Interorganelle Communication in Neurons: Molecular Coordination in Health, Plasticity, and Neurodegeneration

Neurons rely on a highly specialized and compartmentalized intracellular architecture, which requires precise coordination among a variety of organelles, including mitochondria, the endoplasmic reticulum (ER), lysosomes, endosomes, Golgi outposts, ribosomal clusters, and many others. Interorganelle communication, sustained through a range of dynamic networks, enables neurons to maintain energy homeostasis, calcium regulation, synaptic plasticity, and proteostasis under conditions of intense functional demand. The simultaneously fundamental and complex nature of these networks means that a disturbance in their interactions can have wide-ranging consequences, increasing cellular stress, impairing neurotransmission, inducing metabolic failure, and ultimately leading to neurodegeneration. In particular, the disruption of ER–mitochondria contacts, altered endolysosomal trafficking, defects in mitochondrial fission and fusion, and impaired crosstalk between neurons and astroglia are increasingly recognized as converging mechanisms across numerous neurological disorders.Advances in live-cell imaging, proximity labeling, cryo-electron tomography, super-resolution microscopy, multiomics, and genetic manipulation now allow functional organelle interactions to be mapped with unprecedented precision. These tools are revealing new communication nodes, identifying molecular tethers that maintain organelle associations, and uncovering how neuronal activity reshapes organelle networks to meet changing physiological demands.This Research Topic aims to bring together innovative work that dissects the mechanisms of interorganelle communication in the nervous system across development, plasticity, and disease. By highlighting research that bridges molecular organization with neuronal physiology, this collection seeks to deepen our understanding of how organelles work together to maintain neural function. Insights into these coordinated pathways promise to illuminate shared mechanisms of neurodegeneration and support the development of targeted therapeutic strategies.We encourage contributions that examine neuronal and glial perspectives, highlight cross-compartment signaling pathways, and explore how pathogenic mutations alter organelle cooperation. Topic editors: Lucas Caldi Gomes, Thomas Jongens Source: https://www.frontiersin.org/research-topics/78194/interorganelle-communication-in-neurons-molecular-coordination-in-health-plasticity-and-neurodegeneration