Involvement of mortalin in cellular senescence from the perspective of its mitochondrial import, chaperone, and oxidative stress management functions.

Mortalin (mtHSP70/GRP75) is a heat uninducible member of hsp70 family of proteins. Some of the established features of mortalin include its various subcellular sites, multiple binding partners, and differential subcellular distribution in normal and immortal cells. Overexpression of mortalin leads to extended life span in nematode and normal human cells. On the other hand, it serves as a major target for oxidation and was shown to be involved in old age pathologies including Parkinson's and Alzheimer's disease. Since mortalin interacts with many proteins, its modifications in response to stress and damage caused by intracellular oxidation are likely to generate pleiotropic effects. For example, (a) inefficient import of mitochondrial proteins by mortalin-Tim complexes may result into inefficient mitochondrial genesis, energy generation, and functional decline and (b) inefficient chaperoning of proteins can result into a garbage catastrophe.