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β-cell dedifferentiation has emerged as a contributing mechanism in type 1 and type 2 diabetes development. Here Sachs et al. show that a pharmacological treatment that combines insulin and a GLP-1–oestrogen conjugate reverses dedifferentiation, and improves β-cell function and hyperglycaemia in diabetic mice.
Proliferation of cardiomyocytes typically ceases shortly after birth. Here the authors show that decreasing fatty-acid oxidation extends the perinatal cardiomyocyte proliferative window and can reintroduce cell-cycle activity in adult cardiomyocytes.
Zuend and colleagues show that an arousal-induced increase in cortical activity is accompanied by a surge in lactate in the extracellular space and a substantial lactate dip in astrocytes, followed by mobilization of lactate from glycogen stores and neuronal lactate increase.
Hartl et al. demonstrate how metabolism and the cell cycle are coupled in prokaryotic cells by analysing the metabolome during the cell cycle in Caulobacter crescentus. Whereas the levels of most metabolites are independent of the cell cycle, glutathione fluctuates and is required for coordinated cell cycle progression.
Zhang et al. show that high-protein diets increase atherosclerosis risk through macrophage mTORC1 activation associated with suppressed clearance of damaged mitochondria and increased apoptosis.
The ketogenic diet is a low-carbohydrate, high-fat diet that forces a metabolic switch towards fatty acid oxidation. Here, Goldberg et al. show that a ketogenic diet initially improves metabolic health and expands adipose tissue γδ T cells that are important for glycaemic control during obesity.
Extracellular-matrix remodelling promotes tumour progression and metastasis. Papalazarou et al. demonstrate that mechanosensing affects pancreatic cancer cell migration, metabolism and ultimately metastatic potential by targeting the creatine–phosphagen ATP-recycling system.
Converting serine to pyruvate and ammonia, serine racemase is shown to support colon-cancer growth, thus highlighting a new strategy that cancer cells use to maintain cellular pyruvate levels and mitochondrial mass.