Declining NAD+ Induces a Pseudohypoxic State Disrupting Nuclear-Mitochondrial Communication during Aging

Ever since eukaryotes subsumed the bacterial ancestor of mitochondria, the nuclear and mitochondrial genomes have had to closely coordinate their activities, as each encode different subunits of the oxidative phosphorylation (OXPHOS) system. Mitochondrial dysfunction is a hallmark of aging, but its causes are debated. We show that, during aging, there is a specific loss of mitochondrial, but not nuclear, encoded OXPHOS subunits. We trace the cause to an alternate PGC-1α/β-independent pathway of nuclear-mitochondrial communication that is induced by a decline in nuclear NAD+ and the accumulation of HIF-1α under normoxic conditions, with parallels to Warburg reprogramming. Deleting SIRT1 accelerates this process, whereas raising NAD+ levels in old mice restores mitochondrial function to that of a young mouse in a SIRT1-dependent manner. Thus, a pseudohypoxic state that disrupts PGC-1α/β-independent nuclear-mitochondrial communication contributes to the decline in mitochondrial function with age, a process that is apparently reversible. [Display omitted] •A specific decline in mitochondrially encoded genes occurs during aging in muscle•Nuclear NAD+ levels regulate mitochondrial homeostasis independently of PGC-1α/β•Declining NAD+ during aging causes pseudohypoxia, which disrupts OXPHOS function•Raising nuclear NAD+ in old mice reverses pseudohypoxia and metabolic dysfunction Aging disrupts an NAD+-dependent nuclear-mitochondrial communication pathway, causing a decline in the mitochondrially encoded oxidative phosphorylation components relative to nuclear-encoded components. Raising NAD+ levels in old mice alleviates the pseudohypoxic conditions that disrupt the communication pathway, reversing this mitochondrial defect.