Hubert Peng

Fatty acid oxidation in intestinal stem cells (ISCs) is thought to be critical for their function because chemical or genetic inhibition of carnitine palmitoyltransferase 1 (Cpt1), needed for importing long-chain fatty acids into mitochondria, reduces ISC proliferation. However, we found that mice lacking carnitine palmitoyltransferase 2 (Cpt2), catalyzing the conversion of acyl-carnitine produced from Cpt1 back to acyl- CoA, exhibited increased ISC proliferation. We hypothesize that elevated long-chain acylcarnitine, rather than ATP or acetyl CoA produced from fatty acid oxidation, promotes ISC proliferation. Hubert’s project aims to test this hypothesis and assess how increasing ISC proliferation protects intestine during aging and after radiation injury.