In the News
Glucose Metabolism and Pyruvate Carboxylase Enhance Glutathione Synthesis and Restrict Oxidative Stress in Pancreatic Islets
By Accalia Fu, Nika N. Danial, Cell Reports
Glucose metabolism modulates the islet β cell responses to diabetogenic stress, including inflammation. Here, we probed the metabolic mechanisms that underlie the protective effect of glucose in inflammation by interrogating the metabolite profiles of primary islets from human donors and identified de novo glutathione synthesis as a prominent glucose-driven pro-survival pathway.
More Metabolism!
By James A. Olzmann, Nika N. Danial, Molecular Cell
To celebrate our Focus Issue, we asked a selection of researchers working on different aspects of metabolism what they are excited about and what is still to come. They discuss emerging concepts, unanswered questions, things to consider, and technologies that are enabling new discoveries, as well as developing and integrating approaches to drive the field forward.
Massachusetts Life Sciences Center funding to support a Metabolomics Facility at Dana-Farber
Dana-Farber Cancer Institute
The Massachusetts Life Sciences Center is awarding Dana-Farber Cancer Institute a $1.82 million grant titled, Mass Spectrometry Metabolomics Solutions for Highly Scalable Integrated OMics: Charting Metabolic Contributions to Disease Development and Therapeutic Outcomes.
A Mitochondrial Power Play in Lymphoma
By Ralph J. DeBerardinis, Cancer Cell Previews
Deregulated energetics is a hallmark of malignancy, but metabolic heterogeneity among individual tumors is unknown. A study by Caro et al. in this issue of Cancer Cell demonstrates that a subset of lymphomas is defined by reliance on mitochondrial energy generation and is selectively killed when this pathway is impaired.
A BAD Portion of Glucose Can be Good for Inflamed Beta Cells
By Christian Frezza, Nature Metabolism News & Views
Exposure to high glucose under inflammatory conditions is detrimental to insulin-secreting beta cells in the pancreas. Fu and colleagues describe a metabolic axis that decreases production of the 'danger molecule’ nitric oxide and improves the survival of beta cells exposed to an inflammatory milieu, thus paving the way to new interventions for diabetes.
Press Releases/
Editorials
A BAD Metabolic Choice
STKE Editor’s choice, Science, Sci. Signal. 5, ec148, 2012. Wong, W. A BAD metabolic choice. Read Article
A BAD Role in Insulin Release
STKE Editors’ choice, Science, Sci. Signal. 1, ec52, 2008. Gough, N.R. A BAD role in insulin release. Read Article
Why Cutting Sugar Can Control Seizures: Scientists Identify Metabolic Regulator of Epilepsy Read More
E. Lyons, Cell Press, May 23, 2012
Reverse Engineering Epilepsy’s ‘Miracle’ Diet Read More
RA Leo, Harvard Medical School News & Research, May 23, 2012
Fatty Diet Preventing Seizures May Lead to Epilepsy Drugs Read More
E. Lopatto, Bloomberg Businessweek, May 23, 2012
Cell Biological Underpinnings of Anti-Epileptic Diet Revealed Read More
A. Breindl, BioWorld, June 8, 2012
Diffuse Large B-Cell Lymphomas are metabolically Heterogeneous
Cancer Discovery Research Watch
Diffuse large B-cell lymphomas (DLBCL) are aggressive tumors with genetic and clinical variability. DLBCL has been classified into several molecular subgroups based on transcriptional profiling, suggesting that different pathogenic mechanisms and therapeutic targets may exist within this disease.
When BAD Is Good for ꞵ Cells
By Louis H. Philipson, Cell Metabolism Previews
BAD, a proapoptotic member of the Bcl-2 family of proteins, is regulated by phosphorylation. A recent study (Danial et al., 2008) suggests a phosphorylation-state-dependent bifunctional role of BAD in the regulation of glucose-stimulated insulin secretion and
ꞵ cell mass.
In Epilepsy, BAD Is Not Really Bad
By Luca Scorrano, Neuron
Proper neuronal electrical signaling is crucial for coordinated activity of the brain: when this is malfunctioning, epileptic seizures, defined as a ‘‘transient occurrence of signs and/or symptoms due to abnormal excessive or synchronous neuronal activity in the brain’’ (Fisher et al., 2005), can arise.
“The true sign of intelligence is not knowledge but imagination.”