PDK4 and nutrient responses explain muscle specific manifestation in mitochondrial disease

Abstract

Background: Mitochondria elicit various metabolic stress responses, the roles of which in diseases are poorly understood. Here, we explore how different muscles of one individual—extraocular muscles (EOMs) and quadriceps femoris (QFs) muscles—respond to mitochondrial disease. The aim is to explain why EOMs atrophy early in the disease, unlike other muscles.

Methods: We used a mouse model for mitochondrial myopathy (“deletor”), which manifests progressive respiratory chain deficiency and human disease hallmarks in itsmuscles. Analyses included histology, ultrastructure, bulk and single-nuclear RNA-sequencing, metabolomics, and mitochondrial turnover assessed through in vivo mitophagy using transgenic mito-QC marker mice crossed to deletors.

Results: In mitochondrial muscle disease, large QFs upregulate glucose uptake that drives anabolic glycolytic one-carbon metabolism and mitochondrial integrated stress response. EOMs, however, react in an opposite manner, inhibiting glucose and pyruvate oxidation by activating PDK4, a pyruvate dehydrogenase kinase and inhibitor. Instead, EOMs upregulate acetyl-CoA synthesis and fatty-acid oxidation pathways, and accumulate lipids. In QFs, Pdk4 transcription is not induced.- Amino acid levels are increased in QFs but are low in EOMs suggesting their catabolic use for energy metabolism. Mitophagy is stalled in both muscle types, in the most affected fibers.

Conclusions: Our evidence indicates that different muscles respond differently to mitochondrial disease even in one individual. While large muscles switch to anabolic mode and glycolysis, EOMs actively inhibit glucose usage. They upregulate lipid oxidation pathway, a non-optimal fuel choice in mitochondrial myopathy, leading to lipid accumulation and possibly increased reliance on amino acid oxidation. We propose that these consequences of non-optimal nutrient responses lead to EOMatrophy and progressive external ophthalmoplegia in patients. Our evidence highlights the importance of PDK4 and aberrant nutrient signaling underlying muscle atrophies.

Keywords

progressive external ophthalmoplegia / nutrient signaling / mitochondrial disease / integrated stress response / mitochondrial myopathy / pyruvate dehydrogenase kinase

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2025 The Author(s). Clinical and Translational Medicine published by John Wiley & Sons Australia, Ltd on behalf of Shanghai Institute of Clinical Bioinformatics.