MICU1 Confers Protection from MCU-Dependent Manganese Toxicity (Cell Reports)

Wettmarshausen et al. develop a synthetic biology approach for in vivo dissection of functional interconnections between components of the mitochondrial calcium uniporter channel. They demonstrate an essential role of MICU1 in regulating MCU ion selectivity, finding that MICU1 prevents MCU-mediated Mn2+ overload and protects from Mn2+-induced cell death.