title: Mitochondrial Function and Cell Size: An Allometric Relationship.
abstract: Allometric scaling of metabolic rate results in lower total mitochondrial oxygen consumption with increasing organismal size. This is considered a universal law in biology. Here, we discuss how allometric laws impose size-dependent limits to mitochondrial activity at the cellular level. This cell-size-dependent mitochondrial metabolic activity results in nonlinear scaling of metabolism in proliferating cells, which can explain size homeostasis. The allometry in mitochondrial activity can be controlled through mitochondrial fusion and fission machinery, suggesting that mitochondrial connectivity can bypass transport limitations, the presumed biophysical basis for allometry. As physical size affects cellular functionality, cell-size-dependent metabolism becomes directly relevant for development, metabolic diseases, and aging.
authors.affiliation: MRC Laboratory for Molecular Cell Biology, University College London, Gower Street, London WC1E 6BT, UK; Koch Institute for Integrative Cancer Research, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA 02139, USA; Division of Cell and Developmental Biology, School of Life Sciences, University of Dundee, DD1 5EH Dundee, Scotland, UK. Electronic address: t.miettinen@ucl.ac.uk.
authors.forename: Teemu P
authors.initials: TP
authors.lastname: Miettinen
authors.affiliation: Division of Cell and Developmental Biology, School of Life Sciences, University of Dundee, DD1 5EH Dundee, Scotland, UK. Electronic address: mikael.bjorklund.lab@gmail.com.
authors.forename: Mikael
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Björklund
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D002455:Cell Division; D048429:Cell Size; D006706:Homeostasis; D008928:Mitochondria / Q000378:metabolism*; D063154:Mitochondrial Dynamics; D008954:Models, Biological