Mitochondrial responses to extreme environments: insights from metabolomics

Humans are capable of survival in a remarkable range of environments, including the extremes of temperature and altitude as well as zero gravity. Investigation into physiological function in response to such environmental stresses may help further our understanding of human (patho-) physiology both at a systems level and in certain disease states, making it a highly relevant field of study. This review focuses on the application of metabolomics in assessing acclimatisation to these states, particularly the insights this approach can provide into mitochondrial function. It includes an overview of metabolomics and the associated analytical tools and also suggests future avenues of research.