KATSU FUNAI portrait
  • Assistant Professor, Physical Therapy & Athletic Training
  • Associate Professor, Molecular Medicine
  • Adjunct Associate Professor, Department Of Biochemistry
  • Associate Professor, Nutrition & Integrative Physiology
801-585-1781

Research Keywords

  • Skeletal Muscle
  • Metabolism
  • Lipids

Presentations

  • Siripoksup P, Johnson JM, Lang MJ, Mahmassani ZS, Maschek JA, Heden TD, Cox JE, Drummond MJ, Funai K. Mitochondrial PE modulates respiratory efficiency in skeletal muscle. Keystone Symposia: New Insights into the Biology of Exercise, Keystone, CO, 2020. Conference Paper, Refereed, Accepted, 03/2020.
  • Lang MJ, Patil MH, Poss AM, Maschek JA, Siripoksup P, Johnson JM, Tippetts TS, Gerhart-Hines Z, Cox JE, Summers SA, Funai K. Remodeling of mitochondrial membrane lipids in the progression of non-alcoholic fatty-liver disease. Keystone Symposia: New Insights into the Biology of Exercise, Keystone, CO, 2020. Conference Paper, Refereed, Accepted, 03/2020.
  • Three Sisters Paradox: why mammalian cells lack yeast Cho1. Research in Progress Meeting, Diabetes & Metabolism Research Center, University of Utah. Invited Talk/Keynote, Presented, 01/2020.
  • Use it or Lose it: Energy efficiency of mitochondria, Vitae 2019, University of Utah. Invited Talk/Keynote, Presented, 12/2019.
  • Mitochondrial PE potentiates respiratory enzymes to amplify skeletal muscle aerobic capacity. Utah Vascular Research Laboratory Seminar, University of Utah. Invited Talk/Keynote, Presented, 12/2019.
  • Lang MJ, Patil MH, Poss AM, Maschek JA, Siripoksup P, Johnson JM, Tippetts TS, Gerhart-Hines Z, Cox JE, Summers SA, Funai K. Remodeling of mitochondrial membrane lipids in the progression of non-alcoholic fatty-liver disease. Washington University School of Medicine Diabetes Day, St. Louis, 2019. Conference Paper, Refereed, Presented, 11/2019.
  • Mitochondrial membrane lipids regulate metabolic efficiency. Department of Biochemistry & Molecular Biology. Saint Louis University School of Medicine. St. Louis, MO. 2019. Invited Talk/Keynote, Presented, 09/2019.
  • Mitochondrial membrane remodeling induced by exercise and inactivity. ARIHHP Seminar. University of Tsukuba, Tsukuba, Japan. 2019. Invited Talk/Keynote, Presented, 06/2019.
  • Mitochondrial PE potentiates respiratory enzymes to amplify skeletal muscle aerobic capacity. International Conference on the Bioscience of Lipids. Tokyo, Japan, 2019. Invited Talk/Keynote, Presented, 06/2019.
  • Mitochondrial membrane lipids and respiratory efficiency. Lipoquality Symposium. Yokohoma, Japan, 2019. Invited Talk/Keynote, Presented, 06/2019.
  • Ferrara PJ, Rong X, Maschek JA, Verkerke ARP, Eshima H, Siripoksup P, Heden TD, Turk J, Houmard JA, Cox JE, Shaikh SR, Tontonoz P, Funai K. Lands cycle modulates plasma membrane microdomain clustering and insulin sensitivity in skeletal muscle. Cold Spring Harbor Meeting: Mechanisms of Metabolic Signaling. Cold Spring Harbor, NY, 2019. Conference Paper, Refereed, Presented, 05/2019.
  • Heden TD, Johnson JM, Ferrara PJ, Eshima H, Verkerke ARP, Siripoksup P, Reidy PT, de Castro Bras LE, Karner CM, Burant CF, Cox JE, Mashek DG, Kardon G, Zeczycki TN, Rutter J, Shaikh SR, Vance JE, Drummond MJ, Neufer PD, Funai K. Mitochondrial PE potentiates respiratory enzymes to amplify skeletal muscle aerobic capacity. Cold Spring Harbor Meeting: Mechanisms of Metabolic Signaling. Cold Spring Harbor, NY, 2019. Conference Paper, Refereed, Presented, 05/2019.
  • How to build a wall: Mitochondrial PE potentiates respiratory enzymes to amplify skeletal muscle aerobic capacity. Orthopedic Soft Tissue Research Program. Hospital for Special Surgery. New York City, NY. 2019. Invited Talk/Keynote, Presented, 05/2019.
  • How to build a wall –especially *if one is a large cell-. Department of Chemistry & Biochemistry Seminar. Brigham Young University, Provo, UT. 2019. Invited Talk/Keynote, Presented, 03/2019.

