Targeting the mitochondrial functional network: Decoding upstream pathological mechanisms and novel therapeutic paradigms for Alzheimer's disease.

Abstract

Alzheimer's disease (AD) is the most prevalent neurodegenerative disorder worldwide. Conventional downstream interventions targeting β-amyloid (Aβ) and tau proteins have repeatedly failed in clinical practice, and mitochondrial functional decline has been identified as the core upstream driver of AD pathogenesis. Focusing on the mitochondrial functional network as the core target, this paper systematically dissects the key molecular mechanisms of mitochondrial dysfunction during AD progression, including oxidative phosphorylation impairment, mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) mutations and genetic defects, excessive reactive oxygen species (ROS) production, mitochondrial dynamics imbalance, mitophagy dysfunction, calcium homeostasis dysregulation, mitochondrial transport defects, and the bidirectional regulatory pathway of tau pathology, and elucidates the pathological network featured by cascade amplification and reciprocal regulation among these abnormal mechanisms. It also comprehensively summarizes mitochondria-targeted intervention strategies for AD, analyzes the research limitations in this field such as model heterogeneity, lack of specific biomarkers and inefficient drug delivery, and prospects future research directions by integrating cutting-edge technologies including cell reprogramming and artificial intelligence (AI). This study provides a novel interpretation of the aging-related pathogenic mechanisms of AD from a mitochondrial perspective, lays a theoretical foundation for the development of precise and efficient mitochondria-targeted therapeutic strategies for AD, and offers a new paradigm for breaking through the bottlenecks of clinical diagnosis and treatment of AD.