Autophagy of mitochondria and social habits in cancer progression and therapy resistance
Michelangelo Campanella
Department of Comparative Biomedical Sciences, The Royal Veterinary College, University of London, UK
Consortium for Mitochondrial Research, University College London, London, UK
Mitochondria are central to the homeostasis of mammalian cells in which they play part beyond the production of energy. By regulating both intracellular signalling and programmed cell death they are critical in the onset and progression of diseases. Surprisingly, though, their interaction with the surrounding environment, following failure of mitochondrial autophagy, remains just partially investigated limiting our capacity to detail conduits for pharmacological targeting and design of innovative therapies in chronic conditions such as cancer.
In my talk I shall overview lines of research we have pursued to inform the biology and pharmacology mitochondria highlighting our ongoing work on the physical interaction between mitochondria and nucleus which underlines progression of cancer and chemo-resistance.
The molecules involved in this route of communication will be illustrated together with the approaches we have devised to tackle and revert this mechanism of cellular maladaptation and chemotherapy failure.
Key words: Mitochondria, Pharmacology, Cancer and Therapy Resistance
References:
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