Mitochondrial DNA and carcinogenesis (review).
The role of the mitochondria in the process of carcinogenesis has drawn             researchers' attention since the discovery of respiratory deficit in cells, particularly             those characterized by rapid proliferation. The deficit was assumed to stimulate             further differentiation of the cells and initiate the process of neoplastic transformation.             As many as 25-80% of somatic mutations in mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) are found             in various neoplasms. These mutations are considered to trigger the neoplastic             transformation through shifts of cell energy resources, an increase in the mitochondrial             oxidative stress and modulation of apoptosis. The question arises as to whether             the mtDNA mutations precede a neoplasm or whether they are a result of changes             and processes that take place during neoplastic proliferation.
Department of Oncology, Medical University of Lublin, Lublin,                     Poland.
Ludmila
L
Grzybowska-Szatkowska
Brygida
B
Slaska
D017209:Apoptosis; D002471:Cell Transformation, Neoplastic; D004272:DNA, Mitochondrial / Q000737:chemistry / Q000378:metabolism*; D006801:Humans; D008928:Mitochondria / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism*; D009369:Neoplasms / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism / Q000473:pathology; D018384:Oxidative Stress; D017382:Reactive Oxygen Species / Q000378:metabolism
D004272:DNA, Mitochondrial; D017382:Reactive Oxygen Species