Related Experiment Video
Updated: Mar 27, 2026

Author Spotlight: Transmitochondrial Cybrid Generation Using Cancer Cell Lines
Published on: March 17, 2023
Cancer mtDNA mutations: metabolic plasticity and therapeutic promise?
Ersong Shang1, Omar Aftab1, Abbienaya Dayanamby2
1Mitochondrial Research Group, Biosciences Institute, Newcastle University, Newcastle, UK.
None:
Mitochondria, once viewed mainly as cellular powerhouses, are now recognised as key regulators of cancer metabolism, redox balance, and immune interactions. While early models emphasised a switch to aerobic glycolysis, many tumours exhibit metabolic plasticity and retain oxidative phosphorylation capacity. Mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) mutations are common across cancers, yet their roles in carcinogenesis and therapy response remain unclear. Emerging base-editing technologies now enable modelling of these mutations, allowing the exploration of their impact on tumourigenesis, which may differ depending on mutation type, heteroplasmy, and tissue origin. mtDNA alterations also shape immune responses within the tumour microenvironment and therefore may influence treatment sensitivity. This review integrates recent advances on mtDNA's role in cancer biology and explores therapeutic opportunities for targeting mitochondrial metabolism.
Related Concept Videos
Cancer
Adaptive Mechanisms in Cancer Cells
Some of the advantages that cancer cells have on normal cells include - enhanced ability to divide without terminally differentiating, induce new blood vessel formation,...
Adaptive Mechanisms in Cancer Cells
Electron Transport Chain: Complex I and II
ROS generation is regulated and maintained at moderate levels necessary...
Combination Therapies and Personalized Medicine
The combination of the drug acetazolamide and sulforaphane is a good example of combination therapy to treat cancer. The cells in the interior of a large tumor often die due to the hypoxic and...
Treatment Resistant Cancers

