'Investigating the Role of Polymerase-y (POLG) in Breast Cancer' by Chiara Chinigo'

Chinigo', Chiara

Abstract

SPARC 2021 Poster No. 10

Breast cancer is the most frequent tumour-type in women and represents the driving cause of death from cancer. In this scenario, targeting tumour cell diversity could have important therapeutic implications. Indeed, cancerous lesions are characterized by a ‘cell hierarchy’ whereby a sub-population of cells, termed cancer stem cells (CSCs), have the ability to self-renew and are considered the main driver of drug-resistance and cancer spread. Therefore, understanding unique changes in energy production is an emerging topic in cancer stem cell biology. Recently, mitochondria have been shown to be key players in cancer cell energy production. Many energy-producing pathways are altered during tumorigenesis, highlighting a key role of cell energy in cancer development. For example, there is a need for further clarity on how specific regulatory gene(s) affect mitochondrial function and stem cell activity. The Polymerase-γ (POLG), is the only DNA-polymerase present in human mitochondria, and could be a potential target for anti-cancer therapy. Polymerase-γ plays a crucial role in copying mitochondrial DNA (mt-DNA) and its repair, by regulating mt-DNA copy number in cancer stem cells. In our study, we generated breast cancer cells with an excess or a lower amount of POLG subunits, and have begun to evaluate their behaviour. More specifically, we found that these changes can significantly alter cell energy requirements and stem cell like features, as well as cell growth and motility. In conclusion, our findings on POLG may have important implications for the clinical prevention of cancer spread, using a therapeutic approach for targeting mitochondrial metabolism.

• Online Publication Date: Jun 21, 2021
• Publication Date: Jun 21, 2021
• Deposit Date: Feb 6, 2025
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.17866/rd.salford.14807718.v1
• Publisher URL: https://salford.figshare.com/articles/poster/_Investigating_the_Role_of_Polymerase-y_POLG_in_Breast_Cancer_by_Chiara_Chinigo_/14807718
• Collection Date: Jun 21, 2021