Cell energy

The Mitochondrial research area brings together molecules that act on the cell's energy household and on the protection of the mitochondria, the small energy factories inside cells. Some are peptides encoded by mitochondrial DNA, others are cofactors or small proteins involved in neutralising harmful substances. Researchers study how these pathways relate to ageing at the cellular level.

Part of this research is not about the compounds themselves but about their precursors. NAD+, for example, does not easily enter the cell as a whole, so researchers often look at smaller building blocks from which the cell can assemble it itself. In this way attention shifts from the end product to the question of how a cell replenishes its own supply of this cofactor, and how that process changes with age.

Mitochondrial peptides and energy metabolism

MOTS-c is a small peptide encoded by mitochondrial DNA and linked in research to the way cells regulate their energy. NAD+ is a cofactor central to many reactions of energy metabolism, and its levels change with age. SS-31 is a peptide that targets the inner membrane of the mitochondria. Together they form a theme around preserving cellular energy.

Protection against oxidative damage and chromosome ends

A second theme is protection of the cell. Glutathione is an endogenous tripeptide that plays a role in neutralising reactive substances that can cause damage. Epithalon is a short peptide linked in research to telomeres, the ends of chromosomes, and to the enzyme telomerase. These points of action are central in laboratory research into cellular ageing.

Peptides from a second genome

What makes the mitochondrial peptides unusual is their origin. Most proteins in the body are encoded by the DNA in the cell nucleus, but compounds such as MOTS-c arise from the separate, much smaller DNA in the mitochondria themselves. This second genome yields only a handful of known peptides. Researchers study them because they form a direct line between the cell's energy factories and signals that reach the rest of the cell.