Research
Nutrient requirements of tissues
We use in vivo stable isotope tracing and LC-MS based metabolomics to measure how and where nutrients are used in the body. We want to understand how nutrient supply supports tissue function and how diet influences disease processes.
Kapelczak, E.D., Jacobo, R., Mirabal, S.D.L., Dang, K.A., Hernandez, V., and TeSlaa, T. (2026) Flexibility of systemic one-carbon metabolism partially buffers dietary methyl donor deficiency. bioRxiv 2026.02.05.703880 [link]​​
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Zhang, Z.*, TeSlaa, T.*, Xu, X., Zeng, X., Yang, L., Xing, G., Tesz, G.J., Clasquin, M.F., & Rabinowitz, J. D. (2021). Serine catabolism generates liver NADPH and supports hepatic lipogenesis. Nature metabolism, 3(12), 1608-1620. [link][PDF]
We are interested in novel methods and appraoches to measure metabolism across scales. Our efforts in this area range from novel tracing strategies that reveal cellular or sub cellular specific metabolic information to collaborations on novel imaging based approaches.
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Chadha, R.S., Yang, B., Yuan, D., Kapelczak, E.D., Kocheril, P.A., Tapia, A., Mahajan, S., Colazo, A., Malhi, N.K., Ambarian, J.A., Liu, X., TeSlaa, T.A., Chen, Z.B., and Wei, L. (2025) Single-Cell Metabolic Imaging Reveals Glycogen-Driven Adaptations in Endothelial Cells. Advanced Science [link]
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Ranzau, B.L., Robinson, T.D., Scully, J.M., Kapelczak, E.D., Dean, T.S., TeSlaa, T., and Schmitt, D.L. (2024) A Genetically Encoded Fluorescent Biosensor for Intracellular Measurement of Malonyl-CoA. ACS Bio & Med Chem Au [link]
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Lu, W., Park, N.R., TeSlaa, T., Jankowski, C.S.R., Samarah, L., McReynolds, M., Xing, X., Schembri, J., Woolf, M.T., Rabinowitz, J.D., and Davidson, S.M. (2023) Acidic Methanol Treatment Facilitates Matrix-Assisted Laser Desorption Ionization-Mass Spectrometry Imaging of Energy Metabolism. Analytical Chemistry, 95(40) 14879-14888. [link]​​
Metabolism at the cellular and sub-cellular scale
Mechanisms of glycolytic flux regulation
We are interested in mechanisms that influence glucose use in cells. Our previous work has found that red muscle, despite being classically known for being oxidative and fat burning, has very active glycolytic metabolism. Thus, we use different muscle fiber types, in addition to other systems with known glycolytic metabolism, as a platform to discover novel mechanisms of glycolytic flux regualtion.
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TeSlaa, T., Bartman, C. R., Jankowski, C. S., Zhang, Z., Xu, X., Xing, X., Wang, L., Lu, W., Hui, S., & Rabinowitz, J. D. (2021). The source of glycolytic intermediates in mammalian tissues. Cell Metabolism, 33(2), 367-378. [link][PDF]
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TeSlaa, T., & Teitell, M. A. (2014). Techniques to monitor glycolysis. Methods in enzymology, 542, 91-114. [link][PDF]
Metabolism can drive changes in cellular identity. This concept has been mostly studied in proliferative cell types such as cancer and stem cells, but it is less clear the role that metabolism plays more terminally differentiated cell types. We are interested in how metabolism alters cellular fate and function. Toward this goal, we are working on developing genetically encoded tools to manipulate metabolism that manipulate levels of metabolites associated with epigenetic regulation.
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TeSlaa, T., Chaikovsky, A. C., Lipchina, I., Escobar, S. L., Hochedlinger, K., Huang, J., Graeber, T.G., Braas, D., & Teitell, M. A. (2016). α-Ketoglutarate accelerates the initial differentiation of primed human pluripotent stem cells. Cell metabolism, 24(3), 485-493. [link][PDF]