Metabolism

Cholesterol regulatory genes predict liver transplant outcomes

Researchers identify a link between cholesterol-regulating genes and liver transplant success, which could improve donor screening and patient outcomes.

The dual role of asprosin in chronic fatty liver disease

Researchers uncover a hormone called asprosin that may serve as a potential biomarker for the diagnosis of chronic fatty liver disease and monitoring disease progression.

How copper delivery fuels bacterial respiration

Researchers identify the roles of several proteins in copper homeostasis in the aerobic bacterium Caulobacter vibrioides.

Glutathione pathway implicated in rare disease

Researchers found that glutathione metabolism plays a central role in the pathogenesis of rare disease methylmalonic aciduria using a novel multiomics approach.

Lipid-lowering therapies could help treat IBD

Genetic evidence shows that drugs that reduce cholesterol or triglyceride levels can either raise or lower inflammatory bowel disease risk by altering gut microbes and immune signaling.

Missing lipid shrinks heart and lowers exercise capacity

Researchers uncovered the essential role of PLAAT1 in maintaining heart cardiolipin, mitochondrial function and energy metabolism, linking this enzyme to exercise capacity and potential cardiovascular disease pathways.

Decoding how bacteria flip host’s molecular switches

Kim Orth will receive the Earl and Thressa Stadtman Distinguished Scientists Award at the ASBMB Annual Meeting, March 7–10, just outside of Washington, D.C.

Building better tools to decipher the lipidome

Chemical engineer–turned–biophysicist Matthew Mitsche uses curiosity, coding and creativity to tackle lipid biology, uncovering PNPLA3’s role in fatty liver disease and advancing mass spectrometry tools for studying complex lipid systems.

Fasting, fat and the molecular switches that keep us alive

Nutritional biochemist and JLR AE Sander Kersten has spent decades uncovering how the body adapts to fasting. His discoveries on lipid metabolism and gene regulation reveal how our ancient survival mechanisms may hold keys to modern metabolic health.