Monaghan Richard M
British Heart Foundation Centre of Research Excellence Manchester, Division of Cardiovascular Sciences, School of Medical Sciences, Faculty of Biology, Medicine, and Health, The University of Manchester, The AV Hill Building, Manchester M13 9PT, UK.
Open Biol. 2025 Feb;15(2):240287. doi: 10.1098/rsob.240287. Epub 2025 Feb 12.
This open question research article highlights mitochondria-associated endoplasmic reticulum (ER) membranes (MAMs), which have emerged as crucial cellular structures that challenge our traditional understanding of organelle function. This review highlights the critical importance of MAMs as a frontier in cell biology with far-reaching implications for health, disease and ageing. MAMs serve as dynamic communication hubs between the ER and mitochondria, orchestrating essential processes such as calcium signalling, lipid metabolism and cellular stress responses. Recent research has implicated MAM dysfunction in a wide array of conditions, including neurodegenerative diseases, metabolic disorders, cardiovascular diseases and cancer. The significant lack of biological knowledge behind MAM function emphasizes the need to study these enigmatic subcellular sites in greater detail. Key open questions include the mechanisms controlling MAM formation and disassembly, the full complement of MAM-associated proteins and how MAMs contribute to cellular decision-making and ageing processes. Advancing our understanding of MAMs through interdisciplinary approaches and cutting-edge technologies promises to reveal new insights into fundamental cellular signalling pathways and potentially lead to innovative therapeutic strategies for a range of diseases. As such, MAM research represents a critical open question in biology with the potential to transform our understanding of cellular life and human health.
这篇开放性问题研究文章重点介绍了线粒体相关内质网膜（MAMs），它已成为挑战我们对细胞器功能传统认知的关键细胞结构。这篇综述强调了MAMs作为细胞生物学前沿领域的至关重要性，对健康、疾病和衰老具有深远影响。MAMs充当内质网和线粒体之间的动态通讯枢纽，协调诸如钙信号传导、脂质代谢和细胞应激反应等重要过程。最近的研究表明，MAM功能障碍与多种疾病有关，包括神经退行性疾病、代谢紊乱、心血管疾病和癌症。MAM功能背后生物学知识的严重匮乏凸显了更详细研究这些神秘亚细胞位点的必要性。关键的开放性问题包括控制MAM形成和分解的机制、与MAM相关蛋白质的完整组成以及MAMs如何影响细胞决策和衰老过程。通过跨学科方法和前沿技术增进我们对MAMs的理解，有望揭示基本细胞信号通路的新见解，并可能为一系列疾病带来创新的治疗策略。因此，MAM研究是生物学中一个关键的开放性问题，有可能改变我们对细胞生命和人类健康的理解。
