Mitohormesis; Potential implications in neurodegenerative diseases

Mitochondrial dysfunction is known to be associated with neurodegenerative diseases (NDDs), which is a major burden on the society. Therefore, understanding the regulation of mitochondrial dysfunctions and its implication in neurodegeneration has been major goal for exploiting these mechanisms to rescue neuronal death. The crosstalk between mitochondria and nucleus is important for different neuronal functions including axonal branching, energy homeostasis, neuroinflammation and neuronal survival. The decreased mitochondria capacity during progressive neurodegeneration leads to the altered OXPHOS activity and generation of ROS. The ROS levels in narrow physiological range can reprogram nuclear gene expression to enhance the cellular survival by phenomenon called mitohormesis. Here, we have systematically reviewed the existing reports of mitochondrial dysfunctions causing altered ROS levels in NDDs. We further discussed the role of ROS in regulating mitohormesis and emphasized the importance of mitohormesis in neuronal homeostasis. The emerging role of mitohormesis highlights its importance in future studies on intracellular ROS mediated rescue of mitochondrial dysfunction along with other prevailing mechanisms to alleviate neurodegeneration.