Martin Picard
@MitoPsychoBio
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Mitochondrial Psychobiology. Our team studies energy, mind-body communication, mitochondrial diseases, aging, and the science of health.
Manhattan, NY
Joined February 2018
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Pinned Tweet
What do mitochondria look like?
A little look at mitochondrial diversity by electron microscopy
Source:
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How we think and talk about mitochondria matters to our science and to newcomers in the field.
The powerhouse analogy is expired and we need specific vocabulary to capture the beautiful complexity of mitochondrial biology.
We propose a framework and some nomenclature.
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Question for mitochondriacs: Can we come up with a list of all mitochondrial functions? Beyond OxPhos and ATP synthesis, what are core mitochondrial *functions*?
Please add a reference for functions you mention below.
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How much energy do we waste by generating psychobiological stress responses? And does this accelerate biological aging?
In human cultured fibroblasts, chronic stress increases the energetic cost by 60% of life and accelerate multiple aging biomarkers.
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Mitochondrial shape changes regulate nuclear gene expression and stem cell fate.
As if cells had evolved to tune their lives and behaviors to the state of their mitochondria.
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Cells talk to each other, probably in part by exchanging mitochondria and mitochondrial components
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How much energy do cells and organisms with impaired mitochondrial OxPhos waste in mounting (futile) stress responses?
Could hypermetabolism - rather than ATP deficiency - cause symptoms and disability in mitochondrial diseases?
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The food we eat determines the energetic substrates that reach our mitochondria and power the mind-body unit
@Metabolic_Mind
@janellison
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Energy flows from the sun to our mind through mitochondria
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All normal mammalian cells behave as part of a cell collective. Like whole animals, cells survive and thrive by interacting with each other
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Chronically stressed cells exposed to chronic glucocorticoids burn energy faster (about 60%). They ramp up the production of additional mitochondria, which work overtime. For some unknown but fascinating reason the rate of energy consumption predicts accelerated cellular aging.
Cells chronically exposed to the stress hormone cortisol have a sad story - their mitochondria are depleted - their battery runs out. Their telomeres shorten. Remarkable research by Dr.
@MitoPsychoBio
Picard, Natalia Bobba-Alves, et al
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The first version of the "hallmarks of mitochondrial signal transduction"
Thinking about 1) the INPUTS that mitochondria sense and respond to, 2) the PROCESSES they use to exchange information between organelles, 3) the SIGNALS they produce, what is this diagram missing?
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Cool new paper showing that human mitochondria internalize (endocytosis-style!) lysosomes during hypoxia. Great EM work and live-cell imaging.
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Beautiful diversity of mitochondria
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Mitochondria are multifunctional and there is an expansive toolkit to get at various domains of mitochondrial biology! Beautifully reviewed here.
Omics-based approaches for the systematic profiling of mitochondrial biology
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The key to understanding and improving health and disease risk is to understand the forces and mechanisms that drive them. *Energy* is a major force acting on several important mechanisms.
Likewise, the key to understanding and improving how we deliver healthcare is to…
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The brain is not that big, but consumes a lot of energy. The whole organism collaborates to ensure that the brain's and the mind's energy requirements are met.
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The organism is a network of communicating, energy transforming mitochondria
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Molecular connection of epigenomic marks with cellular and mitochondrial metabolism
A great summary:
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Do women and men have different mitochondria? Two years ago we set out to address this question as a field, collecting and meta-analyzing data from more than 50 papers. Thanks to all contributing investigators! And precious input from
@GGouspillou
@KFW_Lab
@MolinaLab1
and others
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Do cells with impaired mitochondrial energy transformation capacity try to conserve energy? Or do they kick in higher gear and expend more energy to adapt?
@sturm_gav
and collaborators investigated in patients and in aging primary human fibroblasts
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Interesting perspective
« ATP production appears to be only a secondary function of the mitochondria »
Mitochondria are multifunctional indeed
Should the standard model of cellular
#energy
#metabolism
be reconsidered? Possible coupling between the pentose phosphate pathway, glycolysis and extra-
#mitochondrial
oxidative phosphorylation
👇
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Great piece to help us think about mitochondria as more than powerhouses. Mitochondria signal both within and between cells.
@RPC_3312
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Welcome to our new series featuring exciting findings related to the deep mind-body connection! Each week we will share an important finding submitted by psychobiology experts. Check out for more information, a resource created by Sophie Basarrate.
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Mitochondria physically connect with the nucleus to promote mito-nuclear signaling
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Physical exercise doesn't just increase total energy expenditure, it makes the organism more "efficient" (metabolic compensation) the rest of the time.
