A new hope: Mitochondria, a critical factor in the war against prions

Prion diseases encompass a group of incurable neurodegenerative disorders that occur due to the misfolding and aggregation of infectious proteins. The most well-known prion diseases are Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease (CJD), bovine spongiform encephalopathy (also known as mad cow disease), and kuru. It is estimated that around 1-2 persons per million worldwide are affected annually by prion disorders. Infectious prion proteins propagate in the brain, clustering in the cells and rapidly inducing tissue degeneration and death. Prion disease alters cell metabolism and energy production damaging mitochondrial function and dynamics leading to a fast accumulation of damage. Dysfunction of mitochondria could be considered as an early precursor and central element in the pathogenesis of prion diseases such as in sporadic CJD. Preserving mitochondria function may help to resist the rapid spread and damage of prion proteins and even clearance. In the war against prions and other degenerative diseases, studying how to preserve the function of mitochondria by using antioxidants and even replacing them with artificial mitochondrial transfer/transplant (AMT/T) may bring a new hope and lead to an increase in patients' survival. In this perspective review, we provide key insights about the relationship between the progression of prion disease and mitochondria, in which understanding how protecting mitochondria function and viability by using antioxidants or AMT/T may help to develop novel therapeutic interventions.