New players in mitochondrial protein import quality control13
Mitochondria import most of their proteins from the cytosol via dedicated channels in the outer membrane. This process is complex, and import can occasionally stall when proteins get stuck in transit. While the role of the ubiquitin–proteasome system (UPS) in this context is well established in yeast, it remains poorly understood in mammalian cells. We performed a proximity-based screen to identify UPS components near the mitochondrial import channel and uncovered novel interactors. Among them, we identified UBXD8 and investigated its role in the quality control of mitochondrial protein import. These findings not only expand our understanding of mitochondrial proteostasis in mammals, but also reveal UBXD8 as a potential regulator of import channel homeostasis.
