“…[1][2][3][4][5][6][7] Mitochondria are indispensable for many vital cellular processes, including the following: (1) the synthesis of most cellular ATP via oxidative phosphorylation coupled to the electron transfer chain (ETC) in the inner mitochondrial membrane; 2,3 (2) the generation of the tricarboxylic acid (TCA) cycle intermediates, some of which are used for the synthesis of amino acids, lipids and heme in mitochondria; [3][4][5] (3) the maintenance of a metabolic status-specific NAD C /NADH ratio, AMP/ATP ratio, level of acetyl-CoA and level of S-Adenosylmethionine; these mitochondria-derived metabolites modulate activities of several protein sensors governing energy-producing cellular metabolism and are also used for acetylation and methylation of numerous non-mitochondrial proteins involved in many cellular processes; 3,57,8 (4) the synthesis and assembly of iron-sulfur clusters (ISC), inorganic cofactors of many mitochondrial, nuclear and cytosolic proteins playing essential roles in vital cellular processes; 9 (5) the formation of reactive oxygen species (ROS); these by-products of mitochondrial respiration play critical roles in regulating cell proliferation, differentiation, metabolism, signaling, immune response, aging, survival and death; 4,5,[10][11][12][13][14] (6) the proteolytic degradation of unfolded proteins accumulated in mitochondria above a toxic threshold; the efflux of the resulting peptides from the mitochondria elicits a specific transcriptional response in the nucleus, thus reducing the number of unfolded proteins in mitochondria below the toxic threshold; 4,14-17 (7) the efflux of cytochrome c and other pro-apoptotic proteins from mitochondria to initiate a programmed form of apoptotic cell death as well as to modulate various non-apoptotic cellular processes, including cell cycle progression, differentiation, metabolism, autophagy, inflammation, immunity and regulated necrotic death; [1][2][3]7,[18][19]…”