Optical metabolic imaging identifies metabolic shifts and mitochondria heterogeneity in POLG mutator macrophages.

The article discusses the use of optical metabolic imaging to identify metabolic shifts and mitochondria heterogeneity in POLG mutator macrophages. The study found that POLG mutator macrophages exhibit decreased NAD(P)H lifetime and optical redox ratio compared to wild-type macrophages, indicating an increased dependence on glycolysis. Additionally, the research revealed heterogenous populations of POLG mutator macrophage responses under immune challenge by LPS, as well as differences in mitochondria morphology between wild-type and POLG mutated macrophages. Optical metabolic imaging shows promise for non-invasive detection and quantification of cellular metabolism, metabolic heterogeneity, and intra-cellular mitochondria morphology differences in POLG mutator macrophages. [Extracted from the article]