Reflections on the 50-year history of the Federation of Asian and Oceanian Biochemists and Molecular Biologists (FAOBMB).

The Federation of Asian and Oceanian Biochemists and Molecular Biologists, Inc. (FAOBMB) celebrates its Golden Jubilee in 2022. Established in August 1972 as a regional grouping of three national societies of biochemists in Australia, India and Japan, it took the name Federation of Asian and Oceanian Biochemists (FAOB).

Inhibition of bioenergetics provides novel insights into recruitment of PINK1-dependent neuronal mitophagy.

Contributions of damaged mitochondria to neuropathologies have stimulated interest in mitophagy. We investigated triggers of neuronal mitophagy by disruption of mitochondrial energy metabolism in primary neurons. Mitophagy was examined in cultured murine cerebellar granule cells after inhibition of mitochondrial respiratory chain by drugs rotenone, 3-nitropropionic acid, antimycin A, and potassium cyanide, targeting complexes I, II, III, and IV, respectively.

Mutant SOD1 inhibits ER-Golgi transport in amyotrophic lateral sclerosis.

Cu/Zn-superoxide dismutase is misfolded in familial and sporadic amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, but it is not clear how this triggers endoplasmic reticulum (ER) stress or other pathogenic processes. Here, we demonstrate that mutant SOD1 (mSOD1) is predominantly found in the cytoplasm in neuronal cells. Furthermore, we show that mSOD1 inhibits secretory protein transport from the ER to Golgi apparatus.