Figure 1.

The mitochondrial switch. The sketch shows the appearance and the features of a mitochondrion before and after the accumulation of damage responsible for its impairment. At the onset of the neurodegenerative process the increase of reactive oxygen species (ROS), mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) mutations and altered proteins determines the swelling of mitochondria and the disruption of their membranes and cristae. Such an altered morphology heavily impacts on function determining, among others, decreases ATP production, increased ROS, leading to neuronal death. Created with BioRender software.