Maik Hüttemann, PhD

Education

Philipps University of Marburg, PhD, 1999

Research Focus

Our team studies mitochondrial function using genetic and biochemical approaches. We focus on two key components of the mitochondrial oxidative phosphorylation machinery, cytochrome c oxidase (COX) and the small electron carrier cytochrome c (Cytc). COX is the terminal enzyme of the mitochondrial respiratory chain, “burns” the oxygen we breathe to water, and pumps protons across the inner mitochondrial membrane generating the mitochondrial membrane potential, which is utilized by ATP synthase to produce energy in the form of ATP. Cytc has two distinct functions: it delivers electrons to COX, but it also participates in programmed cell death (apoptosis).

The overall goal of our work is to understand the regulation of COX and Cytc in normal and disease conditions. This regulation in turn affects energy production, free radical generation, and apoptosis. Research topics of the Hüttemann group under investigation include 1) cell signaling pathways that act on COX and Cytc, which pathways are often dysregulated in human diseases; 2) lung cancer; 3) neurodegenerative diseases; 4) gene regulation of COX subunit isoforms; and 5) novel strategies to boost mitochondrial function as a future treatment for diseases that manifest themselves in a lack of energy and increased cell death.

Mentoring

Accepting new M.S. students in 2023/2024

Not accepting new Ph.D. students in 2023/2024

Recent Publications

To view a full list of Dr. Hüttemann's publications please follow this link. 

Strubakos, C.D., Malik, M., Wider, J.M., Lee, I., Mitsias, P., Hüttemann, M., Sanderson, T.H. (2020) Non-Invasive mitochondrial modulation with near-infrared light reduces brain injury after stroke.  J Cereb Blood Flow Metab, 40(4):833-844.                                

Erickson, R. P., Aras, S., Purandare, N., Hüttemann, M., Liu, J., Dragotto, J., Fiorenza, M. T., and Grossman, L. I. (2020) Decreased membrane cholesterol in liver mitochondria of the point mutation mouse model of juvenile Niemann-Pick C1, Npc1^(nmf164). Mitochondrion 51, 15-21

Kalpage H.A., Wan J., Morse, P.T., Zurek, M.P., Turner, A.A., Khobeir, A., Yazdi, N., Hakim, L., Liu J., Vaishnav A., Sanderson T.H., Recanati M.A., Grossman L.I., Lee I., Edwards B.F., Hüttemann M. (2020) Cytochrome c phosphorylation: Control of mitochondrial electron transport chain flux and apoptosis. Int J Biochem Cell Biol, 121:105704. doi: 10.1016/j.biocel.2020.105704.

Moreno-Domínguez, A., Ortega-Sáenz, P., Gao, L., Colinas, O., García-Flores, P., Bonilla-Henao, V., Aragonés, J., Hüttemann, M., Grossman, L.I., Weissmann, N., Sommer, N., López-Barneo, J. (2020) Acute O₂ sensing through HIF2a-dependent expression of atypical cytochrome oxidase subunits in arterial chemoreceptors. Sci Signal, (13), eaay9452.

Dekhne A.S., Ning C., Nayeen, M.J., Shah, K., Kalpage, H.A., Fruhauf, J., Wallace-Povirk, A., O'Connor, C., Hou, Z., Kim, S., Hüttemann, M., Gangjee, A., Matherly, L.H. (2020) Cellular pharmacodynamics of a novel pyrrolo[3,2-d]pyrimidine inhibitor targeting mitochondrial and cytosolic one-carbon metabolism. Mol Pharmacol, 97(1):9-22.

Kalpage H.A., Bazylianska V., Recanati M.A., Fite A., Liu J., Wan J., Mantena N., Malek M.H., Podgorski I., Heath E.I., Vaishnav A., Edwards B.F., Grossman L.I., Sanderson T.H., Lee I., Hüttemann M. (2019) Tissue-specific regulation of cytochrome c by post-translational modifications: respiration, the mitochondrial membrane potential, ROS, and apoptosis. FASEB J, 33(2):1540-1553.

Wan, J., Kalpage, H.A., Vaishnav, A., Liu, J., Lee, I., Mahapatra, G., Turner, A.A., Zurek, M.P., Ji, Q., Moraes, C.T., Recanati, M.A., Grossman, L.I., Salomon, A.R., Edwards, B.F.P., Hüttemann, M. (2019) Regulation of Respiration and Apoptosis by Cytochrome c Threonine 58 Phosphorylation. Sci Rep, 9(1):15815.

Kalpage, H. A., Vaishnav, A., Liu, J., Varughese, A., Wan, J., Turner, A. A., Ji, Q., Zurek, M. P., Kapralov, A. A., Kagan, V. E., Brunzelle, J. S., Recanati, M. A., Grossman, L. I., Sanderson, T. H., Lee, I., Edwards, B. F., and Hüttemann, M. (2019) Serine-47 Phosphorylation of Cytochrome c in the Mammalian Brain Regulates Cytochrome c Oxidase and Caspase-3 Activity. FASEB J, 33(12):13503-13514.

Meng, F., Wu, L., Dong, L., Mitchell, A., Block, CJ., Liu, J., Zhang, H., Lu, Q., Song, W, Zhang, B., Chen, W., Hu, J., Wang, J., Yang, Q., Hüttemann, M., Wu, G. EGFL9 Promotes Breast Cancer Metastasis by Inducing cMET Activation and Metabolic Reprogramming. (2019) Nat Commun, 10(1):5033.

Dekhne, A. S., Shah, K., Ducker, G. S., Katinas, J. M., Wong-Roushar, J., Nayeen, M. J., Doshi, A., Ning, C., Bao, X., Fruhauf, J., Liu, J., Wallace-Povirk, A., O'Connor, C., Dzinic, S. H., White, K., Kushner, J., Kim, S., Hüttemann, M., Polin, L., Rabinowitz, J. D., Li, J., Hou, Z., Dann, C. E., 3rd, Gangjee, A., and Matherly, L. H. (2019) Novel Pyrrolo[3,2-d]pyrimidine Compounds Target Mitochondrial and Cytosolic One-carbon Metabolism with Broad-spectrum Antitumor Efficacy. Mol Cancer Ther 18(10), 1787-1799.

Dean, J., Kramer, K. J., Akbary, F., Wade, S., Hüttemann, M., Berman, J. M., and Recanati, M. A. (2019) Norethindrone is superior to combined oral contraceptive pills in short-term delay of menses and onset of breakthrough bleeding: a randomized trial. BMC Womens Health 19, 70

Raja, V., Salsaa, M., Joshi, A.S., Li, Y., van Roermund, C.W.T., Saadat, N., Lazcano, P., Schmidtke, M., Hüttemann, M., Gupta, S.V., Wanders, R.J.A., Greenberg, M.L. (2019) Cardiolipin-deficient cells depend on anaplerotic pathways to ameliorate defective TCA cycle function. Biochim Biophys Acta Mol Cell Biol Lipids 1864(5):654-661.