The VDAC1 disease body map

·Every link, spelled out

Prefer a list? Same map, organ, the VDAC1 connection, and the paper to read.

• Brain

  Neurodegeneration & Alzheimer's

  Neurons burn the most energy, so they feel VDAC1 failure first. The channel links to amyloid and tau, and to the PSEN1 calcium pathways behind familial Alzheimer's.

  VDAC1 in Alzheimer's, PubMed read my write-up →
  VDAC1neurodegeneration
• Eye

  Uveal melanoma

  In the commonest adult eye cancer, VDAC1 turned up as a genome-stability gene, switch it off and tumour cells die, but their DNA unravels.

  Gao & Wei, Exp Eye Res 2026 read my write-up →
  VDAC1cancer
• Heart

  Cardiac injury

  VDAC1 anchors the ER–mitochondria contact points that meter calcium into heart cells. Those contacts break down after a heart attack.

  Du et al., J Ethnopharmacol 2026
  VDAC1calcium
• Lungs

  Pulmonary fibrosis

  Fibroblasts that can't recycle damaged mitochondria drive lung scarring. Restart mitophagy (PINK1/Parkin) and the scarring eases.

  Zhang et al., J Ethnopharmacol 2026 read my write-up →
  mitophagyfibrosis
• Immune / spleen

  Sepsis, inflammation & lupus

  VDAC1 oligomers leak mtDNA that trips the cGAS–STING alarm. VBIT-12 calmed T-cell inflammation; the VBIT-4 lupus paper kicked off the whole field.

  Ren et al., Cell Signal 2026 read my write-up →
  VDAC1inflammationmtDNA
• Liver

  Fatty liver & metabolic disease

  The same mtDNA-leak-then-inflammation loop shows up in fatty liver disease, and VBIT-4 has been tried against it in models.

  VBIT-4 in metabolic disease, PubMed
  VDAC1mtDNA
• Kidneys

  Acute & chronic kidney disease

  Human genetics points to mitochondrial genes as causes of kidney failure, and blocking VDAC1 oligomerization has protected kidneys in models.

  Wang et al., Ren Fail 2026 read my write-up →
  mitochondriakidney
• Bladder

  Bladder cancer & chemo-resistance

  Tumour cells tag VDAC1 for mitophagy to survive cisplatin. Close that escape hatch and the chemo works again.

  Zhang et al., Drug Resist Updat 2026 read my write-up →
  VDAC1mitophagycancer
• Joints

  Osteoarthritis

  Cartilage cells with failing mitochondria leak mtDNA and inflame the joint. A mitochondria-targeting nanozyme restarts mitophagy and quiets it.

  Li et al., Bioact Mater 2026 read my write-up →
  mitophagynanomedicine