Current Pharmaceutical Design - Volume 20, Issue 35, 2014

Organelle biogenesis is concomitant to organelle inheritance during cell division. It is necessary that organelles double their size and divide to give rise to two identical daughter cells. Mitochondrial biogenesis occurs by growth and division of pre-existing organelles and is temporally coordinated with cell cycle events [1]. However, mitochondrial biogenesis is not only produced in association with cell division. It can be produced in r Read More

Mitochondria are the organelles producing most of the energy and play important roles in a variety of biochemical functions in human cells. Mitochondrial defects can cause ATP deficiency and overproduction of reactive oxygen species, which are the major hallmarks of mitochondrial diseases. Abundant evidence has suggested that mitochondrial dysfunction-elicited oxidative stress can play an important role in the pat Read More

Over the last century, the prevalence of type 2 diabetes has dramatically increased, reaching the status of epidemic. Because insulin resistance is considered the primary cause of type 2 diabetes, the identification of the cellular processes and gene networks that lead to an impairment of insulin action in target tissues is of crucial importance for the development of new drugs and therapeutic strategies to treat or prevent t Read More

Parkinson’s disease is the second most common neurodegenerative disorder characterized by persistent loss of dopaminergic neurons in the SN and clinically associated with cognitive, behavioral and motor deficits. There is an enormous amount of data that provides convincing evidence about the prime involvement of mitochondria in the onset and progression of neurodegeneration. Several studies have also emphasized Read More

In the developing and mature brain, mitochondria act as central hubs for distinct but interwined pathways, necessary for neural development, survival, activity, connectivity and plasticity. In neurons, mitochondria assume diverse functions, such as energy production in the form of ATP, calcium buffering and generation of reactive oxygen species. Mitochondrial dysfunction contributes to a range of neurodevelopmental a Read More

Phytoestrogens were originally identified as compounds having a close similarity in structure to estrogens and harboring weak estrogen activity. The interest in phytoestrogens as potential therapeutic agents has recently risen in the field of oncology, since population based studies have linked phytoestrogens consumption with a decreased risk of mortality due to several types of cancer. This review departs from the main focus Read More

Mitochondrial biogenesis (MB) is the essential mechanism by which cells control the number of mitochondria. Cells respond to different physiologic, metabolic, and pathologic changes by regulating this organelle with high morphological and functional adaptability. A considerable number of proteins, transcription factors, upstream regulatory proteins and secondary mechanisms are involved in MB and the stabilization of new Read More

Mitochondria play a key role in signal transduction, redox homeostasis and cell survival, which extends far beyond their classical functioning in ATP production and energy metabolism. In living cells, mitochondrial content (“mitochondrial mass”) depends on the cell-controlled balance between mitochondrial biogenesis and degradation. These processes are intricately linked to changes in net mitochondrial morphology and spatio Read More

The influence of mitochondrial dysfunction on pathological states involving inflammatory and/or oxidative stress in tissues that do not show frank cellular apoptosis or necrosis has been rather difficult to unravel, and the literature is replete with contradictory information. Although such discrepancies have many potential causes related to the type of injurious agent, the severity and duration of the injury, and the particul Read More

Healthy mitochondria are essential generators of cellular energy, while senescent or damaged mitochondria are bioenergetically inefficient and are sources of reactive oxygen species. The mitochondrial life cycle, comprising biogenesis, fusion/fission events and mitophagic elimination, is carefully orchestrated, and age-related decay of the lifecycle contributes to chronic degenerative diseases. Mitochondria make contacts Read More