Figure 6.

Mechanisms of mitochondrial involvement in cancer development. Activation of oncogenes and HIF-1α, a typical feature of cancer cell, is associated with downregulation of OXPHOS, its coupling to glycolysis via HKII and upregulation of UCP2 which suppress generation of ROS in mitochondria. This change together with altered balance between anti- and pro-apoptotic genes at mitochondrial membranes decreases the susceptibility of cells to apoptotic death. On the other hand, proliferation and survival of cancer cells is promoted by glycolysis and angiogenesis, both activated by HIF-1α.