Here we examine the structural and functional characteristics of mitofusin 2, underlining its essential role in numerous intracellular pathways, as well as in the pathogenesis of cancer.
Here we review the structural and functional properties of Mitofusin 2, highlighting its crucial role in several cell pathways, as well as in the pathogenesis of neurodegenerative diseases, metabolic disorders, cardiomyopathies, and cancer.
Collectively, this study provides novel insights into the tumor progression associated with MFN2 deficiency and suggests that the importance of mTORC2 inhibitor in the treatment of MFN2 downregulated cancer patients.
An increase in the fission protein Drp1, in the mitophagy protein BNIP3, in the mitochondrial protease CLPP, in the antioxidant and anti-apoptotic protein ALR and in Bcl-2 as well as a decrease in the fusion protein Mfn2 were found in cancer compared to matched non malignant tissue.
Taken together, our study unraveled the tumor-promoting functions of MFN2 in lung adenocarcinoma and implicated that the role of MFN2 in cancer development might be more complicated than expected and should be explored in detail in the future.