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GRANT and AWARDS SERIES (Marie Curie Actions): Mauricio Cárdenas-Rodríguez

Pubblicato il: 16.06.2020 13:31

Research summary

Mitochondria are essential for mammalian cells since they are involved in many metabolic and biosynthetic processes such as energy conversion. Despite possessing their own genome, the majority of mitochondrial proteins (99%) are imported from the cytosol. Among the imported proteins are the subunits of the respiratory chain complexes (RCC), which are imported by pathways that depend on the mitochondrial inner membrane (IM) elechtrochemical gradient and ATP. This import process is facilitated by mitochondrial IM and outer membrane contact sites. Our group showed that mild overexpression of OPA1, a protein involved in mitochondrial fusion and maintance of cristae architecture, protects against IM proton electrochemical loss under stress. In addition, OPA1 is involved in inner and outer membrane contacts. The aim of this project is to address whehter OPA1 directly influences the import of proteins into mitochondria and to dissect the molecular mechanisms of such influence. This research will open the possibility to target the import machinery to remodel cristae in mitochondria in an OPA1-dependant manner as an alternative to treat mitochondrial disorders.

PI’s Biography

Mauricio Cárdenas-Rodríguez has over 8 years of research experience in the immunology, cancer and mitochondrial biology fields. After his undergraduate studies, he was awarded with scholarships from the Mexican government for Masters and PhD studies. He obtained his PhD working on the impact of the redox state on mitochondria biogenesis at the University of Glasgow. As an early career scientist, his research now focuses on the impact of mitochondrial dynamics on disease and health. Recently, he was awarded a Marie Sklodowska-Curie Actions individual fellowship by the European Commission to continue his research with Prof. Luca Scorrano at the Univeristy of Padova. Dr. Cárdenas-Rodríguez is a sport fan with predilection for football, he played as a centre back on the Scottish Amateur Sunday League for the Rosehill Thorns (2015-2018), he is a Necaxa supporter and a Mexican and Italian cuisine lover.

 




Ultimo aggiornamento: 16.06.2020 16:42