ATAC-seq in Ranbp2 Wild-type and knockout 10T1/2 cells

A well-studied example is contact with the endoplasmic reticulum at mitochondrial-associated ER membranes (MAMs), which control pathways including redox and calcium homeostasis. Recent studies also reported direct mitochondria–nuclear membrane contacts in cancer cells and yeast that promote pro-survival signaling, but how exchange occurs across two largely impermeable membranes remains unclear.

Here, we describe the existence of direct interactions between the nuclear pore and the mitochondria. In two unbiased proteomic screens, GST pulldown and BioID, VDAC1 was the top mitochondrial candidate that interacts with the nuclear pore protein RANBP2. In vitro RANBP2 CRISPR knock-out, RANBP2 truncation, or site directed mutagenesis of RANBP2-interacting amino acids in VDAC1 resulted in reduced mitochondria-nucleus proximity and decreased nuclear ATP and phosphocreatine levels.