Humans are distinguished from the other living apes in having larger brains and an unusual life history that combines high reproductive output with slow childhood growth and exceptional longevity. This suite of derived traits suggests major changes in energy expenditure and allocation in the human lineage, but direct measures of human and ape metabolism are needed to compare evolved energy strategies among hominoids. Here...
Tag Archives: metabolic
Metabolic maintenance of cell asymmetry following division in activated T lymphocytes
Asymmetric cell division, the partitioning of cellular components in response to polarizing cues during mitosis, has roles in differentiation and development. It is important for the self-renewal of neuroblasts in Caenorhabditis elegans and fertilized zygotes in Drosophila, and in the development of mammalian nervous and digestive systems. T lymphocytes, upon activation by antigen-presenting cells (APCs), can undergo asymmetric cell division, wherein the daughter cell proximal...
Mutant Kras copy number defines metabolic reprogramming and therapeutic susceptibilities
The RAS/MAPK (mitogen-activated protein kinase) signalling pathway is frequently deregulated in non-small-cell lung cancer, often through KRAS activating mutations. A single endogenous mutant Kras allele is sufficient to promote lung tumour formation in mice but malignant progression requires additional genetic alterations. We recently showed that advanced lung tumours from KrasG12D/+;p53-null mice frequently exhibit KrasG12D allelic enrichment (KrasG12D/Kraswild-type > 1) (ref. 7), implying that mutant Kras copy...
FOXO1 couples metabolic activity and growth state in the vascular endothelium
Endothelial cells (ECs) are plastic cells that can switch between growth states with different bioenergetic and biosynthetic requirements. Although quiescent in most healthy tissues, ECs divide and migrate rapidly upon proangiogenic stimulation. Adjusting endothelial metabolism to the growth state is central to normal vessel growth and function, yet it is poorly understood at the molecular level. Here we report that the forkhead box O...