Project Details
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Project description 

A cell has two main engines (metabolic pathways) to generate energy, i.e. the glycolytic pathway and the mitochondrial respiration. Depending on the available fuel (carbohydrates, proteins or lipids) these engines will operate at different power to ensure sufficient energy production. This metabolic flexibility is essential for survival in a dynamic environment. However, the bioenergeticbrphenotype of a cell is not only adapting to changes in the environment or the energetic needs it can in turn also be a determinant of the cell’s fate. Given that mitochondrial respiration and glycolysis play critical roles in all vital cellular processes, it is evident that dysfunction of these pathways is a characteristic of many pathological states as well as the physiological ageing process. As such, strategies that target these bioenergetic pathways are being studied in diverse biomedical disciplines. At our university, we lack access to a platform to study the bioenergetic phenotype of a cell after genetic manipulation, drug/toxin administration or in a disease context. We here apply for funding to purchase the Seahorse XFe96 instrument of Agilent this technology allows to study simultaneously glycolytic and mitochondrial activity, while keeping cells alive and administering up to four compounds that can interfere with either pathway or affect the cellular state. Combining this instrument with a BioTek Cytation Cell imaging multi-mode reader, ensures automatic normalization of data

Runtime: 2020 - 2024