Research

Mixed

Mitochondrial dysfunction, specifically the release of mitochondrial DAMPs (mtDAMPs) like oxidized mtDNA and cardiolipin, activates innate immune pathways (NLRP3, cGAS/STING, NF-κB) to drive inflammaging.

Mitochondrial health is crucial for managing inflammation. Impaired mitochondria release signals that trigger chronic inflammation. Physical activity improves mitochondrial function and may help reduce this inflammatory burden.

GoodSupportsHIGH confidence
Impaired mitochondria release DAMPs, composed of mostly oxidatively modified mtDNA and cardiolipin, into the cytosol... When ROS-damaged mtDNA and cardiolipin are released into the cytosol, various inflammatory pathways are activated.
Keenan A. Walker et al. · Journal of Clinical Investigation · 2022

Why this rating

Strong mechanistic evidence from animal models and cell culture; human translational data is emerging.

Source

Connecting aging biology and inflammation in the omics era

Keenan A. Walker et al. · Journal of Clinical Investigation · 2022

DOI 10.1172/jci158448

narrative_reviewCited 176×
Read the paper
DOI resolved against Crossref · corpus check 2026-06-10

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