Seminar Abstract: Mammalian mitoribosomes regulate cellular respiration by translating mitochondria‐encoded membrane proteins, yet their dysfunction in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) remains poorly understood. In this seminar, Dr. Yi introduces a liver‐specific mitoribosomal defect mouse model to explore the mitochondrial unfolded protein response, mitokine signaling, and tumor immune microenvironments in liver disease and cancer. He further examines the role of hepatic stellate cells (HSCs) in metabolic dysfunction, revealing that glutamic‐pyruvic transaminase 1 (GPT1) drives alanine synthesis in activated HSCs via ammonia overflow in liver cancers, thereby functioning as a systemic nitrogen sink during HCC progression. Utilizing HSC‐specific GPT1 knockout mice alongside analyses of human HCC samples, his work provides critical insights into how metabolic adaptations in hepatic stellate cells influence liver disease progression. This seminar will be of interest to researchers studying mitochondrial biology, metabolism, and immunoregulation in liver pathology.

Lab webpage: Yi Lab