Lon protease: A key enzyme controlling mitochondrial bioenergetics in cancer

Pedro M Quirós; Clea Bárcena; Carlos López-Otín

doi:10.4161/23723548.2014.968505

Lon protease: A key enzyme controlling mitochondrial bioenergetics in cancer

Mol Cell Oncol. 2014 Dec 31;1(4):e968505. doi: 10.4161/23723548.2014.968505. eCollection 2014 Oct-Dec.

Authors

Pedro M Quirós¹, Clea Bárcena¹, Carlos López-Otín¹

Affiliation

¹ Departamento de Bioquímica y Biología Molecular, Facultad de Medicina, Instituto Universitario de Oncología; Universidad de Oviedo ; Oviedo, Spain.

Abstract

We have recently explored the in vivo functional and oncologic relevance of Lon protease (LONP1), an enzyme involved in mitochondrial quality control. We found that LONP1 is an essential protein for life and that it also performs a critical function in tumorigenesis by regulating the bioenergetics of cancer cells.

Keywords: OXPHOS; aging; cancer; degradome; mitochondrial quality control.