Molecular Biomarkers & Diagnosis

Metabolites-Mitochondria-Microglia (Mmma): Therapeutic Stategy for Treatment of Neural Inflammation and Neurodegeneration

Abstract

Corrado Angelini and Arianna Di Stadio

Patients with mitochondrial disease often present with prominent neurologic symptoms; the alteration of mitochondrial metabolism produces an excess of ROS and cytokines that appeared implicated in the activation of microglia; similar considerations apply to Amyotrophic Latera Sclerosis (ALS) and other neurodegenerative disorders. The microglia polarization by mitochondrial metabolism modulation could be considered an option to treat the neuroinflammation and neurodegenerative disorders, similar to macrophage action in case of muscle inflammation and atrophy. Furthermore, thanks to the availability of several biomarkers including mitochondrial microRNAs it should be possible to monitor metabolic state and microglia mitochondrial metabolic shift.