Critical role of dysfunctional mitochondria and defective mitophagy in autism spectrum disorders.

Yuan-Mei Wang, Ming-Yue Qiu, Qing Liu, Huang Tang, Hong-Feng Gu

Brain research bulletin 2021 Mar

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Autism spectrum disorders (ASDs) are a group of complex neurodevelopmental disorders, including autistic disorder, Asperger's syndrome, pervasive developmental disorder and childhood disintegrative disorder. Mitochondria not only provide neurons with energy in the form of ATP to sustain neuron growth, proliferation and neurodevelopment, but also regulate neuron apoptosis, intracellular calcium ion (Ca2+) homeostasis, and reactive oxygen species (ROS) clearance. Due to their postmitotic state and high energy-demanded feature, neurons are particularly prone to mitophagy and mitochondrial disfunction. Mitophagy, a selective autophagy, is critical for sustaining mitochondrial turnover and quality control via eliminating unwanted and dysfunctional mitochondria in neurons. Dysfunctional mitochondria and dysregulated mitophagy have been closely associated with the onset of ASDs. In this review, we summarize the mechanism of mitophagy and its role in neurons, and the consequence of mitophagy dysfunction in ASDs. Deeper appreciation of the role of mitophagy in ASDs pathology is required for developing new therapeutic approaches. Copyright © 2020. Published by Elsevier Inc.

Citation

Yuan-Mei Wang, Ming-Yue Qiu, Qing Liu, Huang Tang, Hong-Feng Gu. Critical role of dysfunctional mitochondria and defective mitophagy in autism spectrum disorders. Brain research bulletin. 2021 Mar;168:138-145