Carmela Vazquez-Calvo

Stockholm University | SU · Department of Biochemistry and Biophysics

Mitochondria play pivotal roles in cellular energy metabolism, the synthesis of essential biomolecules and the regulation of cell death and aging. The proper folding, unfolding and degradation of the many proteins active within mitochondria is surveyed by the mitochondrial quality control machineries. Here, we describe the principal components of t...

Thioredoxin-interacting protein (TXNIP) is an a-arrestin that can bind to and inhibit the antioxidant protein thioredoxin (TXN). TXNIP expression is induced by glucose and promotes b-cell apoptosis in the pancreas, and deletion of its gene in mouse models protects against diabetes. TXNIP is currently studied as a potential new target for antidiabet...

Kgd4 is a novel subunit of the mitochondrial α-ketoglutarate dehydrogenase complex (KGDH). In yeast, the protein is present in two forms of unknown origin, as there is only one open reading frame and no alternative splicing. Here, we show that the two forms of Kgd4 derive from one mRNA that is translated by employing two alternative start sites. Th...