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Does external red light stimulation influence mitochondrial and systemic metabolism ?
If so, this could change a few things about how we think of biology.
Mitochondria also naturally produce low levels of photons.
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The brain is interconnected with the whole body, evolved to sense, integrate, and regulate as a unit
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Sorry the paper is too long to read. Here is a summary of in vitro findings:
OxPhos-deficient cells activate expensive transcriptional programs involved in signaling, develop a hypersecretory phenotype, burn 2-3 times more energy per cell division, and end up aging faster.
Do cells with impaired mitochondrial energy transformation capacity try to conserve energy? Or do they kick in higher gear and expend more energy to adapt?
@sturm_gav
and collaborators investigated in patients and in aging primary human fibroblasts
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Mitochondria are social organelles. They communicate by exchanging small molecules including their own DNA through fusion-fission, membrane contacts, nano-tunnels, and by sending out vesicles. -- Caroline Trumpff
Just like every person is unique, every mitochondrion is unique 😍
Over the next weeks, every day we'll be posting a piece of art from one of our lab members showcasing different aspects on mitochondrial biology and human health. Medium: paint with
@Cell_Metabolism
cutouts
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Some of the amazing and strangest mitochondria we have seen, from the leg muscle of a person with a rare mtDNA mutation (m.8344A>G)
Notice the regular angles!
Work by
@AmyV91
Source:
What do mitochondria look like?
A little look at mitochondrial diversity by electron microscopy
Source:
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Energy and mitochondria connect us in many interrelated ways. Great article on the energetics of social behaviors in animals by
@carmensandi10
Much still to learn about in humans.
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Mitochondria are family of morphologically, functionally, and molecularly diverse organelles
#Mitochondrial
phosphoproteomes are functionally specialized across tissues
Tissue-specific atlas of mouse mitochondrial proteomes & phosphoproteomes, an in-depth resource towards better understanding of composition & function of this vital organelle in a tissue-specific manner.
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How do our cells and organs become aware of our subjective experience of stress?
We know that stressful psychological experiences trigger the release of glucocorticoids and catecholamines, which are then sensed by receptors on target cells and organs.
But which organs express…
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The importance of stupidity in scientific research.
Great piece especially for graduate students and trainees.
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How do cells change over time? Here is a longitudinal, multi-omics dataset by
@sturm_gav
and colleagues to examine trajectories of molecular, functional, genomic, and bioenergetic changes over months.
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Beautiful super-resolution imaging of living mitochondria! Way to combine spatial and temporal resolution.
Photo-toxicity ❌Photo-stability; See for yourself what happens to the mitochondria when you are doing super-resolution imaging, and how our new PK Mito dyes excel😀
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Selectively altering mitochondrial biology (mitochondrial fusion, interactions with other organelles) in specific brain neurons affects social behaviors in mice, including dominance and submissiveness.
Beautiful paper by
@carmensandi10
and team
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The closer you look, the more beautiful mitochondria are
Excited to share our work on the mitochondrial ATP synthase under native working conditions in whole cells! Many thanks to everybody involved!
@and_schwarz
@NoorAgip
and twitterless Werner Kühlbrandt ❄️🔬🥳
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Are mitochondria of the same kind across immune cell subtypes?
Mitochondria from human Monocytes, Neutrophils, NK cells, and subsets of B and T lymphocytes exhibit large phenotypic differences.
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Mitochondria sense and respond to lactate by increasing oxidative phosphorylation (OxPhos) function
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How we interact with the world – our perceptions, reactions, behaviors – are driven by brain biology. But what part?
We find that mitochondrial energy production capacity in specific brain areas explains a large fraction of mouse behavioral differences
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Beautiful mitochondria... here in the mouse adrenal gland.
Electron micrograph taken with Carla Basualto, a visiting scholar in our lab.
#MitoMonday
#Mitochondria
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Great piece on possible metabolic overdrive or ‘hypermetabolism’ in bipolar disorder
Energy flow is not only a permissive force for the brain and body, it is instructive
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Metabolic oversupply can fragment the mitochondrial network, whereas periods of undersupply (hunger) can promote mitochondrial fusion
According to mitochondrial expert Dr. Martin Picard, allowing ourselves to be hungry helps mitochondria heal. Humans evolved to go through periods of hunger & can use methods like
#IntermittentFasting
to improve
#MetabolicHealth
.
