Increased phosphorylation of dynamin-related protein 1 and mitochondrial fission in okadaic acid-treated neurons.

Mitochondrial dysfunction is a prominent feature of neurodegenerative diseases and aging. A recent study showed that phosphorylation of dynamin-related protein 1 (Drp1) is increased in Alzheimer's disease (AD) brains compared to control brains, indicating that mitochondrial fission is increased in AD brains. Here, we showed that Drp1 phosphorylation and mitochondrial fission were also increased in rat cortical neurons treated with okadaic acid (OA), which inhibits protein phosphatase-2A (PP2A) and induces AD-like tau phosphorylation and neuronal death.