The constant beating of the heart requires an enormous output of energy. To meet this demand, cardiomyocytes are loaded with mitochondria, organelles that generate the majority of energy for cells. These mitochondria are dynamically regulated to ensure that damaged mitochondria are removed and replaced by healthy mitochondria. In this month's issue of JCI Insigh t, James George, Anupam Agarwal, and colleagues at the University of Alabama at Birmingham examined the role of the inducible stress response gene heme oxygenase-1 in mediating mitochondrial quality control in the heart. The research team found that overexpression of human heme oxygenase-1 in mice protected animals from dilated cardiomyopathy induced by the mitochondrial toxin doxorubicin. Additionally, heme oxygenase-1 overexpression reduced mitochondrial fragmentation and promoted the generation of new mitochondria. Cumulatively, this study demonstrates the importance of heme oxygenase-1 in controlling mitochondrial dynamics in the heart.
###
TITLE: Heme oxygenase-1 regulates mitochondrial quality control in the heart
AUTHOR CONTACT: Anupam Agarwal
University of Alabama at Birmingham
Email: agarwal@uab.edu
View this article at: http://insight.jci.org/articles/view/85817
JCI Insight is the newest publication from the American Society of Clinical Investigation, a nonprofit honor organization of physician-scientists. JCI Insight is dedicated to publishing a range of translational biomedical research with an emphasis on rigorous experimental methods and data reporting. All articles published in JCI Insight are freely available at the time of publication. For more information about JCI Insight and all of the latest articles go to http://www.insight.jci.org .
JCI Insight