Clinical Insights into Mitochondrial Neurodevelopmental and Neurodegenerative Disorders: Their Biosignatures from Mass Spectrometry-Based Metabolomics

Abstract

Mitochondria are dynamic multitask organelles that function as hubs for many metabolic pathways. They produce most ATP via the oxidative phosphorylation pathway, a critical pathway that the brain relies on its energy need associated with its numerous functions, such as synaptic homeostasis and plasticity. Therefore, mitochondrial dysfunction is a prevalent pathological hallmark of many neurodevelopmental and neurodegenerative disorders resulting in altered neurometabolic coupling. With the advent of mass spectrometry (MS) technology, MS-based metabolomics provides an emerging mechanistic understanding of their global and dynamic metabolic signatures. In this review, we discuss the pathogenetic causes of mitochondrial metabolic disorders and the recent MS-based metabolomic advances on their metabolomic remodeling. We conclude by exploring the MS-based metabolomic functional insights into their biosignatures to improve diagnostic platforms, stratify patients, and design novel targeted therapeutic strategies.

Keywords

• mitochondrial genetics
• neurometabolic coupling
• mitochondrial neurodevelopmental disorders
• secondary mitochondrial neurodegenerative diseases
• mass spectrometry
• metabolomics