Mitochondrial quality control: a new mechanism for antiviral therapy

Mitochondria are highly dynamic organelles involved in energy production, metabolic regulation, calcium homeostasis, apoptosis, and innate immunity. The mitochondrial network is susceptible to damage from physiological and environmental factors, including viral infections. Mitochondrial quality control (MQC) is the primary pathway that maintains normal physiological functions and mitochondrial homeostasis. Mitochondrial dynamics and mitophagy are complex processes within the MQC mechanism that can be exploited by viruses to modulate mitochondrial morphology, metabolism, and innate immune responses, achieving immune evasion, promoting self-replication, and accelerating infection. Viruses or their proteins target mitochondrial dynamics or mitophagy and regulate these processes via direct or indirect mechanisms. In addition, numerous molecular modulators of MQC have been reported. These findings provide new opportunities to understand the MQC process and have the potential for use as antiviral therapeutic agents. This article reviews the relationships between MQC, viral infection events, and viral pathogenesis, introduces the known molecular pharmacological regulators of MQC, and emphasizes their importance in antiviral drug development.