title: Mitochondrial dynamics and cancer.
abstract: Mitochondrial morphology is regulated by continuous fusion and fission events that are essential for maintaining a normal mitochondrial function. If the last years have witnessed major discoveries in the characterization of the fission and fusion machineries, little is known about the physiological role of mitochondrial dynamics. In this review we report the results showing evidences of relationships between mitochondrial dynamics and cellular metabolism, autophagy or apoptosis. We discuss how different mitochondrial alterations observed in cancer cells could be linked to unbalanced mitochondrial fission or fusion events and how this could impinge on key essential cellular processes, thereby contributing to tumorigenesis.
authors.affiliation: Department of Cell Biology, University of Geneva, Switzerland.
authors.forename: Stéphanie
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Grandemange
authors.forename: Sébastien
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Herzig
authors.forename: Jean-Claude
authors.initials: JC
authors.lastname: Martinou
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D017209:Apoptosis / Q000502:physiology; D001343:Autophagy / Q000502:physiology; D002453:Cell Cycle / Q000502:physiology; D004734:Energy Metabolism / Q000502:physiology; D006801:Humans; D008928:Mitochondria / Q000502:physiology*; D024101:Mitochondrial Proteins / Q000378:metabolism*; D009369:Neoplasms / Q000378:metabolism*; D019253:Proto-Oncogene Proteins c-bcl-2 / Q000378:metabolism*
chemical_list: D024101:Mitochondrial Proteins; D019253:Proto-Oncogene Proteins c-bcl-2