Tom22, the bouncer of the mitochondrion
Mitochondria burn sugar and supply the cell with energy. They were long thought to be structures that are relatively independent of the cell. However, Carolin Gerbeth, a PhD student from the trinational research training group "Membrane Proteins and Biological Membranes," has now identified no less than three signalling paths the cell uses to influence processes in the mitochondrion. In baker's yeast, she and her colleagues at the University of Freiburg found three enzymes that regulate the transport of proteins into the mitochondria. The team published its findings in the journal Cell Metabolism. "Our work lays an important foundation for investigating signalling pathways like these in humans and determining what role they play in the development of illnesses. In tumour cells the mitochondrial energy metabolism is dysregulated, and it is possible that this reprogramming is conveyed over these newly discovered signalling paths," explains project head Prof. Dr.. Chris Meisinger, Cluster of...