MCUR1-CCDC90B complex is a conserved regulator of metabolic homeostasis

Abstract

The mitochondrial calcium uniporter regulator 1 (MCUR1) is an evolutionarily conserved protein of the inner mitochondrial membrane1, yet its physiological role has remained elusive. Although initially proposed to function as a subunit of the mitochondrial calcium uniporter complex (MCUC)2-4, emerging evidence suggests that MCUR1 has a broader functional spectrum5-7. Here, we identify a biallelic loss-of-function MCUR1 variant (c.802C>T; p.R268X) in a patient with a progressive neurological phenotype. This mutation leads to loss of MCUR1 protein and exerts a dominant-negative effect on its paralog, CCDC90B. We show that MCUR1 and CCDC90B form a hetero-oligomeric complex whose stability depends on MCUR1. Deletion of MCUR1 and CCDC90B in the fission yeast Schizosaccharomyces pombe, which lacks the MCUC, impairs lipid and amino acid metabolism and causes nitrogen source-dependent growth defects that are rescued by expression of human MCUR1. Patient serum metabolomics confirms an imbalance in the amino acid pool, while MCUR1 deficiency in patient-derived skin fibroblasts upregulates autophagy, perturbs non-essential amino acid metabolism, and limits biosynthetic capacity, resulting in delayed proliferation and migration. These findings redefine the MCUR1-CCDC90B coiled-coil complex as a transmembrane scaffold critical for the integrity of mitochondrial protein complexes and the maintenance of metabolic homeostasis, suggesting a potential link between MCUR1 deficiency and human neurometabolic disease.