Brightness and shadows of mitochondrial ROS in the brain

Fecha de publicación: 01/08/2023 Fecha Ahead of Print: 01/06/2023

Autores de IBSAL

• Daniel Jiménez Blasco

  Autor

• 

  Ángeles Almeida Parra

  Autor

• 

  Juan Pedro Bolaños Hernández

  Autor

Grupos

• IIMD-14 - Neuroenergética y Metabolismo

  

  Investigador Principal

  Juan Pedro Bolaños Hernández

• NEUR-03 - Neurobiología Molecular

  

  Investigador Principal

  Ángeles Almeida Parra

Abstract

Mitochondrial reactive oxygen species (mROS) have been generally considered harmful byproducts wanted to clear when elevated to avoid brain damage. However, the abundance of mROS in astrocytes is very high-about one order of magnitude above that in neurons-, despite they are essential to preserve cell metabolism and animal behavior. Here, we have focused on this apparent ambiguity by discussing (i) the intrinsic mechanisms ac-counting for the higher production of mROS by the mitochondrial respiratory chain in astrocytes than in neurons, (ii) the specific molecular targets of astrocytic beneficial mROS, and (iii) how decreased astrocytic mROS causes excess neuronal mROS leading to cellular and organismal damage. We hope that this mini-review serves to clarifying the apparent controversy on the beneficial versus deleterious faces of ROS in the brain from molecular to higher-order organismal levels.

Keywords

• Astrocytes; Reactive oxygen species; Mitochondria; Supercomplexes; Neurons; Glutathione