Mitochondria divide to share the load when nutrients are scarce — plus, how smashing atomic nuclei together helps identify their shapes.
Researchers have uncovered that mitochondria divide into two distinct forms when cells are starved, a finding that could help explain how some cancers thrive in hostile conditions.
Mitochondria are cellular powerhouses, creating energy and vital metabolic molecules, but how they are able to do this when resources are limited has been a mystery.
It turns out that in nutrient-poor situations, mitochondria split into two separate types, one of which concentrates on energy production, the other on producing essential cellular building blocks.
Together these allow cells to make everything they need. The team showed that this also happens in certain cancer cells, which might help them to survive and grow under hostile conditions in the body.
Date: 06 November 2024
Authors: By Benjamin Thompson & Emily Bates
Link: https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-024-03646-1
Research Article: Ryu et al.
News and Views: Division of labour: mitochondria split to meet energy demands
Video: A new kind of mitochondrion
Note: Nutrigenomics Institute is not responsible for the opinions expressed in this article.
PHOTO BY PIXABAY.
