Roddy O' Connor

CAR T cell metabolism at University of Pennsylvania

[Roddy O' Connor @RoddyOConnor]

@thehouseoffootb King Kev won 50 of his first 100 games. Not too shabby compared to these

[Yanited @NE5westend]

KK at Benwell training ground after signing in 82

[Roddy O' Connor @RoddyOConnor]

Is there a speed trap for CAR T cells in solid tumors? Join me in my webinar on Thursday- I discuss how an understanding of bioenergetics can explain how CAR T cells lyse their target cells
https://t.co/7gXQl9DKQG

[Roddy O' Connor @RoddyOConnor]

Cool title in Blood journal this issue! What better name for CAR T targeting CD7 on T cell ALL! @MaxMamonkin

[William A. Wallace, Ph.D. @WilliamWallace]

Master metabolism with 9 steps/arrows

Here’s my shortcut to remembering it in just 9️⃣ arrows:

1️⃣ Glu → Fru → Pyr
(Glucose → Fructose → Pyruvate)
This is glycolysis — the breakdown of glucose into pyruvate for quick energy.
💡 Example: Eat bread, glucose enters your cells, and is converted to pyruvate to start producing ATP.

2️⃣ Pyr → ACoA → TCA
(Pyruvate → Acetyl-CoA → TCA Cycle)
When oxygen’s available, pyruvate becomes Acetyl-CoA and runs through the TCA (Krebs) cycle for sustained energy.
💡 Example: A post-lunch walk taps into this aerobic pathway.

3️⃣ TCA → NADH → ETC → ATP
(TCA products → NADH → Electron Transport Chain → ATP)
The TCA cycle generates NADH, which powers the electron transport chain to make ATP — your cellular energy currency.
💡 Example: Your brain uses that ATP to keep you sharp while studying.

4️⃣ G6P ↔ PPP → NADPH + Ribose
(Glucose-6-Phosphate → Pentose Phosphate Pathway → NADPH + Ribose)
This detour from glucose creates NADPH (for antioxidant defense) and ribose (for DNA/RNA synthesis).
💡 Example: Immune cells use NADPH to neutralize pathogens.

5️⃣ Pyr → Lac
(Pyruvate → Lactate)
In low-oxygen conditions, pyruvate shifts to lactate.

6️⃣ Pyr → OAA → Gluconeogenesis
(Pyruvate → Oxaloacetate → Glucose)
During fasting, pyruvate is turned into oxaloacetate, then glucose, to maintain blood sugar.
💡 Example: After 10+ hours without food, your liver makes glucose for your brain.

7️⃣ ACoA → FAs → TAGs
(Acetyl-CoA → Fatty Acids → Triglycerides)
Excess energy is stored as fat.
💡 Example: Too many sweets? Your body parks the surplus as belly fat.

8️⃣ FAs → β-ox → ACoA → TCA
(Fatty Acids → Beta-Oxidation → Acetyl-CoA → TCA)
When carbs run low, fat becomes your fuel.
💡 Example: After 14 hours of intermittent fasting, fat breakdown kicks in.

9️⃣ AAs → Pyr / ACoA / TCA
(Amino Acids → Pyruvate or Acetyl-CoA or TCA)
Amino acids can feed into different energy pathways, depending on type.
💡 Example: In prolonged starvation, muscle protein is converted into energy intermediates.

[Ming "Tommy" Tang @tangming2005]

One of the best free stats books for life science with R
https://t.co/fCauENL37c

[Martin Picard @MitoPsychoBio]

The body is full of capacitors. Interesting idea.
@msahsorin

[Roddy O' Connor @RoddyOConnor]

@BowTiedBroke Go to the ER

[Roddy O' Connor @RoddyOConnor]

@MisterJohnDoyle @KuperSimon Circa 96’ we used to pile into “The Hurlers Pub” on campus in UL to watch his entertainers play. Very appealing brand of soccer: Beardsley, Ferdinand, Ginola, Shearer, Asprilla, Gillespie all in the one team! Shame he didn’t pull off the Premiership that year. Left too soon…

[Craig A. Goodman @CraigAGoodman1]

Unexpected effects of semaglutide on skeletal muscle mass and force-generating capacity in mice
https://t.co/aDONffDnRg

[Chipotle @ChipotleTweets]

everyone loves chipotle’s guac. find out how it’s made.

[Roddy O' Connor @RoddyOConnor]

@NiallStanage Exactly as you described yesterday with Robbie in your segment on “The Hill”

[Sarah McInerney @SarahAMcInerney]

Could there be a more wonderfully Irish response? #corkvtipp

[David Quinn @DavQuinn]

Kevin Myers goes all out against the current portrayal of Tuam Children's Home and the nuns who ran it.
https://t.co/hUgzMeQS3J

[Roddy O' Connor @RoddyOConnor]

Dublin Airport

[Martin Picard @MitoPsychoBio]

Seeing this mitochondrial reconstruction for the first time with @MitoLoveLab was one of the most exciting sight ever! It changed my life.

What do you see?

The story behind cristae alignment here: https://t.co/MPIUrLRxJH

[Waggoner Lab @LabWaggoner]

Review: CAR-T cell therapy for cancer: current challenges and future directions
https://t.co/XZM5qeGIbT @Menendez_Lab @InesZugasti

[Saba Ghassemi @SabaGhassemi]

Our new paper in @natBME: A “leukemia-on-a-chip” developed in collaboration with NYU lets us track CAR T cells in real time, seeing them act in a human-like system. Big thanks to everyone involved! @PennMedicine @PennPathLabMed https://t.co/YaR1DjROcd

[Roddy O' Connor @RoddyOConnor]

@ProfTimNoakes That’s a resting interstitial concentration of 5mM? I estimate that would make plasma levels close to 10mM after overnight sleep. Do they measure plasma glucose? Also very high VO2 max levels.

[Ming "Tommy" Tang @tangming2005]

(TPCPA), a proteomic resource that provides proteome-scale quantifications of 999 tumors across 22 cancer types in a unified manner, for discovering tumor biology, biomarkers, and therapeutic targets. https://t.co/nmz96N26mq