Evidence map›Paper›PMID 41392169›Full record

ArticleNature communications2025

RHOA regulates mitochondria-ER contact sites through modulation of the VAPB/PTPIP51 tether.

Zheng Yang, Shintaro Nakajima, Hsiuchen Chen, Yogaditya Chakrabarty, Huibao Feng, David C Chan

Abstract read
In one paragraph

Article in Nature communications, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 7 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
7citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

7 citing papers in PubMed.

  1. Article
  2. Article
  3. Review
  4. Review
  5. Review
  6. Review
  7. Approaches to Organelle Spacing at Membrane Contact Sites.Contact (Thousand Oaks (Ventura County, Calif.))
    Article
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

6 authors.

Zheng YangDivision of Biology and Biological Engineering California Institute of Technology, 1200 East California Blvd, MC114-96, Pasadena, CA, USA.
Shintaro NakajimaDivision of Biology and Biological Engineering California Institute of Technology, 1200 East California Blvd, MC114-96, Pasadena, CA, USA.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0003-4858-3391
Hsiuchen ChenDivision of Biology and Biological Engineering California Institute of Technology, 1200 East California Blvd, MC114-96, Pasadena, CA, USA.
Yogaditya ChakrabartyDivision of Biology and Biological Engineering California Institute of Technology, 1200 East California Blvd, MC114-96, Pasadena, CA, USA.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0002-3230-9251
Huibao FengDivision of Biology and Biological Engineering California Institute of Technology, 1200 East California Blvd, MC114-96, Pasadena, CA, USA.
David C ChanDivision of Biology and Biological Engineering California Institute of Technology, 1200 East California Blvd, MC114-96, Pasadena, CA, USA. dchan@caltech.edu.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0002-0191-2154

Funding

Homeostatic Mechanisms Regulating Mitochondrial Health EQUIPMENT SUPPLEMENTR35GM127147 · NIGMS · CALIFORNIA INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY · PI David C Chan · 2018 to 2026
$6.0M
NIGMS NIH HHS R35 GM127147U.S. Department of Health & Human Services | National Institutes of Health (NIH) R35GM127147
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

The mitochondria-endoplasmic reticulum contact site (MERCS) is critical for calcium exchange, phospholipid transfer, and bioenergetics. Impairment of MERCS is implicated in numerous pathological conditions, including cancer and neurodegenerative diseases. Remodeling of MERCS can affect calcium signaling or metabolism, but the mechanisms involved in dynamic MERCS remodeling are unknown. Employing a genome-wide CRISPRi screen, we uncover the ability of the small GTPase RHOA to tune the cellular MERCS level. RHOA knockdown, or increasing its degradation by CUL3 overexpression, reduces the MERCS level; conversely, upregulation of RHOA increases the MERCS level. RHOA binds to the ER protein VAPB and regulates complex formation between VAPB and mitochondrial PTPIP51, which form a tethering complex at the interface between ER and mitochondria. Furthermore, this regulatory mechanism is perturbed by disease alleles of RHOA, CUL3, and VAPB involved in cancer, hyperkalemia, and neurodegeneration, suggesting that MERCS may be affected in a range of pathological conditions. This study identifies RHOA as a regulator of mitochondria-ER communication, providing mechanistic insights into the dynamic remodeling of MERCS and potential therapeutic strategies for diseases linked to MERCS dysfunction.

Indexed as

Endoplasmic ReticulumMitochondriaMitochondrial Membrane Transport ProteinsMitochondrial ProteinsrhoA GTP-Binding ProteinVesicular Transport ProteinsAnimalsCullin ProteinsHEK293 CellsHeLa CellsHumansMitochondria Associated MembranesCUL3 protein, humanCullin ProteinsMitochondrial Membrane Transport ProteinsMitochondrial ProteinsrhoA GTP-Binding ProteinRHOA protein, humanVAPB protein, humanVesicular Transport Proteins

Identifiers

PMID41392169
PMCPMC12717084

What OpenQuestion holds

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Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.