New mitochondria
Mitochondrial biogenesis
Also searched as Mitochondrial biogenesis.
Building new mitochondria — the route by which a cell increases its capacity to make energy. It is the adaptation behind endurance training, and it is what riboflavin, magnesium and CoQ10 feed.
In depth
Mitochondrial biogenesis — building new mitochondria rather than repairing old ones. Species-split here: T3 raises pgc-1α in rodent muscle but 'in humans, T3 does not influence nrf-1 or PGC1α'.
What drives it
Builds mitochondria increases it.
PGC-1alpha is the master transcriptional coactivator of mitochondrial biogenesis. doi 10.1016/j.cell.2022.11.001 · PMID 23746838 · PMC7139312
Cold exposure response increases it.
Verbatim: 'Interestingly, acute cold exposure induced browning of porcine sWAT, smaller adipocytes and the upregulated expression of UCP1, PGC1α, PGC1β, C/EBPβ, Cidea, UCP3, CKMT1 and PM20D1.' (10.1017/S1751731117002981). Scope (animal study): pig (piglets) · whole-animal ambient cold exposure · acute 4 C for 10 h; chronic arm 8 C for 15 days · n not stated in abstract · controlled animal exposure study. doi 10.1017/S1751731117002981
Cellular fuel increases it.
SIRT1 deacetylates and activates PGC-1alpha, which leads to increased mitochondrial biogenesis; NAD+ is required for SIRT1 activity. Covarrubias 2021, Nat Rev Mol Cell Biol — NAD+ metabolism and its roles in cellular processes during aging. PMID 33353981
Thyroid hormone conversion increases it.
T3 controls expression of PGC-1alpha, a central regulator of mitochondrial gene expression; D2-induced local T3 production contributes to PGC-1alpha activation and mitochondrial expansion. Lanni 2015, Front Physiol 6:237 — Regulation of skeletal muscle mitochondrial activity by thyroid hormones. doi 10.3389/fphys.2015.00237
Heat exposure increases it.
Verbatim: 'These data indicate that acute exercise in a hot environment facilitates protective response to heat stress (HSP-70), mitochondrial biogenesis (PGC-1α and HIF-1α) and fatty acid oxidation (PDK4).' (10.3389/fvets.2023.1230212). Tier: animal. horse (Thoroughbred, trained) · environmental heat during a standardized treadmill exercise test · hot WBGT 29.5°C vs cool WBGT 12.5°C · n = 15 total (cool n = 8, hot n = 7) · bet. doi 10.3389/fvets.2023.1230212
What it drives
It increases Mitochondrial energy.
Mitochondrial biogenesis — PGC-1alpha-driven expansion of mitochondrial mass and content — is the principal route by which oxidative capacity increases. It is how mitochondrial function is built. PMID 9529258 · PMC9967593
Blends that modulate it
Each blend page names this pathway and carries the study behind its claim.
See it on the map
Open the causal map to follow this pathway upstream and downstream, arrow by arrow, each with its study.