Challenges in mitochondrial profiling during pre-clinical studies

Metabolic Priming as a Tool in Redox and Mitochondrial Theragnostics

“…As previously mentioned, mitochondrial toxicity is a severe concern in drug development, but it can be predicted through preclinical studies involving mitochondrial safety screenings [71], which are essential to identify mitochondrial liabilities in the early stages of drug development [72]. Understanding harmful drug-mitochondrial interactions could aid in creating safer treatment plans for individual patients, which is important in precision medicine [67], a topic that is covered in more detail in Section 4.4.…”

“…It plays a critical role in supporting cell growth and proliferation during in vitro culture. Initially, cell culture media, such as Dulbecco's Modified Eagle Medium (DMEM), were developed with the aim of promoting high cell proliferative capacity, without taking into account the impact on cellular metabolism studies [71,175,191]. However, as our understanding of cellular metabolism has grown, concerns have been raised about the impact of culture medium on cell physiology.…”

“…This approach enables researchers to determine whether the effects of antioxidants or other drugs are related to mitochondrial activity. Using all three media can also help to identify the cellular mechanisms involved in oxidative stress and how cells adapt to different energy substrates, thereby contributing to a better understanding of cellular metabolism and improving drug development processes [71]. As discussed previously, it is essential to carefully control cell culture conditions to accurately detect mitochondrial toxicity in vitro (Figure 3).…”