Mitochondria in focus: Targeting the cell-death mechanism

An understanding of the mechanism of apoptosis has received a substantial amount of interest over the past decades. It is evident from many works that mitochondria play a pivotal role in keeping cell homeostasis in both physiological and pathological conditions. The ability of mitochondria to reprogram cell metabolism is a key function to cell life and death. Therefore, recent advances in mitochondrial bioenergetics have yielded underlying knowledge for basic biology and applied biology, particularly providing crucial insights in therapeutic strategies. A detailed scenario of full apoptosis biology exceeds the scope of this current chapter and has been covered elsewhere in the book (i.e., first and third chapters). In line with this, we discuss the role of mitochondrial morphology, mitochondrial bioenergetics, and cell metabolism into the context of cellular life‐or‐death decision, addressing how the contribution made by many apoptosis pathways has deepened our understanding of human diseases, especially for cancer and neurodegenerative diseases.