growth factor activated receptor tyrosine kinase signaling. Present knowledge about kinases and phosphatases that execute signals at the level of the mitochondrial OxPhos system, and newly emerging concepts, such as the translocation of kinases to the mitochondria upon stimulation of a signaling pathway, are discussed.