Mourokh L, Friedman J. Mitochondria at the Nanoscale: Physics Meets Biology-What Does It Mean for Medicine?
Int J Mol Sci 2024;
25:2835. [PMID:
38474079 DOI:
10.3390/ijms25052835]
[Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/03/2024] [Revised: 02/19/2024] [Accepted: 02/27/2024] [Indexed: 03/14/2024] Open
Abstract
Mitochondria are commonly perceived as "cellular power plants". Intriguingly, power conversion is not their only function. In the first part of this paper, we review the role of mitochondria in the evolution of eukaryotic organisms and in the regulation of the human body, specifically focusing on cancer and autism in relation to mitochondrial dysfunction. In the second part, we overview our previous works, revealing the physical principles of operation for proton-pumping complexes in the inner mitochondrial membrane. Our proposed simple models reveal the physical mechanisms of energy exchange. They can be further expanded to answer open questions about mitochondrial functions and the medical treatment of diseases associated with mitochondrial disorders.
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