Mitochondria News and Research

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Mitochondrial misfire sparks inflammation

Cells in the human body contain power-generating mitochondria, each with their own mtDNA-;a unique set of genetic instructions entirely separate from the cell's nuclear DNA that mitochondria use to create life-giving energy.

8 Feb 2024

Mitochondria on the move: New discovery could revolutionize treatment of brain diseases

The human brain is an organ that takes nearly from 20 to 25% of the energy the body needs. This high energy demand for neuronal functions depends on the transport and precise distribution of mitochondria — the energy-generating cell organelles — in each neuron.

7 Feb 2024

Study reveals key mechanism behind obesity-related metabolic dysfunction

Researchers found that feeding a high-fat diet (HFD) causes mitochondrial dysfunction and fragmentation in white adipocytes in mice.

31 Jan 2024

Immune protein Ku70 key in fighting bowel cancer

Study establishes Ku70's role in tumor suppression, showing that reduced expression or mutations in this DNA repair protein significantly increase intestinal cancer risk.

30 Jan 2024

Improving mitochondrial metabolism could be a potential therapeutic target for Alzheimer's

Nerve cells in the brain demand an enormous amount of energy to survive and maintain their connections for communicating with other nerve cells.

30 Jan 2024

New drug kills tumor cells by triggering a deadly calcium storm

Calcium ions are essential for cells, but can be toxic in higher concentrations. A team of researchers has now designed and prepared a combination drug that kills tumor cells by modulating the calcium influx into the cell.

30 Jan 2024

Scientists reveal direct link between mitochondrial DNA mutations and cancer treatment response

Cancer Research UK-funded scientists have made an unusual discovery that could help to identify patients who are up to two and a half times more likely to respond to currently available cancer drugs.

29 Jan 2024

Study sheds new light on how obesity affects fat cells' mitochondria

The number of people with obesity has nearly tripled since 1975, resulting in a worldwide epidemic. While lifestyle factors like diet and exercise play a role in the development and progression of obesity, scientists have come to understand that obesity is also associated with intrinsic metabolic abnormalities.

29 Jan 2024

Groundbreaking technology shows immense potential for treating ischemic retinopathy

A groundbreaking technology with immense potential in treating ischemic retinopathy in premature infants and diabetic patients has been developed by Professor Byoung Heon Kang and his research team in the Department of Biological Sciences at UNIST, in collaboration with Professor Dong Ho Park's team at Kyungpook National University Hospital. Ischemic retinopathy, characterized by the breakdown of the blood-retinal barrier and abnormal blood vessel growth, often leads to vision impairment and loss.

24 Jan 2024

Researchers uncover a gene that causes heart defects in Down syndrome

Researchers at the Francis Crick Institute and UCL have identified a gene that causes heart defects in Down syndrome, a condition that results from an additional copy of chromosome 21.

24 Jan 2024

Bladder and gut fermentation syndromes: Uncommon disorders with significant implications

Study reviews bladder fermentation syndrome (BFS) and gut fermentation syndrome (GFS), highlighting their etiology, diagnosis, and treatment, and emphasizing the importance of recognizing these conditions to avoid misinterpretation in abstinence monitoring.

23 Jan 2024

Cancer drug holds promise for shrinking polycystic kidney cysts

Autosomal dominant polycystic kidney disease (ADPKD), the most common form of polycystic kidney disease, can lead to kidney enlargement and eventual loss of function.

22 Jan 2024

Aerobic exercise could help combat non-alcoholic fatty liver disease

According to a study conducted on animal models and published in the journal Metabolism, aerobic exercise could help fight the non-alcoholic fatty liver disease, the most common liver disease worldwide: it affects nearly 24% of the global population and it usually causes a certain stigma among the affected people.

22 Jan 2024

ALS progression linked to mitochondria-associated membrane-ER disconnection

Researchers at Nagoya University in Japan have discovered a relationship between the progression of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), also known as Lou Gehrig's disease, and the disruption of mitochondria-associated membranes (MAM), the contact point between the mitochondria and the endoplasmic reticulum (ER) of the cell.

17 Jan 2024

$2.8M grant targets copper's role in deadly kidney cancer

Copper is an essential trace element required to produce energy in the body and allows humans to live in our atmosphere.

17 Jan 2024

Uncovering the role of ER-mitochondria connections in muscle atrophy

The loss of muscle mass, or muscle atrophy, is a relatively common condition in today's aging and increasingly sedentary societies.

12 Jan 2024

Study sheds light on how impaired autophagy can play a role in causing heart failure

A new study sheds light on how autophagy, the body's process for removing damaged cell parts, when impaired, can play a role in causing heart failure.

11 Jan 2024

Study identifies mitochondrial dysfunction as cause of long-COVID fatigue

Researchers from Amsterdam UMC and Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam (VU) have discovered that the persistent fatigue in patients with long-COVID has a biological cause, namely mitochondria in muscle cells that produce less energy than in healthy patients.

4 Jan 2024

Study finds previously unidentified genetic mutation in a small protein provides significant protection against Parkinson’s disease

Researchers explored the effects of a small humanin-like peptide 2 (SHLP2) variant on mitochondrial function.

4 Jan 2024

Previously unidentified protein variant shields against Parkinson's disease

A previously unidentified genetic mutation in a small protein provides significant protection against Parkinson's disease and offers a new direction for exploring potential treatments, according to a new USC Leonard Davis School of Gerontology study.

2 Jan 2024