Mitochondria and Inflammatory Bowel Diseases: Toward a Stratified Therapeutic Intervention

Mitochondria serve numerous critical cellular functions, rapidly responding to extracellular stimuli and cellular demands while dynamically communicating with other organelles. Mitochondrial function in the gastrointestinal epithelium plays a critical role in maintaining intestinal health. Emerging studies implicate the involvement of mitochondrial dysfunction in inflammatory bowel disease (IBD). This review presents mitochondrial metabolism, function, and quality control that converge in intestinal epithelial stemness, differentiation programs, barrier integrity, and innate immunity to influence intestinal inflammation. Intestinal and disease characteristics that set the stage for mitochondrial dysfunction being a key factor in IBD and, in turn, pathogenic mitochondrial mechanisms influencing and potentiating the development of IBD, are discussed. These findings establish the basis for potential mitochondrial-targeted interventions for IBD therapy.