MITOCHONDRIAL PERMEABILITY TRANSITION PORES: ANOTHER VIEW

Abstract

Mitochondria have been considered as the powerhouse of the cell that is mainly responsible for the cell energy by taking part in various biological reactions. Moreover, the mitochondria play an important role in the pathological conditions by increasing permeability transition of the mitochondrial membrane that may enhance the charge potential of the mitochondria. Mitochondrial permeability transition pores (MPTPs) are the pore present on the inner mitochondrial membrane. The components of the MPTP are adenine nucleotide translocase (ANT), cyclophillin-D (CyP-D) and voltage dependent anion channel (VDAC). They have been noted to open in order to maintain various pathological conditions such as cell apoptosis, ischemia/reperfusion (I/R) injury, heart failure and certain other cardiovascular diseases. It also plays an important role in various cytoprotective mechanisms. The present review explains about the structure and physiological functions associated with MPTP.