MitoScore - Evaluating Mitochondrial Stress in Health and Disease
Network for the Diagnosis of Acute and Latent Mitochondrial Dysfunction
Abstract
Mitochondria play multiple roles in health, sport, aging, and degenerative disease. To meet the current need in the European research, medical and commercial communities to understand these roles better, MitoScore aims at developing sensitive tests to assess mitochondrial dysfunction and stress resistance. As a result, interventions (nutrition, exercise, drugs or novel treatments) that potentially impact on mitochondrial health, can be evaluated objectively in different labs, hospitals and companies. The network will stimulate a standardization of methods for evaluating and scoring acute and latent mitochondrial dysfunction, at baseline and in response to oxidative stress. MitoScore will generate the critical mass of conceptual and methodological expertise required to address the problems limiting progress in relating the quality of life and the severity of disease to a clinically accessible measure of mitochondrial function: the MitoScore – vital knowledge to improve health.
Keywords
mitochondrial physiology, oxidative stress, life style, nutrition, sports, aging, degenerative diseases, neurodegeneration, obesity, diabetes, cardiovascular diseases, cancer, latent mitochondrial dysfunction, stress resistance, respirometry, membrane potential, ROS production, redox regulation, isolated mitochondria, homogenate, cells, permeabilized cells, muscle fibres, tissues, model organisms
- MitoScore aims at meeting current demands of the global research community to improve the data base on mitochondrial function/dysfunction in various tissues of humans and animal models, and to diagnose the mitochondrial implications in various pathologies, for development and evaluation of mitochondria-targeted therapies.
- MitoScore opens the feedback loop between the primary problems of attack (mitochondrial roles in Fitness, Aging, Pathologies, Integrative Physiology) and the consequential models and methods employed.
- MitoScore will generate the critical mass of partners required to address the complex conceptual and methodological problems that may have prevented so far the major break-though required for relating the quality of life and the severity of a disease to a clinically accessible functional mitochondrial score. A functional mitochondrial score will help to evaluate molecular mechanisms and the genetic background on an integrated systems level.
- MitoScore is an initiative towards a broad but focussed project, to ‘contribute substantially to the coordination and defragmentation of research efforts across Europe’ (http://www.cost.esf.org/participate/guidelines).
Partners
Feedback
- 2011-08-20: Up to now, we have received positive responses from 57 research groups in 23 COST countries. This is more than expected on the basis of our limited primary circulation, and it is more than COST projects are designed for. As a result, we will (1) proceed full-power with the COST project application, and (2) at the same time explore the options for larger frameworks of support for a major mitochondrial physiology network, particularly considering that the number of relevant research groups would more than triple if North America, South America, and Asia are involved.
Your feedback reflects the fact that ‘mitochondrial physiology’ has become one of the hot topics in research aimed at finding solutions to the present challenges in our health care system.
Questionnaire
The questionnaire assisted in the formulation of a ‘Preliminary Proposal’ for a COST network. COST projects support exclusively networking and training activities, based on independently funded scientific projects of each participant (duration: 4 years).
- A pdf file of this message is available: File:Network MitoScore.pdf
MitoScore is an initiative of MitoCom. If you are interested to participate in the MitoScore COST proposal (see COST member states), please send us this brief information:
Partner Summary
A. A brief summary of your currently funded research projects contributing to our general topic: “Participants interested in network (name, institution and country, maximum 2000 characters, approx. 300 words”
B. Questionnaire – delete or add as appropriate (duration 4 years):
1. Main topics studied
1.1. Life style and fitness (sedentary, active, athletic)
1.2 Aging (ontogenetic development, senescence, aging)
1.3 Degenerative and cardiovascular diseases, cancer (specify)
1.4 Inherited diseases (specify)
2. Human studies and animal models
2.1. Studies on humans
2.2. Animal models (specify)
3. Tissues and species
3.1. Species and evolutionary perspectives (specify)
3.2. Tissues and cell cultures (specify)
4. Methods and mitochondrial preparations
4.1. Methods (respirometry, mt-membrane potential, ROS production, redox regulation, .. specify)
4.2. Isolated mitochondria, tissue homogenates, permeabilized cells or muscle fibres, intact cells, organ, intact organism, .. (specify)
5. Propose max. two additional partner institutions (academic or industrial).
6. Are you or have you been involved in another COST initiative? Is there any overlap or potential synergy with another COST initiative? (specify)
Time schedule for COST project application
1. Preliminary proposal
1.1. Partner description: 2011 Aug. 19 to 22
1.2. You receive summary of feedback: Sep. 9 to 15
1.3. Elaboration of preliminary proposal, dissemination: Sep. 16 to 19
1.4. Your feedback: Sep. 23
1.5. Final submission: 2011 Sep. 30 (or 2012 March 30)
2. Information from COST on acceptance: 2011 Nov. 25
3. Full project application: 2012 Jan. 26
Contact
Please, send your informaiton to:
Erich Gnaiger, A.Univ.-Prof., Ph.D.
Medical University of Innsbruck
Department of Visceral, Transplant and Thoracic Surgery
D. Swarovski Research Laboratory
A-6020 Innsbruck, Austria
Email: [email protected]
Further information:
- Our previous QA workshop: http://www.oroboros.at/index.php?qa-in-respirometry
- COST General: http://www.cost.esf.org/about_cost
- COST Countries: http://www.cost.esf.org/service/glossary/COST-Countries
