Mitochondrial dysfunction and oxidative stress have been implicated in the pathology of chronic metabolic diseases associated with type 2 diabetes mellitus. In the last decade, tremendous progress has been made in understanding the mitochondrial structure, function and their physiology in metabolic syndromes such as diabetes, obesity, stroke, hypertension, liver and heart diseases.

Furthermore, progress has also been made in developing therapeutic strategies, including lifestyle interventions, pharmacological strategies and mitochondria-targeted approaches.

These strategies are mainly focused to reduce mitochondrial dysfunction and oxidative stress and to maintain mitochondrial quality in metabolic syndromes.

The purpose of this meeting was to highlight the recent progress on the mitochondrial role in metabolic diseases, to understand the molecular basis for optimal mitochondrial function or mechanisms of dysfunction and finally correlate them with diabetes.