Mitochondrial Dysfunction in Aging and Cancer.

Author: Moro L1
Affiliation:
1Institute of Biomembranes, Bioenergetics and Molecular Biotechnologies, National Research Council, 70126 Bari, Italy.
Conference/Journal: J Clin Med.
Date published: 2019 Nov 15
Other: Volume ID: 8 , Issue ID: 11 , Special Notes: doi: 10.3390/jcm8111983. , Word Count: 122


Aging is a major risk factor for developing cancer, suggesting that these two events may represent two sides of the same coin. It is becoming clear that some mechanisms involved in the aging process are shared with tumorigenesis, through convergent or divergent pathways. Increasing evidence supports a role for mitochondrial dysfunction in promoting aging and in supporting tumorigenesis and cancer progression to a metastatic phenotype. Here, a summary of the current knowledge of three aspects of mitochondrial biology that link mitochondria to aging and cancer is presented. In particular, the focus is on mutations and changes in content of the mitochondrial genome, activation of mitochondria-to-nucleus signaling and the newly discovered mitochondria-telomere communication.

KEYWORDS: aging; cancer; mitochondria-to-nucleus signaling; mitochondrial DNA

PMID: 31731601 DOI: 10.3390/jcm8111983

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