Mitochondrial Medicine: Pharmacological Targeting of Mitochondria in Disease 2.0

Dear Colleagues,

This is a continued series of the hot topic of Mitochondrial Medicine: Pharmacological Targeting of Mitochondria in Disease; our first Special Issue of this topic received interesting contributions and discussions (https://0-www-mdpi-com.brum.beds.ac.uk/journal/ijms/special_issues/Mitochondrial_Medicine).

Mitochondria are fundamental organelles in cell biology. They can no longer be considered simply the powerhouse of the cell because this fundamental function is strictly related to different activities of the cell (apoptosis, signal transduction, thermogenesis, proliferation, differentiation, and so on). Experimental research gives some light to molecular mechanisms at the basis of these complex and interconnected functions with significant advances in knowledge of the etiopathogenesis, pathophysiology, and therapeutic approaches of different diseases. Importantly, these different pathologies are not limited to typical mitochondrial disorders but affect a wide range of acute and chronic diseases (i.e., ischemic disorders, infectious diseases, neurodegenerative diseases, infertility, psychotic disorder, dermopathies, sepsis, and above all, cancer). The growing pathophysiological role of mitochondria is further demonstrated by the number of clinical studies, recorded by ClinicalTrials.gov, showing mitochondria in their keywords panel (at present, more than 1500 clinical studies).

To date, the pharmacology of mitochondria includes molecules which can enrich the NAD+ pool and/or “stimulate” oxidative metabolism (i.e., carnitine), molecules that protect these organelles by the end products of their oxidative metabolism (i.e., Q10, mitoQ, dicumarols and son on); however, some interesting new drugs are now under evaluation.

Last but not least, some intriguing parmacotoxicological aspects, too often neglected, on mitochondria, as innocent bystanders, are well-known (fibrates, statins, reverse-transcriptase inhibitors). All these data further push to deepen our understanding of and promote such a fascinating, innovative, and promising therapeutic approach.

This Special Issue focuses on the research field of the pharmacology of mitochondria; Original research articles, short communications, and reviews, both narrative and systematic, are all welcome for submission to this Special Issue.

Dr. Patrizia Bottoni
Prof. Dr. Roberto Scatena
Guest Editors

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• cancer
• complex I (NADH: ubiquinone oxidoreductase)
• drug toxicity
• mitochondria
• reactive oxygen species (ROS)
• therapeutic drug monitoring
• cancer stem cells
• cancer cell differentiation
• cancer cell metabolism
• cancer diagnosis
• cancer therapy
• complex I
• oxidative phoshorylation
• tumor markers
• Warburg effect

• Mitochondrial Medicine: Pharmacological Targeting of Mitochondria in Disease in International Journal of Molecular Sciences (8 articles)