About this Research Topic
Cardiovascular disease (CVD) includes several conditions affecting the heart or blood vessels' structure or function. At the cellular level, CVD affects individual organelles' function, including mitochondria and endoplasmic reticulum (ER), and thus, may also have an impact on their contact sites. These contact sites can be identified as regions of biochemically distinct molecular composition, which are spatially restricted to the interacting membrane fragments' close vicinity. The molecular assemblies forming such link provide a local environment, enhancing the exchange of cargo or signals between organelles. The physical contact and association between mitochondria and ER temporally and spatially regulate the mitochondria/ER structure and function in cardiovascular system including mitochondrial bioenergetics, mitochondrial biogenesis, mitochondrial dynamics, mitophagy, ER stress, ER unfolded protein response, and ER calcium balance.
In pathological states, such as cardiac ischemia-reperfusion, diabetic cardiomyopathy, sepsis-related myocardial depression, and myocardial infarction, the mitochondria-ER contact may participate in the cellular redox imbalance, ER stress, mitochondrial injury, energy deletion, and programmed cell death. However, a direct link between mitochondria-ER contact and CVD's molecular composition remains highly underappreciated and awaits further scientific attention. The upstream signals regulating mitochondria-ER contact during CVD have not been fully understood. Besides, the interactive mechanism between mitochondria and ER in response to myocardial damage deserves further in-depth investigation. Also, the downstream events as a result of dysregulated mitochondria-ER contact require further clarification.
In this Research Topic, we will invite investigators to contribute original research and review articles to discuss the regulatory mechanisms and pathological effects of mitochondria-ER contact in CVD, highlighting novel pharmaceutical strategies targeting mitochondria-ER contact for the clinical management of CVD.
Original research and reviews are welcome covering, but not limited to, the following sub-topics:
- New insights into the mechanisms underlying dysregulated mitochondria-ER contact in the pathogenesis of CVD.
- Clinical relevant information on the effects of therapies for CVD with a focus on mitochondria-ER contact.
- Identification of mitochondria-ER contact-targeted molecules with therapeutic potential to manipulate cardiomyocyte viability and function in CVD treatment.
- Recent advances in the knowledge and understanding of mitochondria-ER contact in CVD.
Keywords: Mitochondria, endoplasmic reticulum, cardiovascular disorder, oxidative stress, calcum balance
Important Note: All contributions to this Research Topic must be within the scope of the section and journal to which they are submitted, as defined in their mission statements. Frontiers reserves the right to guide an out-of-scope manuscript to a more suitable section or journal at any stage of peer review.