Bi-directional calcium (Ca²⁺) signaling between mitochondria and intracellular stores (endoplasmic/sarcoplasmic reticulum) underlies important cellular functions, including oxidative ATP production. In striated muscle, this coupling is achieved by mitochondria being located adjacent to Ca²⁺ stores (sarcoplasmic reticulum [SR]) and in proximity of release sites (Ca²⁺ release units [CRUs]). However, limited information is available with regard to the mechanisms of mitochondrial-SR coupling. Using electron microscopy and electron tomography, we identified small bridges, or tethers, that link the outer mitochondrial membrane to the intracellular Ca²⁺ stores of muscle. This association is sufficiently strong that treatment with hypotonic solution results in stretching of the SR membrane in correspondence of tethers. We also show that the association of mitochondria to the SR is 1) developmentally regulated, 2) involves a progressive shift from a longitudinal clustering at birth to a specific CRU-coupled transversal orientation in adult, and 3) results in a change in the mitochondrial polarization state, as shown by confocal imaging after JC1 staining. Our results suggest that tethers 1) establish and maintain SR–mitochondrial association during postnatal maturation and in adult muscle and 2) likely provide a structural framework for bi-directional signaling between the two organelles in striated muscle.

Malignant hyperthermia (MH) and central core disease are related skeletal muscle diseases often linked to mutations in the type 1 ryanodine receptor (RYR1) gene, encoding for the Ca ²⁺ release channel of the sarcoplasmic reticulum (SR). In humans, the Y522S RYR1 mutation is associated with malignant hyperthermia susceptibility (MHS) and the presence in skeletal muscle fibers of core regions that lack mitochondria. In heterozygous Y522S knock-in mice (RYR1 ^Y522S/WT ), the mutation causes SR Ca ²⁺ leak and MHS. Here, we identified mitochondrial-deficient core regions in skeletal muscle fibers from RYR1 ^Y522S/WT knock-in mice and characterized the structural and temporal aspects involved in their formation. Mitochondrial swelling/disruption, the initial detectable structural change observed in young-adult RYR1 ^Y522S/WT mice (2 months), does not occur randomly but rather is confined to discrete areas termed presumptive cores. This localized mitochondrial damage is followed by local disruption/loss of nearby SR and transverse tubules, resulting in early cores (2–4 months) and small contracture cores characterized by extreme sarcomere shortening and lack of mitochondria. At later stages (1 year), contracture cores are extended, frequent, and accompanied by areas in which contractile elements are also severely compromised (unstructured cores). Based on these observations, we propose a possible series of events leading to core formation in skeletal muscle fibers of RYR1 ^Y522S/WT mice: Initial mitochondrial/SR disruption in confined areas causes significant loss of local Ca ²⁺ sequestration that eventually results in the formation of contractures and progressive degradation of the contractile elements.