A large body of evidence links mitochondrial dysfunction with chronic inflammation. These are both features of aging, but it appears that dysfunctional, stressed mitochondria are a meaningful cause of inflammatory signaling. Mitochondria can generate molecular fragments, such as pieces of mitochondrial DNA, that are recognized as potentially threatening by the innate immune system. These damage-associated molecular patterns are present in much greater amounts in old tissues, and the immune system reacts to them to produce lasting, unresolved inflammation, harmful to tissue function rather t…
Mitochondrial Stress Provokes Inflammation via Fragments of Mitochondrial DNA
A large body of evidence links mitochondrial dysfunction with chronic inflammation. These are both features of aging, but it appears that dysfunctional, stressed mitochondria are a meaningful cause of inflammatory signaling. Mitochondria can generate molecular fragments, such as pieces of mitochondrial DNA, that are recognized as potentially threatening by the innate immune system. These damage-associated molecular patterns are present in much greater amounts in old tissues, and the immune system reacts to them to produce lasting, unresolved inflammation, harmful to tissue function rather t…