Hjem
Institutt for biomedisin

BBB seminar: Karl Johan Tronstad

Tracing defects in cellular metabolism

Hovedinnhold

Karl Johan Tronstad
Department of Biomedicine, University of Bergen

Abnormal cellular energy metabolism has been linked to many human diseases, including metabolic disorders, cancer, neurodegenerative pathologies like Parkinson’s disease (PD) and Myalgic Encephalomyelitis/Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (ME/CFS). Our research focuses on how metabolic changes may contribute to mechanisms of disease through interactions with cell signaling. Depending on the cellular and molecular context, the result of a metabolic insult may range from adaptations of fuel utilization, to development of new cell traits, and ultimately cell death. Further, metabolic obstructions may trigger compensatory effects that change the ability to respond normally to physiological signals. I will present some of our recent findings suggesting that specific metabolic changes may have decisive impact on mechanisms of cancer progression and neural stem cell development in PD. I will then present data from our translational research project exploring the role of defective energy metabolism in the pathomechanism of ME/CFS.

Chairperson: Mathias Ziegler, Department of Biomedicine