TY - JOUR TI - Mechanical force induces mitochondrial fission AU - Helle, Sebastian Carsten Johannes AU - Feng, Qian AU - Aebersold, Mathias J AU - Hirt, Luca AU - Grüter, Raphael R AU - Vahid, Afshin AU - Sirianni, Andrea AU - Mostowy, Serge AU - Snedeker, Jess G AU - Šarić, Anđela AU - Idema, Timon AU - Zambelli, Tomaso AU - Kornmann, Benoît A2 - Youle, Richard J VL - 6 PY - 2017 DA - 2017/11/09 SP - e30292 C1 - eLife 2017;6:e30292 DO - 10.7554/eLife.30292 UR - https://doi.org/10.7554/eLife.30292 AB - Eukaryotic cells are densely packed with macromolecular complexes and intertwining organelles, continually transported and reshaped. Intriguingly, organelles avoid clashing and entangling with each other in such limited space. Mitochondria form extensive networks constantly remodeled by fission and fusion. Here, we show that mitochondrial fission is triggered by mechanical forces. Mechano-stimulation of mitochondria – via encounter with motile intracellular pathogens, via external pressure applied by an atomic force microscope, or via cell migration across uneven microsurfaces – results in the recruitment of the mitochondrial fission machinery, and subsequent division. We propose that MFF, owing to affinity for narrow mitochondria, acts as a membrane-bound force sensor to recruit the fission machinery to mechanically strained sites. Thus, mitochondria adapt to the environment by sensing and responding to biomechanical cues. Our findings that mechanical triggers can be coupled to biochemical responses in membrane dynamics may explain how organelles orderly cohabit in the crowded cytoplasm. KW - mitochondria KW - fission KW - mechanobiology KW - drp1 KW - mff KW - force JF - eLife SN - 2050-084X PB - eLife Sciences Publications, Ltd ER -