Mutations in transmembrane protein 230 (TMEM230) gene are suggested to be associated with the autosomal dominant Parkinson’s disease (PD) with typical movement disorders and Lewy body pathology. However, the normal functions and the pathological roles of TMEM230 are not clear. In this study, we used TMEM230 isoform II constructs including wild-type (WT) and four reported PD-linked mutation constructs (Y92C, R141L, 184Wext*5, and 184PGext*5). Ectopic expression of WT and PD-linked mutant TMEM230 variants in cultured cells dramatically induced apoptotic cell death compared with that of vector control cells. Mutant TMEM230 caused cell toxicity at an increased severity than WT TMEM230. Moreover, expression of TMEM230 increased mitochondrial reactive oxygen species (ROS) levels, decreased cellular ATP, activated caspase 3/7, and increased poly(ADP-ribose) polymerase-1 (PARP1) cleavage. Treatment with N-acetylcysteine (NAC; an ROS scavenger) or Z-VAD-FMK (a caspase inhibitor) significantly attenuated TMEM230-induced apoptosis in both cultured cells and primary neurons. Our results indicated that TMEM230 mediated a PARP1-linked apoptotic cell death pathway. These findings not only provide the novel insight into the biological roles of TMEM230 in the PARP1-linked pathway but also provide a TMEM230-induced cell death mechanism underlying PD pathogenesis.

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