Mitochondrial Dynamics and Physiology (Q5)

The recent discovery of mitochondrial implication in a priori unrelated domains of biology and medicine such as innate immunity, bioenergetics and chemoresistance fosters the need for a multidisciplinary consideration of mitochondrial research. Moreover, accumulated knowledge in mitochondrial dynamics and bioenergetics emanates from the investigation of mitochondrial dysfunction in different types of diseases, as common neurodegenerative disorders, rare diseases or cancer. For instance, cancer research evidenced the existence of oncometabolites and the disclosure of key metabolic regulations driven by oncogenes and tumor suppressors, as shown for P53 and Tigar on glycolysis or CMYC and mitochondrial glutaminase on oxidative phosphorylation. The field of immunology revealed that memory lymphocytes must undergo a bioenergetic transition in order to perform adaptative immunity and the field of hepatology advanced our understanding of the role of the ectopic mitochondrial F1F0-ATPsynthase in cholesterol uptake and cardiovascular diseases. This 2014 Keystone Symposia on Mitochondrial Physiology and Dynamics will highlight the benefit of such interdisciplinay mitochondrial research for gathering innovative knowledge in biology. It will promote new opportunities for cross-border disciplines interactions and advance fundamental research by creating new bridges. Besides, we placed a strong emphasis in cell biology with a session dedicated to the role of mitochondria in cell signaling. Concerning mitochondrial medicine and pathophysiology, this Keystone Symposia is focused on age-related diseases and psychiatric disorders as cancer, diabetes, neurodegenerative diseases and schzysophrenia, respectively. The importance of next-generation sequencing in the discovery of mitochondrial genetic alterations in rare disorders will also be covered as well as disease tissue-specificity. On the last day of the meeting, the scientific program moves forward to regenerative medicine with a timely session dedicated to the emerging role of mitochondrial physiology and dynamics in stem cells biology and development. To explore the potential of mitochondria in human therapy and drug discovery we organized a workshop on the emerging « bioenergetic therapies » and associated new screening technologies which will combine industrial and academic research.