Mitochondria are important organelles for cellular metabolism and homeostasis,and their abnormalities are implicated in various diseases.Since mitochondria originate from protobacterium,their components are easily recognized by pathogen sensors called pattern-recognition receptors as foreign substances in the cytoplasm.This is prominent for mitochondrial DNA(mtDNA)which has different properties from nuclear DNA,such as low,if any,methylation status,vulnerability to oxidation due to the proximity to the oxidative phosphorylation machinery,and its circular structure.Recent studies indicate that perturbations in mitochondrial function and homeostasis cause mtDNA to leak into the cytoplasm,where it triggers the innate immune response(West and Shadel,2017).Although inflammatory response is a cellular strategy to resist viral infections,it can also lead to undesirable outcomes by damaging own cells and tissues.
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