Progress on the role of mitohormesis in aging

Aging is closely related to mitochondria, and mitochondrial dysfunction plays an important role in aging, which is also a key cause of degenerative diseases. Mitochondria are essential for maintaining the stability of the intracellular environment, monitoring cellular homeostasis, and can timely reverse transmit stress signals to the nucleus to achieve feedback regulation. Exposure to long-term low-intensity stress stimuli such as reactive oxygen species, accumulation of unfolded proteins, and disruptions of energy metabolism can activate the mitohormesis, triggering a compensatory response in cells to resist stress stimuli and improve cellular resilience, thereby promoting health and prolonging life. In degenerative diseases such as Alzheimer’s disease, Parkinson’s disease, and osteoporosis, the mitohormesis can also be used as potential therapeutic targets. Therefore, it is of great significance to study the mitohormesis to promote health, prolong life, delay aging, and prevent or treat degenerative diseases.