Author Spotlight: Unveiling Mitochondrial Function and Cellular Metabolic Adaptation in Metabolic Diseases

Our research focuses on the intersection of metabolism and stress responses in metabolic disease, a major theme of the Washington University NORD program. Through synergisms between our NORD cores, we are able to tackle complex questions in nutritional metabolism and disease through an interdisciplinary and collaborative approach. Traditional mitochondrial respiration assays examined isolated mitochondria.

Isolating mitochondria is time-consuming and can compromise outer mitochondrial membrane integrity. Additionally, mitochondria do not perform alone, but are part of a dynamic network of cellular metabolic adaptation. Our protocol maintains this network to provide a physiologically relevant assessment of mitochondrial function.

Our focus has extended to identifying regulators of metabolic tailoring that are important in health and disease. Key questions we are asking include, are these regulators, like site-1 protease, equally important across different tissue types? And what is their physiological significance?