Mitochondrial Partitioning in Mammalian Cells.

• Grant number: 15/25776-7
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Post-Doctoral
• Start date: April 01, 2016
• End date: April 30, 2018
• Field of knowledge: Biological Sciences - Biochemistry - Metabolism and Bioenergetics
• Principal Investigator: Alicia Juliana Kowaltowski
• Grantee: Maria Fernanda Pereira de Araújo Demonte Forni
• Host Institution: Instituto de Química (IQ). Universidade de São Paulo (USP). São Paulo , SP, Brazil
• Associated research grant: 13/07937-8 - Redoxome - Redox Processes in Biomedicine, AP.CEPID
• Associated scholarship(s): 16/22298-0 - Bioenergetic characterization of epidermal and dermal white adipose tissue progenitors in calorically-restricted mice: dissecting the role of mitochondrial metabolism in stem cell commitment and terminal differentiation, BE.EP.PD

Abstract

Mitochondria are essential for energy metabolism in mammals. Although they are present in virtually all eukaryotic cells, very little is known about mitochondrial segregation during mitosis in mammals. Indeed, this process was long believed to be stochastic. Nonetheless, recent findings in yeast demonstrate that, when these cells are undergoing asymmetric cell division, mitochondrial sorting occurs, triggered by mechanisms that actively provide a subset of distinct mitochondria for each daughter cell. This process is implicated in aging and proliferation. Similar active addressing mechanisms have not been described in mammalian cells, and this is mainly due to the lack of an adequate model system to address this process. Here we propose that a good model to explore this question are skin stem cells, that, unlike many cells, can divide both symmetrically and asymmetrically. We will also address, using mouse embryonic fibroblasts, whether mitochondrial morphology is important for the segregation of these organelles and its impact on cell cycle progression. In this project, we will try to elucidate if mitochondria are partitioned differently in asymmetric and symmetric cell division in mammals, and also assess whether this event directly affects the fate acquired by skin stem cells during differentiation and its importance for cell cycle control.

Scientific publications

(4)

(References retrieved automatically from Web of Science and SciELO through information on FAPESP grants and their corresponding numbers as mentioned in the publications by the authors)

AMIGO, IGNACIO; DA CUNHA, FERNANDA M.; FORNI, MARIA FERNANDA; GARCIA-NETO, WILSON; KAKIMOTO, PAMELA A.; LUEVANO-MARTINEZ, LUIS A.; MACEDO, FELIPE; MENEZES-FILHO, SERGIO L.; PELOGGIA, JULIA; KOWALTOWSKI, ALICIA J.. Mitochondrial form, function and signalling in aging. Biochemical Journal, v. 473, n. 20, p. 3421-3449, OCT 2016. (15/15526-3, 10/51906-1, 14/17270-3, 13/04919-9, 15/25776-7, 13/07937-8)

ASSIS-RIBAS, THAIS; FORNI, MARIA FERNANDA; BROCHADO WINNISCHOFER, SHEILA MARIA; SOGAYAR, MARI CLEIDE; TROMBETTA-LIMA, MARINA. Extracellular matrix dynamics during mesenchymal stem cells differentiation. Developmental Biology, v. 437, n. 2, p. 63-74, MAY 15 2018. (15/26328-8, 16/05311-2, 16/22298-0, 16/18277-7, 15/25776-7)

AMIGO, IGNACIO; DA CUNHA, FERNANDA M.; FORNI, MARIA FERNANDA; GARCIA-NETO, WILSON; KAKIMOTO, PAMELA A.; LUEVANO-MARTINEZ, LUIS A.; MACEDO, FELIPE; MENEZES-FILHO, SERGIO L.; PELOGGIA, JULIA; KOWALTOWSKI, ALICIA J.. Mitochondrial form, function and signalling in aging. Biochemical Journal, v. 473, p. 29-pg., 2016-10-01. (13/07937-8, 13/04919-9, 15/15526-3, 14/17270-3, 10/51906-1, 15/25776-7)

TEOFILO SATURI DE CARVALHO, ANA ELISA; BASSANEZE, VINICIUS; FORNI, MARIA FERNANDA; KEUSSEYAN, ALINE ALFONSO; KOWALTOWSKI, ALICIA JULIANA; KRIEGER, JOSE EDUARDO. Early Postnatal Cardiomyocyte Proliferation Requires High Oxidative Energy Metabolism. SCIENTIFIC REPORTS, v. 7, NOV 13 2017. (12/10109-7, 13/17368-0, 13/04871-6, 13/26440-7, 11/19678-1, 15/25776-7, 13/07937-8)