Heterogeneous nuclear ribonucleoprotein A2 is a common transcriptional coactivator in the nuclear transcription response to mitochondrial respiratory stress.

Mitochondrial dysfunction and altered transmembrane potential initiate a mitochondrial respiratory stress response, also known as mitochondrial retrograde response, in a wide spectrum of cells. The mitochondrial stress response activates calcineurin, which regulates transcription factors, including a new nuclear factor-kappa B (NF-kappa B) pathway, different from the canonical and noncanonical pathways. In this study using a combination of small interfering RNA-mediated mRNA knock down, transcriptional analysis, and chromatin immunoprecipitation, we report a common mechanism for the regulation of previously established stress response genes Cathepsin L, RyR1, and Glut4. Stress-regulated transcription involves the cooperative interplay between NF-kappa B (cRel: p50), C/EBP delta, cAMP response element-binding protein, and nuclear factor of activated T cells. We show that the functional synergy of these factors requires the stress-activated heterogeneous nuclear ribonucleoprotein (hnRNP) A2 as a coactivator. HnRNP A2 associates with the enhanceosome, mostly through protein-protein interactions with DNA-bound factors. Silencing of hnRNP A2 as well as other DNA binding signature factors prevents stress-induced transcriptional activation and reverses the invasiveness of mitochondrial DNA-depleted C2C12 cells. Induction of mitochondrial stress signaling by electron transfer chain inhibitors also involved hnRNPA2 activation. We describe a common mechanism of mitochondrial respiratory stress-induced activation of nuclear target genes that involves hnRNP A2 as a transcription coactivator.