The Mnatsakanyan Laboratory studies the structure, function, and pharmacological regulation of mitochondrial ion channels with the focus on mitochondrial permeability transition pore, the enigmatic cell death channel which plays a prominent role in degenerative disorders of the heart and brain, aging, and cancer.
Our lab uses a multidisciplinary research approach combining structural biology (cryo-electron microscopy, cryo-electron tomography), electrophysiology (patch-clamp and planar lipid bilayer recordings), ligand-binding affinity (Microscale Thermophoresis) and mitochondrial physiology (Oroboros high-resolution respirometry) assays to study mitochondria-mediated cell death pathways in associated pathologies. Current projects include structure-function studies of the ATP Synthase Leak Channel and its role in Alzheimer’s and Parkinson's disease pathogenesis, diabetes, and ischemia-reperfusion injury of heart and brain.