Languages

  • English, fluent.
  • Japanese, fluent.

Publications

  • Iñigo MR & Amorese AJ, Tarpey MD, Balestreri NP, Jones KG, Patteson DJ, Jackson KC, Torres MJ, Lin C, Smith CD, Heden TD, McMillin SL, Weyrauch LA, Stanley EC, Schmidt CA, Kilburg-Basnyat, BB, Reece SW, Psaltis CE, Leinwand LA, Funai K, McClung JM, Gowdy KM, Witczak (2020). Estrogen receptor-α in female skeletal muscle is not required for regulation of muscle insulin sensitivity and mitochondrial regulation. Molecular Metabolism. Published, 04/2020.
  • Johnson JM, Verkerke ARP, Maschek JA, Ferrara PJ, Lin CT, Kew KA, Neufer PD, Lodhi IJ, Cox JE & Funai K (2020). Alternative splicing of UCP1 by non-cell-autonomous action of PEMT. Molecular metabolism. Vol. 31, 55-66. Published, 01/01/2020.
  • Mahmassani ZS & Reidy PT, McKenzie AI, Petrocelli JJ, Matthews O, de Hart N, Ferrara PJ, O’Connell R, Funai K, Drummond MJ (2020). Absence of MyD88 from skeletal muscle protects female mice from inactivity-induced adiposity and insulin resistance. Obesity. Accepted, 01/2020.
  • Funai K (2019). Reign in the Membrane: How common lipids govern mitochondrial function. Current Opinion in Cell Biology. Accepted, 11/2019.
  • Gumucio JP, Qasawa AH, Ferrara PJ, Malik AN, Funai K, McDonagh B & Mendias CL (2019). Reduced mitochondrial lipid oxidation leads to fat accumulation in myosteatosis. FASEB journal : official publication of the Federation of American Societies for Experimental Biology. Vol. 33, 7863-7881. Published, 10/01/2019.
  • Pennington ER, Funai K, Brown DA & Shaikh SR (2019). The role of cardiolipin concentration and acyl chain composition on mitochondrial inner membrane molecular organization and function. (pp. 1039-1052). Vol. 1864. Biochimica et biophysica acta. Molecular and cell biology of lipids. Published, 09/01/2019.
  • Verkerke ARP & Ferrara PJ, Lin C, Johnson JM, Ryan TE, Maschek JA, Eshima H, Paran CW, Laing BT, Siripoksup P, Tippetts TS, Wentzler EJ, Huang H, Spangenburg EE, Brault JJ, Villanueva CJ, Summers SA, Holland WL, Cox JE, Vance DE, Neufer PD, Funai K (2019). Phospholipid methylation regulates muscle metabolic rate through Ca2+ transport efficiency. Nature Metabolism. Published, 09/2019.
  • Park H, He A, Tan M, Johnson JM, Dean JM, Pietka TA, Chen Y, Zhang X, Hsu FF, Razani B, Funai K & Lodhi IJ (2019). Peroxisome-derived lipids regulate adipose thermogenesis by mediating cold-induced mitochondrial fission. The Journal of clinical investigation. Vol. 129, 694-711. Published, 02/01/2019.
  • Anderson EJ, Vistoli G, Katunga LA, Funai K, Regazzoni L, Monroe TB, Gilardoni E, Cannizzaro L, Colzani M, De Maddis D, Rossoni G, Canevotti R, Gagliardi S, Carini M & Aldini G (2018). A carnosine analog mitigates metabolic disorders of obesity by reducing carbonyl stress. The Journal of clinical investigation. Vol. 128, 5280-5293. Published, 12/01/2018.
