Περίληψη:
Mitochondrial dysfunction has been implicated in the development of a
wide spectrum of major human diseases, including diabetes mellitus,
heart disorders, neurodegeneration and cancer. Several therapeutic
approaches targeting mitochondrial function have been applied in most
cases without however the desired outcome. The limited effectiveness of
these therapeutic schemes is due to the fact that several important
aspects of mitochondrial function have not been elucidated as yet,
including the detailed mechanism of ATP production. Although it is known
that electron transport chain (ETC) is the central machinery responsible
for mitochondrial oxidative ATP production, major important functions
attributed to ETC are still unresolved while other activities which are
in fact carried out by the ETC have been overlooked. This review
revisits ATP synthesis providing a detailed account of the
experimentally-verified ETC functions focused on the ability of ETC to
act as an electro-electric converter, able to accept different electrons
from any given energy source (light, food or metals) in order to produce
the correct voltage and store it in the form of electrostatic potentials
(mitochondrial membrane potential). This stored electric energy, in the
order of 3x10(7) V/m, can then be used by F1F0 ATP synthase for ATP
production. The present review provides supportive evidence that this
ETC function suffices to fully explain the missing parts of ATP
production, thus redirecting the current therapeutic schemes for the
management of mitochondrial diseases to a more complete and effective
avenue.
Συγγραφείς:
Bagkos, Georgios
Koufopoulos, Kostas
Piperi, Christina
