Fig. 2
Mitochondrial unfolded protein response (UPRmt) is proposed to mediate mitochondrial maintenance in cancer. Cancer cells develop mitochondrial dysfunction due to increased accumulation of mtDNA and mtROS relative to non-malignant cells. Although mtROS can be beneficial to cell growth, excess mtROS can damage proteins and further propagate oxidative and proteotoxic stress in the mitochondria. The UPRmt system refolds proteins so that they return to their proper conformation or cleaves such proteins. This preserves mitochondrial integrity and prevents mitochondrial apoptosis