Nature: SLC25A51 is a mammalian mitochondrial NAD+ transporter - 2020 - by Luongo et al

SLC25A51 is a mammalian mitochondrial NAD+ transporter - Luongo et al

Abstract
Mitochondria require nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide (NAD+) in order to carry out the fundamental processes that fuel respiration and mediate cellular energy transduction. Mitochondrial NAD+ transporters have been identified in yeast and plants1,2 but their very existence is controversial in mammals3–5. Here we demonstrate that mammalian mitochondria are capable of taking up intact NAD+ and identify SLC25A51 (an essential6,7mitochondrial protein of previously unknown function, also known as MCART1) as a mammalian mitochondrial NAD+ transporter. Loss of SLC25A51 decreases mitochondrial but not whole-cell NAD+ content, impairs mitochondrial respiration, and blocks the uptake of NAD+ into isolated mitochondria. Conversely, overexpression of SLC25A51 or a nearly identical paralog, SLC25A52, increases mitochondrial NAD+ levels and restores NAD+uptake into yeast mitochondria lacking endogenous NAD+ transporters. Together, these findings identify SLC25A51 as the first transporter capable of importing NAD+ into mammalian mitochondria.

 

The University of Bergen has written the following article about the study:

Discovered a shuttle that brings the "batteries" into the cell's power houses

Researchers at the University of Bergen have made a major contribution to the discovery of a protein that plays a fundamental role in human energy metabolism.