Mitochondria Choked with Proteins Can Activate Gag Reflex

When the cell tries to stuff too many proteins into its mitochondria, protein blockages and backups may result—obstructions for which no cell-level version of the Heimlich maneuver is available. Instead of putting a physical squeeze on its energy-producing organelles, the cell resorts to another mechanism—mitoCPR, or the mitochondrial compromised protein import response.To discover mitoCPR, scientists based at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology induced excessive expression of