Seminar

The Energy of the heart

José Antonio Enríquez

Dr. Enriquez focuses on elucidating the molecular mechanisms of mitochondrial dysfunction in cardiovascular disease and ischemic processes. In particular, on the study of mammalian mitochondrial electron transport chain (MtETC) and H+-ATP synthase, which constitute the oxidative phosphorylation system (OxPhos). Major contributions are: -Functional consequences of the genetic variability of the mtDNA and the role of mitochondrial ROS in the adaptation of the OxPhos system to the metabolic requirements of the cell. -Development of new structural organization models of the electronic mitochondrial transport. -The role of OxPhos in metabolic adaptation with key advance in the understanding of the processes by which cells optimize and molecularly regulate their metabolic capacity, inducing structural changes in the electronic transport chain. -In the context of cardiometabolic biology and pathology the group has defined the mitochondrial stress protease OMA1 as a promising target to prevent heart failure