Recent developments in mitochondrial medicine (part 2)

Abstract

Called “bioblasts” in 1890, named “mitochondria” in 1898, baptized in 1957 as the “powerhouse of the cell” and christened in 1999 as the “motor of cell death”, mitochondria have been anointed in 2017 as “powerhouses of immunity”. In 1962, for the first time a causal link between mitochondria and human diseases was described, the genetic basis for which was revealed in 1988. The term “mitochondrial medicine” was coined in 1994. Research into mitochondria has been conducted ever since light microscopic studies during the end of the 19th century revealed their existence. To this day, new discoveries around this organelle and above all new insights into their fundamental role for human health and disease continue to surprise. Nowadays hardly any disease is known for which either the etiology or pathogenesis is not associated with malfunctioning mitochondria. In this second part of our review about recent developments in mitochondrial medicine we continue tracking and highlighting selected lines of mitochondrial research from their beginnings up to the present time. Mainly written for readers not familiar with this cell organelle, we hope both parts of our review will substantiate what we articulated over a decade ago, namely that the future of medicine will come through better understanding of the mitochondrion.