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Updated: Mar 9, 2026

Three-dimensional Imaging and Analysis of Mitochondria within Human Intraepidermal Nerve Fibers
Published on: September 29, 2017
A neuronal network of mitochondrial dynamics regulates metastasis
M Cecilia Caino1,2, Jae Ho Seo1,2, Angeline Aguinaldo3
1Prostate Cancer Discovery and Development Program, The Wistar Institute, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 19104, USA.
Abstract:
The role of mitochondria in cancer is controversial. Using a genome-wide shRNA screen, we now show that tumours reprogram a network of mitochondrial dynamics operative in neurons, including syntaphilin (SNPH), kinesin KIF5B and GTPase Miro1/2 to localize mitochondria to the cortical cytoskeleton and power the membrane machinery of cell movements. When expressed in tumours, SNPH inhibits the speed and distance travelled by individual mitochondria, suppresses organelle dynamics, and blocks chemotaxis and metastasis, in vivo. Tumour progression in humans is associated with downregulation or loss of SNPH, which correlates with shortened patient survival, increased mitochondrial trafficking to the cortical cytoskeleton, greater membrane dynamics and heightened cell invasion. Therefore, a SNPH network regulates metastatic competence and may provide a therapeutic target in cancer.
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