Metabolic processes of organelles in neuron function
Cellular organelles serve as a compartmentalization to provide separate vessels for various processes of synthesis and degradation. Organelles can maintain conditions for processes as diverse as protein folding and modification, lipid biosynthesis, lipid storage, fatty acid oxidation and degradation of bulk material. To harmonize these processes, organelles form contact sites that serve the exchange of material and regulate their abundance and activity.
Our research shows that peroxisomes and mitochondria collaborate in the oxidation of fatty acids, and loss of peroxisome function leads to dysregulation of mitochondrial fatty acid oxidation (Bülow MH et al., Mol Biol Cell. 2018, Sellin J, […] Bülow MH. PLoS Biol. 2018). Contact sites between mitochondria and the endoplasmic reticulum (ER) regulate mitochondrial dynamics, and disturbed contact formation alters the formation of reactive oxygen species (ROS) of mitochondria (Paradis M, […] BülowMH. Sci Adv 2022). Furthermore, we study how organelle communication contributes to healthy aging (Hänschke L, [...] and Bülow MH. Front Aging 2022) and neuron function.