Role of PGC-1α in the Mitochondrial NAD(+) Pool in Metabolic Diseases

Mitochondria play vital roles, including ATP generation, regulation of cellular metabolism, and cell survival. Mitochondria contain the majority of cellular nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide (NAD(+)), which an essential cofactor that regulates metabolic function. A decrease in both mitochondria biogenesis and NAD(+) is a characteristic of metabolic diseases, and peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor γ coactivator 1-α (PGC-1α) orchestrates mitochondrial biogenesis and is involved in mitochondrial NAD(+) pool. Here we discuss how PGC-1α is involved in the NAD(+) synthesis pathway and metabolism, as well as the strategy for increasing the NAD(+) pool in the metabolic disease state.