Fig. 1.

Mechanisms of mitochondrial dynamics-mediated EMT. a Myc upregulates expression of DRP1 and mitochondrial trafficking genes RHOT1 and TRAK2 by binding their promoter regions. Upregulation of these components increases mitochondrial motility to the cellular leading edge to promote focal adhesion complex (FAC) dynamics important for cellular migration, invasion, and metastasis [53]. b Depletion of mitochondrial DNA leads to mitochondrial fragmentation, which decreases mitochondrial calcium buffering. Increased cytosolic calcium activates calcineurin signaling to upregulate EMT gene expression [71]