What is the role of mitochondrial DAMPs in the injurymediated inflammatory response?
A. Mitochondrial DNA induces production ofHMGBlMitochondrial proteins and/or DNA can act as DAMPs by triggering an inflammatory response to necrosis and cellular stress. Specifically, the release of mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) and formyl peptides from damaged or dysfunctional mitochondria has been implicated in activation of the macrophage inflammasome, a cytosolic signaling complex that responds to cellular stress. With stress or tissue injury, mtDNA and peptides are released from damaged mitochondria where they can contribute to a sterile inflammatory response. From an evolutionary perspective, given that eukaryotic mitochondria derive from bacterial origin, it would make sense that they retain bacterial features capable of eliciting a strong response that is typically associated with a pathogen trigger.