Mass Spec Imaging Reveals Elevated Pathways Driving Tumor Growth in Brain Cancer June 02, 2023 Researchers from Washington University in St. Louis have developed a novel approach that allows them to study tumor growth in a new dimension. By combining mass spectrometry imaging with other techniques, they can now observe the spatial distribution and rates…

Patti wins American Chemical Society Midwest Award June 02 , 2023 By Talia Ogliore Gary Patti has won the 2023 American Chemical Society (ACS) Midwest Award. Established in 1944, this annual award recognizes outstanding achievements in chemistry in the Midwest region. Patti is the Michael and Tana Powell Professor of Chemistry in Arts & Sciences…

Cancer cells rev up synthesis, compared with neighbors June 01, 2023 By Talia Ogliore Tumors are composed of rapidly multiplying cancer cells. Understanding which biochemical processes fuel their relentless growth can provide hints at therapeutic targets.

Scientists unveil a metabolic Achilles’ heel in pancreatic cancer May 23, 2023 By Tarun Sai Lomte A recent study published in the journal Nature identified uridine-derived ribose as the fuel for pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDA) in glucose-restricted conditions. The PDA tumor microenvironment (TME) is characterized by abundant immune cell infiltration, stromal fibroblast expansion, and extracellular matrix…

Mass Spec Proteomics Offers Less Pain, More Gain May 3, 2023 In mass spectrometry (MS), workflows are being streamlined and analyses are becoming more sophisticated. In short, MS is becoming faster, easier to use, and more functional. This is welcome news for proteomics and metabolomics researchers. As upstream workflows are automated and as barriers to…

Reporting NADPH fluxes March 27, 2023 By Justin R. Cross The NADP+/NADPH coenzyme couple powers cellular biosynthesis and oxidative defense. A new study tracing glucose-derived deuterium during proline biosynthesis analyzes subcellular perturbations in NADPH utilization, revealing that NADP+/NADPH coenzyme pools in the cytosol and mitochondria are regulated independently.

Newly launched St. Louis startup Panome Bio raises $6M, plans to double team March 16, 2023 By Nathan Rubbelke A newly launched St. Louis startup focused on providing research and development services for biotechnology and pharmaceutical companies has raised funding to expand its technology and headcount.

Saturation of mitochondrial NADH shuttles triggers aerobic lactate fermentation January 31, 2023 In this issue of Molecular Cell, Wang et al. investigate the Warburg effect in proliferating cells and demonstrate that lactate fermentation is a secondary mechanism activated after mitochondrial shuttles exceed their capacity to oxidize cytosolic NADH.

Different field, different problem, same solution: metabolism! September 20, 2022 By Gary Patti and Nika Danial Metabolism has captured the interest of researchers across many different biological disciplines. In some fields, interest in longstanding metabolic questions has been renewed. In other areas, new metabolic connections are being made for the first time. No matter the topic, however,…

Madelyn Jackstadt (Patti lab) named Jakschik Awardee August 22, 2022 First Person is a series of interviews with the first authors of a selection of papers published in Disease Models & Mechanisms, helping early-career researchers promote themselves alongside their papers. Madelyn Jackstadt is first author on ‘ A multidimensional metabolomics workflow to image distribution and…