About this Research Topic
Mitochondria are central to numerous cellular process, acting as a primary hub for energy production, calcium homeostasis and reactive oxygen species (ROS) production. Through these and other activities mitochondrial support cellular processes ranging from metabolic control, gene expression, protein modification, and regulation of cellular damage and death pathways. Mitochondrial derived signals act locally, and through its close contact with other organelles, mitochondria can stably affect the functioning of these organelles. Therefore, despite being distributed throughout the cell, the mitochondrial network can spatially and temporally control subcellular processes by dynamic remodeling, trafficking and association with other organelles. A growing body of work is identifying how mitochondria are dynamically trafficked, remodeled by fission/fusion, anchored and removed to support localized cellular processes. Such compartmentalization of mitochondrial function controls diverse cellular processes and underlies much of the unexpected contributions of mitochondria to human health and disease.
The focus of this Research Topic will be to collect Original Research as well as Review articles focused on (1) the role of mitochondrial dynamics and organization, (2) how they contribute to local control of cellular processes, and (3) defects in it that cause pathophysiology. The role that specific mitochondrial populations play in controlling processes at the molecular, cellular and tissue level will be applicable to this research topic. Recent advances in biosensors for mitochondrial function, high-spatial and temporal resolution microscopy, and metabolic profiling approaches are helping link mitochondrial bioenergetics and signaling with mitochondrial dynamics and machineries that control it. Such studies are defining dynamic interactions of mitochondria with cellular structures such as ER, peroxisomes and the cytoskeleton. Significant progress is also being made in integrating mitochondrial dynamics and signaling responses to extracellular stimuli including chemical and physical alterations to cells. Such studies will be included in this research collection to help further this emerging field of research.
Themes to be considered:
o Signaling pathways controlling mitochondrial dynamics
o Subcellular control over spatial and temporal changes in mitochondrial dynamics
o External stimuli influencing mitochondrial dynamics and downstream responses
o Mitochondrial architecture predicting pathophysiology from cell to tissue scale
o Subcellular compartmentalization of mitochondrial derived signals
o Mitochondrial interactions with cellular components.
A full list of accepted article types, including descriptions, can be found at this link
The focus of this Research Topic will be to collect Original Research as well as Review articles focused on (1) the role of mitochondrial dynamics and organization, (2) how they contribute to local control of cellular processes, and (3) defects in it that cause pathophysiology. The role that specific mitochondrial populations play in controlling processes at the molecular, cellular and tissue level will be applicable to this research topic. Recent advances in biosensors for mitochondrial function, high-spatial and temporal resolution microscopy, and metabolic profiling approaches are helping link mitochondrial bioenergetics and signaling with mitochondrial dynamics and machineries that control it. Such studies are defining dynamic interactions of mitochondria with cellular structures such as ER, peroxisomes and the cytoskeleton. Significant progress is also being made in integrating mitochondrial dynamics and signaling responses to extracellular stimuli including chemical and physical alterations to cells. Such studies will be included in this research collection to help further this emerging field of research.
Themes to be considered:
o Signaling pathways controlling mitochondrial dynamics
o Subcellular control over spatial and temporal changes in mitochondrial dynamics
o External stimuli influencing mitochondrial dynamics and downstream responses
o Mitochondrial architecture predicting pathophysiology from cell to tissue scale
o Subcellular compartmentalization of mitochondrial derived signals
o Mitochondrial interactions with cellular components.
A full list of accepted article types, including descriptions, can be found at this link
Important Note: All contributions to this Research Topic must be within the scope of the section and journal to which they are submitted, as defined in their mission statements. Frontiers reserves the right to guide an out-of-scope manuscript to a more suitable section or journal at any stage of peer review.
