Mitochondrial Pathways in Cancer

摘要

Cancer is considered to primarily be the result of multiple driver genetic lesions.[ ] Nevertheless, emerging evidence suggests that non-genetic mechanisms may be involved in phenotypic plasticity and cellular adaptation in tumor microenvironment. Cell-intrinsic and -extrinsic factors, such as epigenetic modifications, hypoxia, crosstalk with surrounding cells and metabolic state of the cells, contribute to metabolic heterogenicity.[ , , ] Recently, there is a renewed interest to explore mitochondrial mechanisms as a promising target for novel anticancer treatment, especially in tumor types with higher mitochondrial mass and respiratory activity such as leukemia.[ , ]