More from
@MitoPsychoBio
:
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Mitochondria are multifaceted and multifunctional
Great article by
@TheScientistLLC
inspired by a piece by
@AnnaMonzel
and
@GenoxphosLab
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How much energy do we waste by generating psychobiological stress responses? And does this accelerate biological aging?
In human cultured fibroblasts, chronic stress increases the energetic cost of life by 60% and accelerates multiple aging biomarkers.
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Mitochondria are the processor of the cell. Their endosymbiosis is quite possibly what sparked unicellular organisms into becoming multicellular, develop into a sophisticated body-brain unit, and evolve consciousness and subjective experiences.
So much of biology can't possibly relate to mitochondria, can it?
If that's what you think, you clearly don't understand the central role of mitochondria in the function of cells... or in the existence of life itself.
Mitochondria are the "elephants in the room," so to speak.
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Beautiful piece discussing the state of the science around mitochondria transfer, technicial challenges, and guidelines to figure out how and why cell-free mitochondria are found in circulation in various health and disease states
@BrestoffLab
@CreweLab
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We are excited to launch our Mitochondrial Stress, Brain Imaging, and Epigenetics (MiSBIE) study page
Slides and recording of MiSBIE Transition meeting posted
Developments to come, including a Spring 2025 MISBIE Symposium
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The biological and energetic cost of various stressors is linked to reversible acceleration in biological age
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Mitochondria play critical roles in the acquisition and maintenance of immunometabolic states in cells and animals. How about cytokine production by circulating immune cells in patients with rare mitochondrial DNA defects?
@kalpitark
investigated
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Mitochondrial diversity across mouse tissues, and differences by sex and age
Mitochondrial respiration atlas reveals differential changes in mitochondrial function across sex and age
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Full text here:
How we think and talk about mitochondria matters to our science and to newcomers in the field.
The powerhouse analogy is expired and we need specific vocabulary to capture the beautiful complexity of mitochondrial biology.
We propose a framework and some nomenclature.
52
611
2K
10
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Beautiful mitochondrial dynamics with sub-organellar resolution in cells in vitro
Source Huang et al. Nat Biotechnology 2018
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We are grateful to the Twitter community and
@CAS_mitolab
for input to the list of mitochondrial functions and behaviors (Table 1), and
@GenoxphosLab
's encyclopedic knowledge
Much inspiration from MitoCarta3.0 by
@VamsiMootha
and colleagues
Grateful to
@SchmittChr
for guidance
Online now! Multifaceted mitochondria: moving mitochondrial science beyond function and dysfunction
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Mitochondria sense amino acids and respond by changing shape
Amino acid starvation drives mitochondria towards increased fusion (in cells)
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Mitochondria circulate freely in the blood.
Communication across the human body?
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The mitochondrial genome is detectable in practically every human biofluid, mostly found inside small vesicles or as whole mitochondria.
@CarolineTrumpff
and Shannon Rausser found that cell-free mitochondrial DNA (cf-mtDNA) also is detectable in human saliva.
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Pieces of the mitochondrial genome jump and are integrated into the nuclear DNA
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Mitochondria release their mtDNA in response to psychological stress. But unlike with physical injury, mental stress does not cause nuclear DNA release
New paper:
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Full text now freely downloadable
How we think and talk about mitochondria matters to our science and to newcomers in the field.
The powerhouse analogy is expired and we need specific vocabulary to capture the beautiful complexity of mitochondrial biology.
We propose a framework and some nomenclature.
52
611
2K
4
49
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High ROS production from mitochondria comes not from high energy expenditure (EE) but from having high capacity and supply and not using it (sitting idle)
novel perspective suggesting high sustained energy expenditure may be net protective against cancer | Evolution, Medicine, and Public Health | Oxford Academic
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Today marks the transition from data collection to data analysis for our Mitochondrial Stress, Brain Imaging, and Epigenetics (MiSBIE) study.
Six years of work by dozens of people across countries—thank you! So much to learn.
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Why are transitions always difficult?
Whether a conscious, thinking, feeling organism; or a single cell; life transitions are always hard because they cost energy.
We discuss the energetic cost of transitions, the ISR, and GDF15:
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Preprint linking human brain mitochondrial phenotypes to psychosocial experiences and well-being
Work by
@CarolineTrumpff
and many collaborators!
@carmensandi10
Please share your comments and questions:
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Impressive patterns of mitochondrial respiratory chain protein co-regulation in the human brain.
A molecular-level resolution map of mitochondrial OxPhos organization in the brain is a step towards mapping psychobiological processes with a high level of specificity.
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Human Hair Graying is Naturally Reversible and Linked to Stress
Preprint by
@amrosenberg12
Shannon Rausser
@gavsturm1
and team. An exciting opportunity for aging psychobiology.
