The Goal of Fixing the Power Plants of the Cell

The power plants of the cell are, of course, the mitochondria. Every cell has a herd of hundreds of mitochondria roaming its cytoplasm, working to generate ever more copies of the chemical energy store molecule adenosine triphosphate that is used power cellular processes. Mitochondria are the distant descendants of ancient symbiotic bacteria. Like bacteria they replicate by division, but also tend to fuse together and promiscuously pass around component parts. Since the original symbiosis, mitochondria have evolved into component parts of the cell. They have their own remnant DNA, but much of the original genome has migrated into the cell nucleus over evolutionary time. Further, mitochondria are monitored and recycled when worn or damaged by the cell's autophagic mechanisms, a constant process of quality control. Mitochondrial function declines with age. In a minority of cells, mitochondrial DNA becomes damaged in ways that allow mutant mitochondria to outcompete their functional counterparts in the herd. The cell becomes pathological, exporting harmful oxidative molecules into the surrounding tissue. This contributes to conditions such as atherosclerosis via the creation of oxidized lipids that cause macrophages to become harmful, inflammatory foam cells. In the majority of cells, mitochondria undergo a form of general malaise, becoming structurally altered and less effective in their primary role of providing energy for the cell. This may be due to a failure of quali...
Source: Fight Aging! - Category: Research Authors: Tags: Medicine, Biotech, Research Source Type: blogs