Abstract
By causing mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) mutations and oxidation of mitochondrial proteins, reactive oxygen species (ROS) leads to perturbations in mitochondrial proteostasis. Several studies have linked mtDNA mutations to metastasis of cancer cells but the nature of the mtDNA species involved remains unclear. Our data suggests that no common mtDNA mutation identifies metastatic cells; rather the metastatic potential of several ROS-generating mutations is largely determined by their mtDNA genomic landscapes, which can act either as an enhancer or repressor of metastasis. However, mtDNA landscapes of all metastatic cells are characterized by activation of the SIRT/FOXO/SOD2 axis of the mitochondrial unfolded protein response (UPR(mt)). The UPR(mt) promotes a complex transcription program ultimately increasing mitochondrial integrity and fitness in response to oxidative proteotoxic stress. Using SOD2 as a surrogate marker of the UPR(mt), we found that in primary breast cancers, SOD2 is significantly increased in metastatic lesions. We propose that the ability of selected mtDNA species to activate the UPR(mt) is a process that is exploited by cancer cells to maintain mitochondrial fitness and facilitate metastasis.
Original language | English (US) |
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Pages (from-to) | 4393-4404 |
Number of pages | 12 |
Journal | Oncogene |
Volume | 36 |
Issue number | 31 |
DOIs | |
State | Published - Aug 1 2017 |
Funding
We thank the electron microscopy facility at Mount Sinai and the sequencing core facility at Case Western. We thank Maria Gomez for her help in generating the Supplementary Tables, Elizabeth Slocum for her contribution to the analysis by electron microscopy and Yukie Takabatake for her contribution to the graphical illustration of the model in Figure 7. This work was funded by an NIH RO1 number CA1722046 to DG.
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Molecular Biology
- Genetics
- Cancer Research