title: Oncogenic properties of a spermatogenic meiotic variant of fer kinase expressed in somatic cells.
abstract: The kinase Fer and its spermatogenic meiotic variant, FerT, are coexpressed in normal testes and cancerous tumors, but whether they exert related roles in spermatogenic or malignant cells has not been known. Here, we show that Fer and FerT reside in the mitochondria of spermatogenic cells and are harnessed to the reprogrammed mitochondria of colon carcinoma cells. Both kinases bound complex I of the mitochondrial electron transport chain (ETC) in spermatogenic and in colon carcinoma cells, and silencing of either Fer or FerT was sufficient to impair the activity of this complex. Directed mitochondrial accumulation of FerT in nonmalignant NIH3T3 cells increased their ETC complex I activity, ATP production, and survival, contingent upon stress conditions caused by nutrient and oxygen deprivation. Strikingly, directed mitochondrial accumulation of FerT endowed nonmalignant cells with tumor-forming ability. Thus, recruitment of a meiotic mitochondrial component to cancer cell mitochondria highlights a pivotal role for reprogrammed mitochondria in tumorigenesis.
authors.affiliation: The Mina and Everard Goodman Faculty of Life Sciences, Bar-Ilan University, Ramat-Gan, Israel.
authors.forename: Etai
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Yaffe
authors.affiliation: The Mina and Everard Goodman Faculty of Life Sciences, Bar-Ilan University, Ramat-Gan, Israel.
authors.forename: Elad
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Hikri
authors.affiliation: The Mina and Everard Goodman Faculty of Life Sciences, Bar-Ilan University, Ramat-Gan, Israel.
authors.forename: Yoav
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Elkis
authors.affiliation: The Mina and Everard Goodman Faculty of Life Sciences, Bar-Ilan University, Ramat-Gan, Israel.
authors.forename: Ortal
authors.initials: O
authors.lastname: Cohen
authors.affiliation: The Mina and Everard Goodman Faculty of Life Sciences, Bar-Ilan University, Ramat-Gan, Israel.
authors.forename: Ariela
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Segal
authors.affiliation: The Mina and Everard Goodman Faculty of Life Sciences, Bar-Ilan University, Ramat-Gan, Israel.
authors.forename: Adar
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Makovski
authors.affiliation: The Mina and Everard Goodman Faculty of Life Sciences, Bar-Ilan University, Ramat-Gan, Israel.
authors.forename: Alexander
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Varvak
authors.affiliation: The Mina and Everard Goodman Faculty of Life Sciences, Bar-Ilan University, Ramat-Gan, Israel.
authors.forename: Sally
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Shpungin
authors.affiliation: The Mina and Everard Goodman Faculty of Life Sciences, Bar-Ilan University, Ramat-Gan, Israel. uri.nir@biu.ac.il.
authors.forename: Uri
authors.initials: U
authors.lastname: Nir
mesh_terms: D000255:Adenosine Triphosphate / Q000096:biosynthesis; D000818:Animals; D002478:Cells, Cultured; D003110:Colonic Neoplasms / Q000209:etiology*; D042967:Electron Transport Complex I / Q000502:physiology; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D051379:Mice; D008813:Mice, Inbred ICR; D008928:Mitochondria / Q000378:metabolism; D041681:NIH 3T3 Cells; D011505:Protein-Tyrosine Kinases / Q000502:physiology*
chemical_list: C052602:proto-oncogene protein c-fes-fps; D000255:Adenosine Triphosphate; D011505:Protein-Tyrosine Kinases; D042967:Electron Transport Complex I