Abstract 3046 Leveraging Brown Fat Mitochondria To Understand Bioenergetics in Health and Disease

Mitochondria generate essential metabolites and signaling molecules that regulate cellular function and development in response to metabolic demands. These processes rely on the dynamic transport of compartmentalized metabolites across mitochondrial membranes by specific carrier proteins. Despite their critical role, mitochondrial carriers have been difficult to characterize due to the complexity of reconstituting metabolite transport. In this regard, brown adipocytes provide a powerful model for this investigation, as brown fat has the highest mitochondrial density among mammalian tissues.