New Insights into Mitochondria in Health and Diseases

Dear Colleagues,

Mitochondria are dynamic intracellular organelles that have long been considered the “powerhouses” of eukaryotic cells due to their central role in the process of aerobic metabolism. Research in the past two decades has revealed an ever-increasing number of new roles for mitochondria in the regulation of the life and death of the cell. For example, mitochondria are now known to be the main intracellular source of reactive oxygen species in most tissues and, as such, play an important role as signaling molecules that induce changes in cell proliferation, differentiation, and gene transcription. Mitochondria are also known to activate intrinsic apoptosis, an energy-dependent cell death pathway with a crucial function in normal tissue morphogenesis and homeostasis, tissue remodeling, and wound healing. More recently, mitochondria have been shown to play important roles in the immune response and in the aging process. Notably, mitochondrial DNA mutations and dysfunction have also been implicated as a causal or contributing factor in the development and/or progression of multiple diseases, including rare metabolic disorders such as Kearns–Sayre syndrome, Leigh’s disease, and mitochondrial myopathy, as well as some of the more common systemic diseases, such as diabetes, Parkinson’s disease, and cancer.

The purpose of this Special Issue is to highlight the many and varied roles that mitochondria play in the life and death of a cell, and to provide a forum for presenting new advances in our understanding of mitochondrial function in health maintenance and disease. The submission of reviews and basic or translational research articles is encouraged.

Dr. Josephine S. Modica-Napolitano
Guest Editor

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• mitochondrial bioenergetics
• reactive oxygen species
• apoptosis
• aging
• immune function
• mtDNA mutations
• mitochondrial dysfunction
• mitochondria-targeted therapies