Scientists at UCLA have unlocked some incredible new insight into how mitochondrial fission works. This process is integral to energy production and cellular homeostasis. Those combined experimental and theoretical findings, published in the Journal of the American Chemical Society, showed complicated dynamics that govern the process by which mitochondria reproduce themselves. This process is necessary for multiple fundamental cellular activities, including energy production and removal of damaged cells.
The groundbreaking study led by UCI’s Professor Gerard Wong is a positive development. Later, in the 1970s, they discovered that mitochondria—the powerhouse of the cell—provided nearly 90% of the body’s energy. The current study broadens our understanding of mitochondrial network morphology. It underscores the importance of these genes in cellular signaling and tumor suppression through the removal of damaged cells. Considerations of mitochondrial fission may open new avenues for therapeutic strategy in combating disease, including oncogenic progression.
Research Findings and Implications
Elizabeth Wei-Chia Luo with her co-authors did some pioneering work to figure this out. Their investigations have provided important clues about the cellular machinery that regulates mitochondrial fission. The research details a complex, two-stage process. Initially, rigid dynamin-like proteins assemble around the mitochondrion, constricting its very pliable membrane to form a slender neck. Understanding the molecular basis of this physical transformation is essential for understanding how mitochondria achieve their own division and reproduction.
Luo, a UCLA doctoral student, is the study’s lead author. He emphasizes the importance of these findings for understanding how cells regulate their energy state and sustain cellular function. The study’s DOI is 10.1021/jacs.4c15836, making it easy for other researchers to find and build off this important research.
Gerard Wong, professor of bioengineering, chemistry, biochemistry and microbiology, immunology and molecular genetics at UCLA. He is the corresponding author for both studies. His tremendous talent and expertise in bioengineering has been instrumental in keeping the science focus on these fundamental and complex biological processes.
The Role of Mitochondria in Health
Today we know that mitochondria take on an incredibly complex and central role in safeguarding cellular health well beyond energy creation. They play key roles in cellular signaling pathways that can determine cell fate, especially in the context of stress or injury. The power to clear out faulty cells is critical for staving off diseases like cancer, in which cells divide uncontrollably.
Wong’s research team has been particularly interested in elucidating the mechanisms of assembly and disassembly in biology. By learning more about how mitochondria divide, researchers can better understand how cells adjust to new environments. Understanding these processes illuminates how they can go wrong in different diseases.
Haleh Alimohamadi is a passionate postdoctoral researcher at UCLA. As the primary author of one of those studies, she’s done pioneering work in this area. In just a few weeks she will take up a new position as faculty, as an assistant professor of molecular biology and biochemistry at UC Irvine. There, she hopes to explore further into mitochondrial dynamics and investigate their influence on health.
Future Directions and Research Opportunities
The effects of this research reach past fundamental biology and into future medical practice. Mitochondrial fission is inherently tied to our understanding of many promising therapeutic targets for diseases that feature dysfunctional mitochondria. This goes for neurodegenerative diseases, too, as well as cancers of all types.
Wong’s team is still probing the molecular underpinnings that shape these processes. In upcoming studies we will investigate how aberrations in mitochondrial dynamics drive disease pathology. The researchers will further explore ways to increase mitochondrial function to increase overall cellular health.
Scientists are delving into the shadows and intricacies of mitochondrial form and function. In the process, they will unlock innovative approaches to enhance cellular protection against age and disease-related stressors. The synergy between Wong’s lab and young stars like Alimohamadi is the exciting intersection of biomedicine and the research talent of tomorrow.