Membrane Contact Sites with Mitochondria: Molecular Determinants and Pathophysiological Role

Dear Colleagues,

Contact sites are discrete areas of organelles in proximity that coordinate essential physiological processes across membranes, which are closely apposed and tethered without undergoing fusion events. Here, various protein complexes can work in concert to perform specialized functions such as binding, sensing, and transferring molecules, as well as organelle biogenesis and dynamics. In all eukaryotes, virtually every organelle is engaged in membrane contact sites (MCSs). The ER forms MCSs with mitochondria, Golgi, endosomes, peroxisomes, lipid droplets, and with the plasma membrane. Several lines of evidence have revealed that mitochondria are tightly associated with the tubular ER to perform important functions involved in lipid biosynthesis and Ca²⁺ signaling and transport. In the last decade, the molecular determinants that underlie ER–mitochondria contact site formation and function have been identified. These studies have also revealed an unexpected scenario in which mitochondria, by making contacts with multiple organelles, generate specialized microdomains that serve to fine-tune specific and unique cellular activities, such as the integration of mitochondrial dynamics with cell stress signaling pathways, both in time and space.

In this Special Issue of Cells, we invite your contributions, either in the form of original research articles, reviews, or shorter perspective articles on all aspects related to the theme of “Membrane Contact Sites with Mitochondria: Molecular Determinants and Pathophysiological Role”. Articles with mechanistic and functional insights from a cell and molecular biological perspective are especially welcome.

Dr. Tito Calì
Prof. Marisa Brini
Guest Editors

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• Mitochondria
• Endoplasmic reticulum
• Calcium
• Bioenergetics
• Peroxisome
• Lysosomes
• Vacuole
• Mitochondria-derived vesicles
• Lipid homeostasis
• Neurodegenerative diseases
• Parkinson’s disease
• Alzheimer’s disease
• Mitochondria dynamics