Mitochondrial fusion and cristae reorganization facilitate acquisition of cardiomyocyte identity during reprogramming of murine fibroblasts

Cardiomyocytes (CMs) rely on mitochondrial energy produced in highly interconnected mitochondrial networks. Direct reprogramming of cardiac fibroblasts (CFs) into induced CMs (iCMs) shows promise for treating cardiac injury, but little work has investigated mitochondrial energetics and morphology during the conversion of CFs to iCMs. We characterized mitochondria during direct cardiac reprogramming of murine neonatal CFs (mnCFs). Reprogramming increased mitochondrial respiration and interconnectivity but not to the levels of native CMs. We therefore investigated whether perturbations to mitochondrial dynamics impacted reprogramming. Mitochondrial fusion (joining) was essential for iCM generation, while various fission (dividing) genes were reprogramming barriers. In particular, the loss of mitochondrial fission regulator 1 like (Mtfr1l) significantly increased the yield of functionally mature iCMs and induced mitochondrial fusion and respiration. These changes were countered by the concomitant loss of fusion effector optical atrophy protein 1 (Opa1). The present study advances our understanding of mitochondrial barriers to and mechanisms of direct cardiac reprogramming.