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. Author manuscript; available in PMC: 2014 May 1.
Published in final edited form as: Trends Endocrinol Metab. 2013 Feb 8;24(5):222–228. doi: 10.1016/j.tem.2013.01.005

Figure 1. Mitochondrial-Derived Peptides are Retrograde Signaling Molecules.

Figure 1

Mitochondria communicate with the cell through a process largely known as retrograde signaling. Traditionally described means of communication from the mitochondria include Ca2+, cytochrome C (cyt C), and ROS. MDP are recently identified retrograde signals, which are unique in that they are encoded within the mitochondrial genome sequences. MDPs such as humanin are thought to act as endocrine as well as intracellular factors with several biological roles regulating cell survival and metabolism.