Relationship troubles at the mitochondrial level and what it might mean for human disease

Understanding and treating disease depend upon our knowledge of how the body works. The biomedical approach to disease describes health purely in terms of biological factors, with a focus on the genome as the molecular basis for cellular function and dysfunction in disease. However, the eukaryotic c...

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Main Author: Rachel James
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: The Royal Society 2025-05-01
Series:Open Biology
Subjects:
Online Access:https://royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/10.1098/rsob.240331
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author Rachel James
author_facet Rachel James
author_sort Rachel James
collection DOAJ
description Understanding and treating disease depend upon our knowledge of how the body works. The biomedical approach to disease describes health purely in terms of biological factors, with a focus on the genome as the molecular basis for cellular function and dysfunction in disease. However, the eukaryotic cell has evolved as a partnership between prokaryotic cells with mitochondria being crucial to this relationship. Aside from their role as bioenergetic and biosynthetic hubs, mitochondria are also involved in cell signalling and cell fate pathways, playing a multifaceted role in cell function and health. Crucially, mitochondria are implicated in most diseases. Perhaps then, visualizing biomedical function on the backdrop of endosymbiosis may provide another viewpoint for explaining and treating disease.
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spelling doaj-art-b44785ebdd814285aa4baf98b1f5dd642025-08-20T03:08:13ZengThe Royal SocietyOpen Biology2046-24412025-05-0115510.1098/rsob.240331Relationship troubles at the mitochondrial level and what it might mean for human diseaseRachel James0University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, UKUnderstanding and treating disease depend upon our knowledge of how the body works. The biomedical approach to disease describes health purely in terms of biological factors, with a focus on the genome as the molecular basis for cellular function and dysfunction in disease. However, the eukaryotic cell has evolved as a partnership between prokaryotic cells with mitochondria being crucial to this relationship. Aside from their role as bioenergetic and biosynthetic hubs, mitochondria are also involved in cell signalling and cell fate pathways, playing a multifaceted role in cell function and health. Crucially, mitochondria are implicated in most diseases. Perhaps then, visualizing biomedical function on the backdrop of endosymbiosis may provide another viewpoint for explaining and treating disease.https://royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/10.1098/rsob.240331mitochondriagenomeeukaryotic cellendosymbiosishuman disease
spellingShingle Rachel James
Relationship troubles at the mitochondrial level and what it might mean for human disease
Open Biology
mitochondria
genome
eukaryotic cell
endosymbiosis
human disease
title Relationship troubles at the mitochondrial level and what it might mean for human disease
title_full Relationship troubles at the mitochondrial level and what it might mean for human disease
title_fullStr Relationship troubles at the mitochondrial level and what it might mean for human disease
title_full_unstemmed Relationship troubles at the mitochondrial level and what it might mean for human disease
title_short Relationship troubles at the mitochondrial level and what it might mean for human disease
title_sort relationship troubles at the mitochondrial level and what it might mean for human disease
topic mitochondria
genome
eukaryotic cell
endosymbiosis
human disease
url https://royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/10.1098/rsob.240331
work_keys_str_mv AT racheljames relationshiptroublesatthemitochondriallevelandwhatitmightmeanforhumandisease