Study of mitochondrial behavior as a sensor of surrounding conditions during cell proliferation and differentiation.

虽然我们没有直接证据表明线粒体可能通过监测单个线粒体内ATP或Ca2+浓度的变化来感知周围环境，但我们发现线粒体在葡萄糖饥饿的反应中改变了它们的形态。我们研究了葡萄糖饥饿诱导线粒体形态变化的分子机制，我们可以确定AMPK是这一调控的关键分子。AMKP是一种众所周知的被能量激活的激酶，这表明AMPK作为线粒体的传感器。总之，线粒体可能通过AMPK感知周围环境，因此我们现在面临的挑战是确定定位于线粒体内/上的AMPK的新底物。

Although we could not get any direct evidences that mitochondria might sense the surrounding conditions by monitoring the changes of ATP or Ca2+ concentrations within individual mitochondria, we found that mitochondria chenged their morphologies in response to the glucose starvation. We investigated the molecular mechanisms underlying glucose starvation-induced mitochondrial morphological changes and we could identify AMPK as a key molecule for that regulation. AMKP is well known kinase that is activated by luck of energy, suggesting that AMPK acts as a sensor for mitochondria. Altogether, mitochondria might sense the sorrounding conditions through AMPK, so we are now challenging to identify the novel substrates for AMPK that localizes in/on mitochondria.