ROLE OF MITOCHONDRIA IN CANCER

Abstract

Mitochondria is an important organelle of the body. The role of mitochondria in the body is 
to produce energy in the form of ATP. Mitochondria have their DNA that participates in 
coding certain enzymes which involve in oxidative phosphorylation. Mutation of any other 
genetic variation in mitochondrial DNA leads to dysfunction of mitochondrial DNA (mt 
DNA) which contributes to many types of cancer. Observations made during the last few 
decades revealed that a variety of disorders including cancer and different neurodegenerative 
disorders like Parkinson's disease, Alzheimer's disease, Huntington's disease and amyotrophic 
lateral sclerosis, have a mitochondrial origin. Disturbance of mitochondrial critical functions, 
such as ATP production, calcium buffering capacity, and excessive production of reactive 
oxygen species (ROS), can be potentially implicated in disease pathogenesis. In this article 
we explained the role of mitochondria behind the adenosine triphosphate production and also 
simultaneous production of (ROS) which causes mtDNA damage, leads to many types of 
cancers. In this article, we also explained what strategy we may use to minimize the 
production of ROS or free radical to reduce oxidative damage and another way which may be 
used to destroy dysfunctional mitochondria and accomplish healthy copy of the genome.