Journal
INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF MOLECULAR SCIENCES
Volume 22, Issue 15, Pages -Publisher
MDPI
DOI: 10.3390/ijms22158312
Keywords
mitochondria; bioenergetics; oxidative phosphorylation; intercellular mitochondria trafficking; extracellular mitochondria; tunneling nanotubes; extracellular mitovesicles; ccf-mtDNA; neurodegenerative diseases; neurodevelopmental disorders; cancer; immune-metabolic regulation; mitochondrial transplantation
Ask authors/readers for more resources
Mitochondria are intricate organelles playing diverse roles beyond energy production, including regulation of cell metabolism, proliferation, death, and immune response. Dysfunction in mitochondria is implicated in various diseases, while intercellular mitochondrial transfer has emerged as a promising field of research with therapeutic potential in different pathophysiological contexts.
Mitochondria are complex intracellular organelles traditionally identified as the powerhouses of eukaryotic cells due to their central role in bioenergetic metabolism. In recent decades, the growing interest in mitochondria research has revealed that these multifunctional organelles are more than just the cell powerhouses, playing many other key roles as signaling platforms that regulate cell metabolism, proliferation, death and immunological response. As key regulators, mitochondria, when dysfunctional, are involved in the pathogenesis of a wide range of metabolic, neurodegenerative, immune and neoplastic disorders. Far more recently, mitochondria attracted renewed attention from the scientific community for their ability of intercellular translocation that can involve whole mitochondria, mitochondrial genome or other mitochondrial components. The intercellular transport of mitochondria, defined as horizontal mitochondrial transfer, can occur in mammalian cells both in vitro and in vivo, and in physiological and pathological conditions. Mitochondrial transfer can provide an exogenous mitochondrial source, replenishing dysfunctional mitochondria, thereby improving mitochondrial faults or, as in in the case of tumor cells, changing their functional skills and response to chemotherapy. In this review, we will provide an overview of the state of the art of the up-to-date knowledge on intercellular trafficking of mitochondria by discussing its biological relevance, mode and mechanisms underlying the process and its involvement in different pathophysiological contexts, highlighting its therapeutic potential for diseases with mitochondrial dysfunction primarily involved in their pathogenesis.
Authors
I am an author on this paper
Click your name to claim this paper and add it to your profile.
Reviews
Recommended
No Data Available