Mitochondrial Signaling in Health and Disease

Mitochondria have traditionally been associated with metabolic functions; however recent research has uncovered a central role for these organelles in cell signaling, cell survival, and cell death. Mitochondrial dysfunction is a factor in a myriad of pathophysiological conditions, including age-related neurodegenerative disorders, cancer, metabolic syndrome, and cardiovascular disease. Mitochondrial Signaling in Health and Disease examines themes essential for the maintenance of the mitochondrial redox (reduction-oxidation) energy axis.

With contributions from an impressive cadre of internationally recognized scientists, the book discusses coordinated mitochondrial functions that regulate cell function by discrete signaling pathways. Topics discussed include:

• Electron transport and energy production
• Mitochondrial biogenesis and dynamics
• Mitochondrial signaling
• Apoptosis and autophagy
• Pharmacology signaling
• Epigenetic signaling: mitochondrial methylation and acetylation reactions

An essential resource for life and health scientists as well as pharmaceutical industry professionals, this volume highlights the importance of mitochondrial signaling and its role in establishing a harmonized communication between several cellular compartments. The information in this volume is critical to those developing mitochondrion-targeted therapies aimed at assuaging mitochondrial dysfunction or the specific factors contributing to its dysfunction.

Sten Orrenius, M.D., Ph.D., holds honorary memberships in the American Society for Pharmacology and Experimental Therapeutics, the American Society for Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, the Society of Toxicology (USA), as well as the Italian and Swedish Societies of Toxicology. He is also a Member of the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences and a Foreign Associate Member of the Institute of Medicine of the National Academy of Sciences, USA. Dr Orrenius has received honorary doctorates from the Universities of Stockholm, Turin, Konstanz, Buenos Aires, Paris V and Milan. He earned the Merit Award by EUROTOX, the Association of European Toxicologists and Societies of Toxicology, in 1997 and was the recipient of the 2006 Distinguished Lifetime Toxicology Scholar Award by the Society of Toxicology (USA). In 2003, Dr. Orrenius received the first ECDO Career Award for Excellence in Cell Death Research by the European Cell Death Organization.

Enrique Cadenas, M.D., Ph.D., is professor of Pharmacology and Pharmaceutical Sciences at the University of Southern California School of Pharmacy and of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology at the University of Southern California Keck School of Medicine and doctor honoris causa (Medicine) at the University of Linkoping, Sweden. His research interests include energy and redox metabolism in brain aging and neurodegenerative diseases, redox signaling, and nitric oxide biology.

Lester Packer, Ph.D., has received numerous distinctions and recently, was awarded the Chevalier de l’Ordre National du Merite (Knight of the French National Order of Merit). He was President of the Society for Free Radical Research International (SFRRI) and founder and honorary President of the Oxygen Club of California (OCC). Dr. Packer has edited more than 100 books and over 800 articles. His work established the foundations for the Antioxidant Network concept that addresses the significance of the cell’s redox status in biology and medicine; the Antioxidant Network is more than a scientific concept, for it embraces a world-wide network of research programs that Lester Packer helped develop by supporting and co-organizing conferences on free radical research in Asia, Europe, and America.