Lithium, Inositol and Mitochondria

Our recent DNA-microarray and proteomics studies searching for pathways affected both by chronic lithium treatment and by knockout of each of two genes (IMPA1 or Slc5a3) encoding for proteins related to inositol metabolism, indicated up-regulation of mitochondria-related genes and autophagy-related proteins in the frontal cortex. Differently from previously reported observations of aberrant mitochondrial function in bipolar patients which leave a causality relationship between mitochondrial dysfunction and bipolar disorder an open question, the behavioral results of our recent report following rotenone treatment tempt us to speculate that mitochondrial dysfunction predisposes manic behavior and that drugs targeted to ameliorate mitochondrial function are potential preventers of bursting manic episodes. However, the promiscuity of the involvement of mitochondrial dysfunction and impaired autophagy in the pathophysiology of psychiatric and neurodegenerative disorders raises questions regarding the credibility and relevance of these findings.