Seminar

Mitochondrial dysfunction and cancer

Dr. Christian Frezza

The role of mitochondrial dysfunction in cancer has been debated for over a century. Recent bioinformatic data analyses revealed that mitochondrial genes are suppressed in cancer with poor clinical outcome. Furthermore, the fact that mutations of core metabolic enzymes in the mitochondria such as Fumarate Hydratase (FH) cause cancer strongly indicate that mitochondrial dysfunction can drive cancer. Dr. Frezza will provide an overview of our recent findings about the molecular mechanisms through which mitochondrial dysfunction can drive transformation and shape cancer progression. He will show that in FH-deficient cells the accumulation of the metabolite fumarate can activate a plethora of biological processes linked with tumorigenesis. Furthermore, he will describe his new findings that link mtDNA mutations to cell migration by rearranging cellular metabolism.