Incretin-based obesity therapies (IBTs), such as GLP-1 receptor agonists, are very popular and highly effective for weight loss. However, how they affect muscle tissue is unclear. A research team, led...

Newswise — Earth-based hiPSC models have transformed disease research but remain limited by cellular immaturity, a strong reliance on glycolysis rather than oxidative phosphorylation (OXPHOS), and incomplete tissue architecture. Animal models often fail to recapitulate human phenotypes, and primary patient tissues are difficult to obtain, especially for rare pediatric conditions. Spaceflight exposes cells to microgravity and space radiation, stress conditions that may unmask or amplify disease-relevant vulnerabilities. Because these stressors converge on mitochondrial and cardiac pathways, they offer a biologically distinct context for studying rare metabolic and congenital disorders. Conventional culture also differs in oxygen tension. Based on these challenges, deeper investigation is needed into how patient-derived human induced pluripotent stem cells (hiPSCs) models respond to the space environment. A review published (DOI: 10.1093/pcmedi/pbag028) in Precision Clinical Medicine in 2026 by researchers affiliated with IRCCS Policlinico San Donato, the University of Milan, and Weill Cornell Medicine, with collaborators from multiple institutions, examines current space-based hiPSC studies and their relevance to mitochondrial diseases and congenital heart disorders (CHDs), and their potential to inform rare pediatric disease research. It summarizes reported effects on mitochondrial function, cytoskeletal organization, oxidative stress, calcium handling, and gene expression, and outlines experimental and mechanistic gaps that must...

Earth-based hiPSC models have transformed disease research but remain limited by cellular immaturity, a strong reliance on glycolysis rather than oxidative phosphorylation (OXPHOS), and incomplete tissue architecture. Animal models often fail to recapitulate human phenotypes, and primary patient tissues are difficult to obtain, especially for rare pediatric conditions. Spaceflight exposes cells to microgravity and space radiation, stress conditions that may unmask or amplify disease-relevant vulnerabilities. Because these stressors converge on mitochondrial and cardiac pathways, they offer a biologically distinct context for studying rare metabolic and congenital disorders. Conventional culture also differs in oxygen tension. Based on these challenges, deeper investigation is needed into how patient-derived human induced pluripotent stem cells (hiPSCs) models respond to the space environment. A review published (DOI: 10.1093/pcmedi/pbag028) in Precision Clinical Medicine in 2026 by researchers affiliated with IRCCS Policlinico San Donato, the University of Milan, and Weill Cornell Medicine, with collaborators from multiple institutions, examines current space-based hiPSC studies and their relevance to mitochondrial diseases and congenital heart disorders (CHDs), and their potential to inform rare pediatric disease research. It summarizes reported effects on mitochondrial function, cytoskeletal organization, oxidative stress, calcium handling, and gene expression, and outlines experimental and mechanistic gaps that must be addressed...

Mitochondria are widely known for being the major site of ATP production in cells. The two enzyme pathways are oxidative phosphorylation (OXPHOS) and the tricarboxylic acid (TCA) cycle. The only struc...

Research ArticleCell biologyHematology Open Access | 10.1172/jci.insight.205218

Publication date: Available online 24 October 2026 Source: Journal of Proteomics Author(s): Yogalakshmi Sabapathy, Jayavelu Subramani, Gopal Gopisetty

npj Precision Oncology - Targeting NDUFS2-mediated mitochondrial hyperfunction disrupts energy homeostasis and Akt-mTOR signaling in NSCLC

Insulin resistance in skeletal muscle contributes to type 2 diabetes (T2D), but its causes remain unclear. We identify the mitochondrial protein Miro1 as a key regulator of muscle insulin sensiti...

Mitochondriopathies are a large group of pathological conditions characterized by dysfunction of tissues and organs with high energy needs such as the brain, heart, and skeletal muscles, which highly rely on functional mitochondrial oxidative phosphorylation (OXPHOS). The vast majority of these disorders are ascribed to mutations in nuclear or mitochondrial encoded subunits of complex I (CI), the largest OXPHOS complex. In this study, we develop a multisystemic pipeline for CI-associated disease...

Kroczek et al show that degradation of DNAJC15 by OMA1 and AFG3L2 under stress limits mitochondrial protein import and OXPHOS biogenesis. Non-imported proteins lead to the induction of the unfolded protein responses from the endoplasmic reticulum.

The retina metabolizes glucose into lactate, a hallmark of aerobic glycolysis known as the Warburg effect. Although evidence points to rod photoreceptors as the primary source of aerobic glycolysis, a...

The kinase GSK3β drives the metabolism supporting the inflammatory function of pathogenic TH1 cells.