Mitochondrial dysfunction abrogates dietary lipid processing in enterocytes. (10.1038/s41586-023-06857-0 [doi])

These scientists did a study to understand how our bodies process the fats we eat. They focused on a part of our cells called mitochondria, which help with different functions in our body. They found that when the mitochondria in the cells of the intestines don't work properly, it affects how our body handles fats from our food.

To study this, the scientists used mice that had a specific problem with their mitochondria in the cells of their intestines. They noticed that these mice had a lot of big droplets of fat in their intestines and they didn't grow well. When they fed the mice a diet without fat, the fat droplets didn't build up as much, which showed that the fat was coming from the food they ate.

The scientists also did some experiments to see how the fats were being transported from the intestines to other parts of the body. They found that without the proper functioning mitochondria, the fats couldn't be transported well. This caused a problem because the fats couldn't be turned into the right kind of particles called chylomicrons, which help move the fats around our body.

The scientists also noticed that when the mitochondria weren't working properly, the part of the cell called the Golgi apparatus, which helps process and package things, was also affected. This made it harder for the chylomicrons to move from one part of the cell to another.

In summary, the scientists discovered that when the mitochondria in the cells of the intestines don't work properly, it affects how our body processes and transports fats from the food we eat. This is important because it helps us understand why people with certain problems in their mitochondria may have difficulties with their intestines.

Moschandrea C., Kondylis V., Evangelakos I., Herholz M., Schneider F., Schmidt C., Yang M., Ehret S., Heine M., Jaeckstein MY., Szczepanowska K., Schwarzer R., Baumann L., Bock T., Nikitopoulou E., Brodesser S., Kruger M., Frezza C., Heeren J., Trifunovic A., Pasparakis M. Mitochondrial dysfunction abrogates dietary lipid processing in enterocytes. Nature. 2024 Jan;625(7994):385-392. doi: 10.1038/s41586-023-06857-0. Epub 2023 Dec 20.