Researchers at the NYU Langone Medical Center recently published a study in Nature Cell Biology in which they investigate the role of ATP synthase in the development of stem cells that develop into eggs and sperms in fruit flies. ATP synthase is an enzyme present in the mitochondria that produces ATP during the process of cellular respiration to power the chemical reactions in the cell. The researchers discovered that blocking the action of ATP synthase prevented the development of the stem cells responsible for germ cell development. Since ATP synthase is involved in the process of oxidative phosphorylation, the researchers wanted to determine whether ATP synthase or the process of oxidative phosphorylation were responsible for stem cell development.
They tested this by blocking other enzymes involved in the pathway, but they found that it did not stop stem cell development. As a result the researchers were able to conclude that ATP synthase played a role in this process. In fact disrupting any of the 13 proteins involved in ATP synthase disrupted stem cell development. The research also shows that ATP synthase could be involved in the development of cristae, folds in the inner membrane of mitochondrion, as the stem cell divides. Previous studies have shown that often mitochondria with faulty cristae have faulty ATP synthase; however, this study was able to provide a more concrete proof of this. The researchers are now interested in investigating the exact mechanism by which ATP synthase controls cristae development in the mitochondria.
Article summary courtesy by Waleed Khan
Article: Medical News Today
Reference: Nature
