title: Regulation of mitochondrial dynamics and neurodegenerative diseases.
abstract: Mitochondria are important cellular organelles in most metabolic processes and have a highly dynamic nature, undergoing frequent fission and fusion. The dynamic balance between fission and fusion plays critical roles in mitochondrial functions. In recent studies, several large GTPases have been identified as key molecular factors in mitochondrial fission and fusion. Moreover, the posttranslational modifications of these large GTPases, including phosphorylation, ubiquitination and SUMOylation, have been shown to be involved in the regulation of mitochondrial dynamics. Neurons are particularly sensitive and vulnerable to any abnormalities in mitochondrial dynamics, due to their large energy demand and long extended processes. Emerging evidences have thus indicated a strong linkage between mitochondria and neurodegenerative diseases, including Alzheimer's disease, Parkinson's disease and Huntington's disease. In this review, we will describe the regulation of mitochondrial dynamics and its role in neurodegenerative diseases.
authors.affiliation: Department of Physiology, Okayama University Graduate School of Medicine, Dentistry and Pharmaceutical Sciences, Okayama 700-8558, Japan.
authors.forename: Xiao-Jian
authors.initials: XJ
authors.lastname: Han
authors.forename: Kazuhito
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Tomizawa
authors.forename: Atsushi
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Fujimura
authors.forename: Iori
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Ohmori
authors.forename: Tei-Ichi
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Nishiki
authors.forename: Masayuki
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Matsushita
authors.forename: Hideki
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Matsui
mesh_terms: D006801:Humans; D008928:Mitochondria / Q000502:physiology*; D019636:Neurodegenerative Diseases / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000503:physiopathology*