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Mitocans Revisited: Mitochondrial Targeting as Efficient Anti-Cancer Therapy - PubMed

  • ️Wed Jan 01 2020

Review

Mitocans Revisited: Mitochondrial Targeting as Efficient Anti-Cancer Therapy

Lanfeng Dong et al. Int J Mol Sci. 2020.

Abstract

Mitochondria are essential cellular organelles, controlling multiple signalling pathways critical for cell survival and cell death. Increasing evidence suggests that mitochondrial metabolism and functions are indispensable in tumorigenesis and cancer progression, rendering mitochondria and mitochondrial functions as plausible targets for anti-cancer therapeutics. In this review, we summarised the major strategies of selective targeting of mitochondria and their functions to combat cancer, including targeting mitochondrial metabolism, the electron transport chain and tricarboxylic acid cycle, mitochondrial redox signalling pathways, and ROS homeostasis. We highlight that delivering anti-cancer drugs into mitochondria exhibits enormous potential for future cancer therapeutic strategies, with a great advantage of potentially overcoming drug resistance. Mitocans, exemplified by mitochondrially targeted vitamin E succinate and tamoxifen (MitoTam), selectively target cancer cell mitochondria and efficiently kill multiple types of cancer cells by disrupting mitochondrial function, with MitoTam currently undergoing a clinical trial.

Keywords: anti-cancer strategy; drug delivery; mitocans; mitochondrial targeting.

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Conflict of interest statement

One of the authors (Jiri Neuzil) is involved in the MitoTam-01 clinical trial (EudraCT 2017-004441-25) and is a co-CEO of MitoTax s.r.o. that is a co-owner of the MitoTam intellectual property.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1

Mitochondrial transfer from host cells leads to tumorigenesis recovery of mtDNA-depleted cancer cells. (A) mtDNA deficient ρ0 cancer cells do not form tumours. mtDNA acquisition from host cells leads to recovery of tumorigenic capacity of the cells. (B) In mtDNA deficient ρ0 cancer cells, signalling between mitochondria and nucleus is dampened. Reduced levels of the transcription coactivator PGC1α/β leads to the low transcriptional activity of nuclear respiratory factor-1 (NRF1), resulting in the low level of nuclear-encoded proteins imported into the mitochondria and mitochondrial dysfunction. (C) Mitochondrial transfer from host cells leads to increased PGC1α/β levels with an increased NRF1 transcriptional activity. This allows appropriate levels of nuclear-encoded mitochondrial proteins to be imported into mitochondria and to recover mitochondrial function.

Figure 2
Figure 2

Positively charged triphenylphosphonium (TPP) anchors compound-X in the mitochondrial inner membrane (MIM) due to negative potential at the matrix face of the MIM.

Figure 3
Figure 3

Schematic illustration of the molecular targets of individual classes of mitocans. The classes of mitocans comprise the following, as enumerated from the outside of the mitochondria towards the matrix. Class 1: hexokinase inhibitors; Class 2: BH3 mimetics and related agents that impair the function of the anti-apoptotic Bcl-2 family proteins; Class 3: thiol redox inhibitors; Class 4: agents targeting VDAC and ANT; Class 5: compounds targeting the mitochondrial electron transport chain; Class 6: hydrophobic cations targeting the MIM; Class 7: compounds that affect the TCA; and Class 8: agents that interfere with mtDNA. Class 9 (not shown) includes agents acting on mitochondria, whose molecular target has not been thus far described [10].

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