Department of Pharmacology, School of Pharmacy, Qingdao University, Qingdao, 266021, PR China.
Future Oncol. 2021 Feb;17(6):723-743. doi: 10.2217/fon-2020-0362. Epub 2021 Jan 18.
Mitochondria are highly dynamic organelles that provide energy for oxidative phosphorylation in cells. Equally, they are the major sites for the metabolism of amino acids, lipids and iron. When cells become cancerous, the morphology, cellular location and metabolic mode of the mitochondria change accordingly. These mitochondrial changes can have two opposing effects on cancer: procancer and anticancer effects. Specifically, mitochondria play roles in the fight against cancer by participating in processes such as ferroptosis, mitophagy and antitumor immunity. Contrastingly, cancer cells can also enslave mitochondria to give them the conditions necessary for growth and metastasis. Moreover, through mitochondria, cancer cells can escape from immune surveillance, resulting in their immune escape and enhanced malignant transformation ability. At present, cancer-related studies of mitochondria are one-sided; therefore, we aim to provide a comprehensive understanding by systematically reviewing the two-sided cancer-related properties of mitochondria. Mitochondrial-targeted drugs are gradually emerging and showing significant advantages in cancer treatment; thus, our in-depth exploration of mitochondria in cancer will help to provide theoretical support for the future provision of efficient and low-toxicity cancer treatments.
线粒体是高度动态的细胞器，为细胞的氧化磷酸化提供能量。同样，它们也是氨基酸、脂质和铁代谢的主要场所。当细胞癌变时，线粒体的形态、细胞位置和代谢模式会相应改变。这些线粒体变化对癌症可能有两种相反的影响：促癌和抗癌作用。具体来说，线粒体通过参与铁死亡、线粒体自噬和抗肿瘤免疫等过程，在抗癌中发挥作用。相比之下，癌细胞也可以奴役线粒体，为其生长和转移提供必要的条件。此外，癌细胞还可以通过线粒体逃避免疫监视，从而实现免疫逃逸和增强恶性转化能力。目前，与癌症相关的线粒体研究还比较片面；因此，我们旨在通过系统地综述线粒体的两面性与癌症相关的特性，提供一个全面的认识。线粒体靶向药物在癌症治疗中逐渐崭露头角，并显示出显著的优势；因此，我们对癌症中线粒体的深入探索将有助于为未来提供高效低毒的癌症治疗方法提供理论支持。
