ATR licenses PINK1-mediated mitophagy

Mitochondria are the central metabolic hub of the cell and their function is vital for cellular activities. Mitochondrial autophagy, or mitophagy, is a quality control mechanism to surveille the fitness and functionality of mitochondria and is therefore essential for life. Both mitochondrial dysfunction and malfunctional DNA damage response (DDR) are a major etiology for tissue impairment and aging. ATR has been shown mainly as a nuclear factor to conduct DNA damage response under DNA replication stress. Paradoxically, the human Seckel syndrome caused by ATR mutations is characterized by premature aging and neuropathies, suggesting a role of ATR in non-replicating tissues. Here we report a previously unknown yet direct role of ATR at mitochondria. We find that HSP90 chaperones ATR and PINK1 to mitochondria, where ATR interacts with and thereby stabilizes PINK1 docking at the mitochondrial translocase TOM/TIM complex as well as with the electron transport chain (ETC). ATR mutant cells are refractory to mitophagy initiation, which can be reverted by an ectopic expression of full length, but not ATR-interaction mutant, PINK1. ATR deletion alters mitochondrial dynamics and OXPHOS functions producing aberrantly high reactive oxygen species (ROS) that attack cytosolic macromolecules prior to damaging nuclear DNA. Intriguingly, pharmacological intervention of mitochondrial metabolism to prevent ROS overproduction can mute ATR-mediated nuclear DDR. This study demonstrates that ATR is an integrated component of the mitochondrial membrane to ensure mitochondrial fitness as a primary physiological function, which, together with its essential DDR function, safeguards the cell fate under physiological and genotoxic conditions.