Editorial: Mitochondrial proteomics: Understanding mitochondria function and dysfunction through the characterization of their proteome

Abstract

The development of OMICS sciences, and in particular Proteomics, has provided new tools to investigate the mitochondrial role in health and disease on a system biology scale. This Research Topic aims to collect papers describing how evidence based on proteomics data can contribute to gaining a deep understanding of mitochondrial structure and function and to unveil unknown or multifactorial features of mitochondrial physiological function and dysfunction. This exciting editorial initiative has allowed us to collect seven interesting contributions. Three original research articles investigate mitochondrial proteome changes in response to non-physiological stimuli, such as micro-environmental modifications or neurological diseases. The paper by Maffioli et al. sheds light on mechanotransduction, a particular ability of cells to respond and adapt their structure and function to biophysical changes in their microenvironment. The authors studied this phenomenon in cellular models of rodent pancreatic β cells cultured on artificial microenvironment, a nanostructured surface assembled by Supersonic Cluster Beam Deposition of zirconia nanoparticles. Following their previous study, they used mass spectrometry-based proteomics to investigate the involvement of mitochondria. They showed that mitochondria morphology and proteome can be regulated by nanotopography leading to a metabolic switch in these cells.