Mitochondrial Biology and Metabolism

The Laboratory of Mitochondrial Biology and Metabolism, led by Dr. Michael N. Sack, focuses on modifications of proteins that play pivotal roles in metabolism and mitochondrial function to understand how these modifications affect disease risk.

Michael Sack

Senior Investigator Research Interests

Research Interests

The Role of Caloric-Dependent Post-Translational Modifications in the Control of Metabolic and Mitochondrial Homeostasis:

I have had a long-standing interest in the mechanisms regulating mitochondrial biology and metabolism and the role in the pathophysiology of disease. At the basic science and translational level this work focusses on the role of the mitochondrial deacetylase enzyme SIRT3 and a counter-regulatory protein, GCN5L1 which modulates mitochondrial and cytosolic protein acetylation. Both of these proteins play pivotal roles in organelle responses to caloric-restriction and fasting and the role of these proteins are explored under fasting or fasting-mimetic conditions to delineate and characterize their functions. In parallel, an enlarging focus of my laboratory is translating what we have learnt in the laboratory into human biology and disease. Here, we use fasting and fasting mimetics as models to explore immunometabolism and immunomodulation in both healthy individuals and in inflammatory/autoimmune disease states. RNA-seq, proteomic and metabolomics data are being interrogated to identify novel pathways in innate and adaptive immune cells and then molecular and biochemical techniques are employed to characterize the function of these pathways and to assess if the manipulation of these pathways can modulate inflammatory or autoimmune disease.

Clinical Trials and Studies

Recruiting
Adult, Older Adult
Male
Not Accepting Healthy Volunteers
Are you a male with psoriasis or want to help someone with this condition? This study is exploring whether eating only during certain hours of the day (called time-restricted feeding) can change metabolism and reduce inflammation in the blood of people with mild to moderate psoriasis. To participate in this study, you must be a male between the ages of 18 and 80 with active psoriasis, or be a healthy volunteer. This study is located at the NIH Clinical Center in Bethesda, Maryland.
Recruiting
All Ages
All Genders
Accepting Healthy Volunteers
Do you or a first-degree relative have a condition that raises the risk of heart disease? This study aims to test the heart and lung function of people who have a genetic or metabolic disease that raises their risk of heart disease. Participants in this study must be between 2 and 100 years old. This study is located in Bethesda, Maryland.
Recruiting
Adult, Older Adult
All Genders
Accepting Healthy Volunteers
Are you able to have a magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scan and want to help people with heart failure? This study is developing new methods for imaging the heart and blood vessels using MRI to improve how healthcare providers diagnose people with heart failure. This study takes place in Maryland and Washington, DC.
Not yet recruiting
Adult, Older Adult
Female
Accepting Healthy Volunteers
Are you an adult woman with lupus? In this study, researches will try to determine if an investigational medication is effective in treating lupus in adult women. You must be at least 18 years old. The study will also enroll healthy volunteers who have no history of lupus or other autoimmune disease. The study will take place at the National Institutes of Health Clinical Center in Bethesda, Maryland.
Recruiting
All Ages
All Genders
Not Accepting Healthy Volunteers
Do you or your child have dyslipidemia? This study is exploring how different diagnostic tests can help us understand how lipid disorders, including high blood cholesterol and high blood triglycerides, affect the body. Information from this study may help improve the way lipid disorders are diagnosed or treated in the future. Participants in this study must be at least 2 years old. The study is being conducted in Bethesda, Maryland.

Meet the Team

Michael Sack

Michael Sack, M.D., Ph.D.

Senior Investigator

Michael Sack graduated with his M.B.B.Ch. and M.Sc. from the University of Witwatersrand and earned his Ph.D. in 2000 from the University of Cape Town in South Africa. He did his internship at Johannesburg General Hospital and his internal medicine residency at Georgetown University Medical Center. He conducted cardiology research and did a clinical fellowship at Washington University Medical Center from 1994 to 1997. Dr. Sack joined the NHLBI in 2003. Dr. Sack has authored or coauthored more than 100 papers, editorials, reviews, and book chapters. He currently sits on the editorial boards of the Journal of Molecular and Cellular Cardiology, Mitochondrion, Journal of Gerontology, and Drug Discovery Today and is a member of the American Society for Clinical Investigation.

Haley

Haley Goss-Holmes

Postbaccalaureate Fellow
Allen

Allen Seylani

Postbaccalaureate Fellow
Amy

Amy Lin

Postbaccalaureate Fellow
Matthew

Matthew Rodman

Postbaccalaureate Fellow
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