Dr. Eric Taylor, Assistant Professor in the Department of Biochemistry and member of the Obesity Research and Education Initiative was recently awarded a new NIH R01 entitled “Regulation of Hepatic Gluconeogenesis by the Mitochondrial Pyruvate Carrier.” 

High blood sugar is a defining feature of Type 2 Diabetes that is responsible for many of its complications. A major cause of high blood sugar is excessive glucose production by the liver. One of the liver’s most preferred building blocks for glucose is a molecule called pyruvate. To build glucose, pyruvate must be transported to the inside of mitochondria, the energy-producing hub of the cell, by a specialized portal named the Mitochondrial Pyruvate Carrier (MPC). Thus, the MPC is potentially a critical point in metabolism for controlling glucose production. Dr. Taylor’s goals are to determine the molecular mechanisms regulating MPC function and whether inhibiting MPC activity will therapeutically decrease elevated blood sugar levels in Type 2 Diabetes