Pentatricopeptide Repeat Domain Protein 2 (PTCD2)

Mice homozygous for a defect in the PTCD2 (pentatricopeptide repeat domain protein 2) gene were generated in order to study the role of this protein in mitochondrial RNA metabolism. These mice displayed specific but variable reduction of ubiquinol–cytochrome c reductase complex activity in mitochondria of heart, liver and skeletal muscle due to a decrease in the expression of mitochondrial DNA-encoded cytochrome b, the catalytic core of the complex.

PTCD2 protein is involved in processing RNA transcripts involving cytochrome b derived from mitochondrial DNA. This defines the site for PTCD2 action in mammalian mitochondria and suggests a possible role for dysfunction of this protein in the aetiology of heart failure.