Mitochondria are essential organelles that coordinate the life and death of the cell through various biosynthetic and signaling pathways. Mitochondrial membrane integrity is critical for cardiomyocyte and cardiac heatlh. Ablation of the mitochondrial protein MTFP1 in mouse cardiomcyotyes impairs inner mitochondrial membrane integrity and causes inflammatory dilated cardiomyopathy, heart failure and middle-aged death. Genetic inhibition of inflammation can protect against heart failure but the cellular remodeling and underlying molecular mechanisms that take place in the heart have yet to be identified. By performing single nuclease RNAseq in failing and rescued mouse hearts, we expect to identify the maladptive pathways that are triggered by mitochondrial membrane dysfunction.
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