Mitochondrial Dynamics in Cancer Metabolism: Mechanisms and Functional Consequences
A special issue of Cells (ISSN 2073-4409). This special issue belongs to the section "Mitochondria".
Deadline for manuscript submissions: 30 June 2026 | Viewed by 1
Special Issue Editor
Special Issue Information
Dear Colleagues,
Mitochondrial dynamics coordinate the balance of mitochondrial fusion, fission, transport, and removal by mitophagy, which is essential for cellular health, governing energy production, quality control, and intracellular signaling. Disruption of this balance contributes to major diseases, including neurodegenerative disorders such as Parkinson’s and Alzheimer’s disease, metabolic conditions like diabetes and insulin resistance, cardiovascular pathologies such as heart failure and atherosclerosis, and cancer.
By alternating mitochondrial dynamics, cells can mix and then segregate damaged mitochondrial contents, channeling the most impaired fragments into mitophagy while preserving healthy ones. Additionally, cells can maintain stemness, differentiates, or undergoes apoptosis by shaping metabolic programs via patterns of mitochondrial dynamics. Recent advances now enable high‑resolution imaging of rapid cristae remodeling within single mitochondria and have identified additional adaptors and regulators, including DRP1, MFN1/2, and OPA1, that directly couple fusion-fission dynamics to cellular energy status and growth signals. However, the precise sequence of events and specific requirements by which fission, fusion, and inter‑organelle contact sites drive disease initiation and progression, particularly in mammals, remain incompletely understood.
This Special Issue aims to provide a collection of the current knowledge and advances in the regulation of mitochondrial dynamics in health and disease. Reviews and original research articles in experimental studies are welcome.
Dr. Che-Chia Hsu
Guest Editor
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Keywords
- mitochondrial fission
- mitochondrial fusion
- mitophagy
- mitochondrial transport
- mitochondrial transfer
- mitochondrial diseases
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