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Emotions are “Energy in Motion” traveling through the brain-body unit.
What is the energetic cost of feeling something? Do strong emotions force energy tradeoffs and redirect energy flow in the organism?
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The main biological/genetic predictor of Alzheimer's disease risk, APOE, is under mitochondrial regulation. Disrupting mitochondrial OxPhos capacity increases APOE expression and secretion.
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Just like every person is unique, every mitochondrion is unique 😍
Over the next weeks, every day we'll be posting a piece of art from one of our lab members showcasing different aspects on mitochondrial biology and human health. Medium: paint with
@Cell_Metabolism
cutouts
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The immune system is composed of multiple different cell types. Many have distinct metabolic phenotypes. We mapped some biochemical and molecular differences their mitochondria. A resource to design studies of mitochondrial health in humans.
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Dynamic social mitochondria (in live human endothelial cell) to start off the new year
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The NADH/NAD+ ratio is an integrative marker of a cell’s energetic state, used to make important cellular life decisions
Single-cell NAD(H) levels predict clonal lymphocyte expansion dynamics | Science Immunology
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Mitochondria as Cellular and Organismal Signaling Hubs
"They are vital in cellular and organismal pathways that direct metabolism, stress responses, immunity, and cellular fate."
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@EricTopol
@TheLancet
The constant search for a magic bullet (for COVID and other conditions) is killing our ability to make real changes that improve people's health.
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Two mitochondria kissing near the Z-line in a skeletal muscle myofiber
Note the convergence of cristae and electron density at the site of the "kiss"
What do mitochondria look like?
A little look at mitochondrial diversity by electron microscopy
Source:
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Profound changes in whole-body metabolism during sleep. Sleep is one of the most fascinating human behavior, where consciousness fades for a few hours, making room for restorative and anabolic processes.
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Precious mitochondria are passed down by mothers only, so we all have our mom's mitochondria.
Here are four generations of mitochondria powering life and consciousness for over 90 years 😍 Pretty special.
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A little mitochondria poem for Thanksgiving 😃
In the season of thanks,
we gather near,
To celebrate blessings
we hold dear.
Around the table,
a feast so grand,
But in our cells,
a story so grand.
Within our bodies,
a marvel unseen,
Mitochondria dance,
a vibrant…
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Energy, mitochondrial psychobiology, the brain, health, and a potential future for health*care
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Sub-cellular imaging at fantastic resolution! Way to visualize mitochondria.
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Collection of classic mitochondrial biology papers ranging from molecular composition, ultrastructure, dynamics, motility, respiration, inter-organelle contacts, to mito-nuclear signaling
This month, browse a collection of classic papers on
#mitochondria
for
#JCB65
. The collection encompasses many groundbreaking studies examining mitochondrial structure, function, and dynamics
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Mapping mitochondrial behaviors - including their movement and interactions - is key to develop and test new hypothesis about their role in cellular and organismal health.
Here is "Mitometer" to map 2D and 3D mitochondrial dynamics in living cells.
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Please meet the mitochondrion. Generally not bean-shaped. Together with other mitochondria they form an information processing system that contributes to cellular adaptation and organismal health.
Art by
@NeuroWoodworks
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Muscle mitochondrion from a person with mitochondrial disease - one of our favorite
Imaged with
@AmyV91
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The mitochondrial genome is a signaling molecule
Moderate amounts of environmental or endogenous stress can cause
#mitochondria
to leak
#DNA
fragments that induce inflammation. Read more in this
#SciMagPerspective
: ($)
#Immunology
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Inhibition of mitochondrial DNA transcription seems to increase energy expenditure - hypermetabolism - protecting against diet-induced obesity
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Absolutely beautiful how dynamic mitochondria are, imaged here live with unprecedented resolution
Wow, this is simply fascinating!
Live mitochondria seen in unprecedented detail with ∼60 nm superresolution
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Mitochondrial metabolism controls DNA methylation in the cell nucleus. Excellent demonstration of mito-nuclear communication, and mitochondria speaking the language of the epigenome.
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Lovely working with
@AnnaMonzel
and
@GenoxphosLab
on this piece!
Comments and feedback welcome! Mitochondriac or not, let us know what you think.
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Mitochondrial DNA can be found "free-floating" in human blood as cell-free mtDNA (cf-mtDNA). We took a deep dive with a fantastic team into the knowns and unknowns of cf-mtDNA, led by
@CarolineTrumpff
with
@kaufmanlabpitt
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