Metabolism is the chemical basis of life. In a living organism, such as humans, metabolism is divided into compartments. Within these compartments, each organelle, cell and tissue has its own internal metabolism. The separate metabolic compartments are interconnected, as they exchange metabolic intermediates with each other in a precisely regulated manner. The compartments form an interconnected integrated metabolic network, where a change in one compartment also affects another compartment.
The Centre of Excellence in Metabolic Integration (MetaScale) studies how metabolic networks are formed during cell differentiation and how they respond to external changes. Metabolism functions abnormally in many diseases, such as diabetes or mitochondrial diseases. The Centre of Excellence also aims to understand how metabolic networks are disrupted in these disease states. This knowledge is applied to the development of new targeted therapies.
The Centre of Excellence in Metabolic Integration is funded by the Research Council of Finland during 2026–2033.