Mitochondria

Mitochondria are tiny structures inside almost every cell. Their job is to turn nutrients and oxygen into the chemical energy the cell runs on.

Where the word comes from

Mitochondrion is built from two Greek words: mitos, “thread,” and chondrion, “small grain.” That is exactly what they looked like under early microscopes — tiny threads and grains scattered through the cell. The German microscopist Carl Benda gave them the name in the late 1890s. Their role as the cell’s energy converters was worked out by biochemists over the following half-century.

What it means here

Mitochondria carry a small amount of their own DNA, separate from the DNA in the cell’s nucleus. That detail matters in this catalog: MOTS-c is a peptide encoded by mitochondrial DNA itself, and published research studies how such peptides act as signals between mitochondria and the rest of the cell. When a page here mentions mitochondria, it is naming the part of the cell a published study looked at — not promising anything about energy in a person.

Words you’ll see together

• mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) — the small set of genes mitochondria carry themselves
• inner membrane — the folded inner wall where the energy chemistry happens
• ATP — the energy-carrying molecule mitochondria produce
• cardiolipin — a lipid found almost only in the inner mitochondrial membrane
• oxidative stress — chemical strain from reactive oxygen byproducts, often studied in mitochondrial models

Related terms

• Peptide — MOTS-c, studied in mitochondrial models, is a peptide
• Preclinical — most mitochondrial-peptide findings come from cell and animal studies
• Receptor — one way compounds interact with cells; mitochondrial peptides are studied through other routes too

Where it appears in our catalog

• MOTS-c — the peptide encoded in mitochondrial DNA
• NAD+ — a molecule central to the chemistry mitochondria use

References

1. Harding E et al. (2026). Mitochondrial DNA retrograde signaling roles for MOTS-c and other MDPs. Cell Commun Signal. PMID 41937181
2. Park JW et al. (2026). SS-31 rescues doxorubicin-induced cardiac dysfunction in PrxIII-knockout mice via mitochondrial H₂O₂ mitigation + inner-membrane protection. Redox Biol. PMID 42013545

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