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Astrocyte metabolism

Astrocytic OxPhos: more than just energy production

Nature Metabolism volume 5, pages 362–363 (2023)Cite this article

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Although astrocytes are largely glycolytic, they catabolize a variety of substrates via oxidative phosphorylation in the mitochondria. In this issue, Mi et al. show that oxidative phosphorylation in astrocytes protects the brain from inflammation and degeneration by degrading excess fatty acids.

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Fig. 1: Loss of mitochondrial respiration in astrocytes induces astroglial reactivity.

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Acknowledgements

We thank J. Plemel for valuable discussions regarding myelin biology and J. Jacquemyn for helpful comments on the manuscript. L.F.R.-A. is supported by a 75th Anniversary Graduate Student Award from the Faculty of Medicine & Dentistry. M.S.I. is supported by the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation (16349), the Canadian Institutes for Health Research (173321), the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (04047) and the Women and Children’s Health Research Institute (3481).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Physiology, University of Alberta, Edmonton, Alberta, Canada

    Luis F. Rubio-Atonal & Maria S. Ioannou

  2. Group on Molecular and Cell Biology of Lipids, University of Alberta, Edmonton, Alberta, Canada

    Luis F. Rubio-Atonal & Maria S. Ioannou

  3. Department of Cell Biology, University of Alberta, Edmonton, Alberta, Canada

    Maria S. Ioannou

  4. Neuroscience and Mental Health Institute, University of Alberta, Edmonton, Alberta, Canada

    Maria S. Ioannou

Authors
  1. Luis F. Rubio-Atonal
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  2. Maria S. Ioannou
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Correspondence to Maria S. Ioannou.

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Rubio-Atonal, L.F., Ioannou, M.S. Astrocytic OxPhos: more than just energy production. Nat Metab 5, 362–363 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1038/s42255-023-00755-5

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