  • Johnson JM, Ferrara PJ, Verkerke ARP, Coleman CB, Wentzler EJ, Neufer PD, Kew KA, de Castro Brás LE & Funai K (2018). Targeted overexpression of catalase to mitochondria does not prevent cardioskeletal myopathy in Barth syndrome. Journal of molecular and cellular cardiology. Vol. 121, 94-102. Published, 11/01/2018.
  • Ferrara PJ, Verkerke ARP, Brault JJ & Funai K (2018). Hypothermia Decreases O2 Cost for Ex Vivo Contraction in Mouse Skeletal Muscle. Medicine and science in sports and exercise. Vol. 50, 2015-2023. Published, 11/01/2018.
  • Heden TD, Ryan TE, Ferrara PJ, Hickner RC, Brophy PM, Neufer PD, McClung JM & Funai K (2018). Greater Oxidative Capacity in Primary Myotubes from Endurance-trained Women. Medicine and science in sports and exercise. Vol. 49, 2151-2157. Published, 01/01/2018.
  • Heden TD, Neufer PD & Funai K (2017). Looking Beyond Structure: Membrane Phospholipids of Skeletal Muscle Mitochondria. Trends in endocrinology and metabolism: TEM. Vol. 27, 553-562. Published, 12/01/2017.
  • Funai K, Lodhi IJ, Spears LD, Yin L, Song H, Klein S & Semenkovich CF (2016). Skeletal Muscle Phospholipid Metabolism Regulates Insulin Sensitivity and Contractile Function. Diabetes. Vol. 65, 358-70. Published, 06/01/2016.
  • Paran CW, Zou K, Ferrara PJ, Song H, Turk J & Funai K (2015). Lipogenesis mitigates dysregulated sarcoplasmic reticulum calcium uptake in muscular dystrophy. Biochimica et biophysica acta. Vol. 1851, 1530-8. Published, 12/01/2015.
  • Paran CW, Verkerke AR, Heden TD, Park S, Zou K, Lawson HA, Song H, Turk J, Houmard JA & Funai K (2015). Reduced efficiency of sarcolipin-dependent respiration in myocytes from humans with severe obesity. Obesity (Silver Spring, Md.). Vol. 23, 1440-9. Published, 12/01/2015.
  • Oh J, Riek AE, Darwech I, Funai K, Shao J, Chin K, Sierra OL, Carmeliet G, Ostlund RE & Bernal-Mizrachi C (2015). Deletion of macrophage Vitamin D receptor promotes insulin resistance and monocyte cholesterol transport to accelerate atherosclerosis in mice. Cell reports. Vol. 10, 1872-86. Published, 10/01/2015.
  • Jensen-Urstad AP, Song H, Lodhi IJ, Funai K, Yin L, Coleman T & Semenkovich CF (2014). Nutrient-dependent phosphorylation channels lipid synthesis to regulate PPARα. Journal of lipid research. Vol. 54, 1848-59. Published, 04/01/2014.
  • Ridaura VK, Faith JJ, Rey FE, Cheng J, Duncan AE, Kau AL, Griffin NW, Lombard V, Henrissat B, Bain JR, Muehlbauer MJ, Ilkayeva O, Semenkovich CF, Funai K, Hayashi DK, Lyle BJ, Martini MC, Ursell LK, Clemente JC, Van Treuren W, Walters WA, Knight R, Newgard CB, Heath AC & Gordon JI (2013). Gut microbiota from twins discordant for obesity modulate metabolism in mice. Science (New York, N.Y.). Vol. 341, 1241214. Published, 10/01/2013.
  • Funai K, Song H, Yin L, Lodhi IJ, Wei X, Yoshino J, Coleman T & Semenkovich CF (2013). Muscle lipogenesis balances insulin sensitivity and strength through calcium signaling. The Journal of clinical investigation. Vol. 123, 1229-40. Published, 05/01/2013.
