SummaryA decline in mitochondrial function plays a key role in the aging process and increases the incidence of age-related disorders. A deeper understanding of the intricate nature of mitochondrial dynamics, which is described as the balance between mitochondrial fusion and fission, has revealed that functional and structural alterations in mitochondrial morphology are important factors in several key pathologies associated with aging. Indeed, a recent wave of studies has demonstrated the pleiotropic role of fusion and fission proteins in numerous cellular processes, including mitochondrial metabolism, redox signaling, the maintenance of mitochondrial DNA and cell death. Additionally, mitochondrial fusion and fission, together with autophagy, have been proposed to form a quality-maintenance mechanism that facilitates the removal of damaged mitochondria from the cell, a process that is particularly important to forestall aging. Thus, dysfunctional regulation of mitochondrial dynamics might be one of the intrinsic causes of mitochondrial dysfunction, which contributes to oxidative stress and cell death during the aging process. In this Commentary, we discuss recent studies that have converged at a consensus regarding the involvement of mitochondrial dynamics in key cellular processes, and introduce a possible link between abnormal mitochondrial dynamics and aging. Journal of Cell Science (Chen and Chan, 2009). However, the relevance of mitochondrial fusion and fission to underlying mechanisms of aging has not been fully appreciated, in part because the molecular events that underlie the aging process have not yet been completely elucidated. In this Commentary, we discuss current knowledge of mitochondrial dynamics, structure and function in relation to key cellular events, including mitochondrial biogenesis, mtDNA homeostasis, autophagy and cell death. By providing a basic overview of mitochondrial fusion and fission events and their general function in these crucial biological processes during normal stable environmental conditions, we hope to portray how alterations in mitochondrial dynamics can contribute to the mitochondrial dysfunction that is commonly associated with aging. Mechanisms underlying mitochondrial dynamicsMitochondria are highly complex and dynamic organelles that can alter their organization, shape and size, depending on intracellular and extracellular signals (Bereiter-Hahn and Voth, 1994;Rube and van der Bliek, 2004). Mitochondria undergo a continuous cycle of fusion and fission, and the balance between these opposing events determines the morphology of the organelle (Chen and Chan, 2004) (Fig. 2). Whereas decreased fusion can result in mitochondrial fragmentation because of excessive fission, decreased fission can generate long and highly interconnected mitochondria (Sesaki and Jensen, 1999).During the past decade, various cellular components have been identified as key mediators of mitochondrial fusion and fission in yeast (Hoppins et al., 2007;Merz et al., 2007;Okamoto and Shaw, 2005). The...

The prevalence of cardiovascular disease (CVD) increases with advancing age. While the long-term exposure to cardiovascular risk factors plays a major role in the etiopathogenesis of CVD, intrinsic cardiac aging enhances the susceptibility to developing heart pathologies in late life. The progressive decline of cardiomyocyte mitochondrial function is considered to be a major mechanism underlying heart senescence. Damaged mitochondria not only produce less ATP, but also generate increased amounts of reactive oxygen species (ROS) and display a greater propensity to trigger apoptosis. Given the post-mitotic nature of cardiomyocytes, the efficient removal of dysfunctional mitochondria is critical for the maintenance of cell homeostasis, as damaged organelles cannot be diluted by cell proliferation. The only known mechanism whereby mitochondria are turned over is through macroautophagy (MA). The efficiency of this process declines with advancing age which may play a critical role in heart senescence as well as in age-related CVD. This review illustrates the putative mechanisms whereby alterations in the autophagic removal of damaged mitochondria intervene in the process of cardiac aging as well as in the pathogenesis of specific heart diseases especially prevalent in late life (e.g., left ventricular hypertrophy, ischemic heart disease, heart failure, and diabetic cardiomyopathy). Interventions proposed to counter cardiac aging through improvements in MA (e.g., calorie restriction and calorie restriction mimetics) are also presented.