Mitochondrial DNA alteration and pathological progression in colorectal cancer

Abstract

Mitochondrion, the major organelle involved in cell energy metabolism, plays important roles in many human diseases. Nowadays, its dysfunction during initation and progression of cancers is calling more and more attention. Since Otto Warburg brought out his hypothesis, mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) may affect on cancer development by regulating oxidative phosphorylation, many important findings have been discovered. It is widely recognized that research the potential correlations between mitochondrion and mtDNA in cancers are of great importance. And the trends of change of mtDNA content are different in different cancers. Thus leaves us numerous works to do. Although some cancers have already been reported their relation with mtDNA alteration, different experimental methods or evidence may lead to different conclusions. This article presents a brief in summarizing the mitochondrion dysfunction in human disease and the alteration of mtDNA in cancers. Moreover, the recent highlighting achievements on colorectal cancer and mtDNA are also summarized to provide a discussion on possible pathological mechanism and clinical usage.