  • Lodhi IJ, Yin L, Jensen-Urstad AP, Funai K, Coleman T, Baird JH, El Ramahi MK, Razani B, Song H, Fu-Hsu F, Turk J & Semenkovich CF (2013). Inhibiting adipose tissue lipogenesis reprograms thermogenesis and PPARγ activation to decrease diet-induced obesity. Cell metabolism. Vol. 16, 189-201. Published, 01/01/2013.
  • Schweitzer GG, Castorena CM, Hamada T, Funai K, Arias EB & Cartee GD (2012). The B2 receptor of bradykinin is not essential for the post-exercise increase in glucose uptake by insulin-stimulated mouse skeletal muscle. Physiological research. Vol. 60, 511-9. Published, 02/01/2012.
  • Funai K & Semenkovich CF (2011). Skeletal muscle lipid flux: running water carries no poison. American journal of physiology. Endocrinology and metabolism. Vol. 301, E245-51. Published, 09/01/2011.
  • Funai K, Schweitzer GG, Castorena CM, Kanzaki M & Cartee GD (2010). In vivo exercise followed by in vitro contraction additively elevates subsequent insulin-stimulated glucose transport by rat skeletal muscle. American journal of physiology. Endocrinology and metabolism. Vol. 298, E999-1010. Published, 05/01/2010.
  • Cartee GD & Funai K (2010). Exercise and insulin: Convergence or divergence at AS160 and TBC1D1?. Exercise and sport sciences reviews. Vol. 37, 188-95. Published, 03/01/2010.
  • Funai K, Schweitzer GG, Sharma N, Kanzaki M & Cartee GD (2009). Increased AS160 phosphorylation, but not TBC1D1 phosphorylation, with increased postexercise insulin sensitivity in rat skeletal muscle. American journal of physiology. Endocrinology and metabolism. Vol. 297, E242-51. Published, 08/01/2009.
  • Blair DR, Funai K, Schweitzer GG & Cartee GD (2009). A myosin II ATPase inhibitor reduces force production, glucose transport, and phosphorylation of AMPK and TBC1D1 in electrically stimulated rat skeletal muscle. American journal of physiology. Endocrinology and metabolism. Vol. 296, E993-E1002. Published, 07/01/2009.
  • Funai K & Cartee GD (2009). Inhibition of contraction-stimulated AMP-activated protein kinase inhibits contraction-stimulated increases in PAS-TBC1D1 and glucose transport without altering PAS-AS160 in rat skeletal muscle. Diabetes. Vol. 58, 1096-104. Published, 05/01/2009.
  • Funai K & Cartee GD (2009). Contraction-stimulated glucose transport in rat skeletal muscle is sustained despite reversal of increased PAS-phosphorylation of AS160 and TBC1D1. Journal of applied physiology (Bethesda, Md. : 1985). Vol. 105, 1788-95. Published, 02/01/2009.
  • Arias EB, Kim J, Funai K & Cartee GD (2007). Prior exercise increases phosphorylation of Akt substrate of 160 kDa (AS160) in rat skeletal muscle. American journal of physiology. Endocrinology and metabolism. Vol. 292, E1191-200. Published, 05/01/2007.
  • Funai K, Parkington JD, Carambula S & Fielding RA (2006). Age-associated decrease in contraction-induced activation of downstream targets of Akt/mTor signaling in skeletal muscle. American journal of physiology. Regulatory, integrative and comparative physiology. Vol. 290, R1080-6. Published, 06/01/2006.