PUBLICATION

The mitochondrial citrate transporter, CIC, is essential for mitochondrial homeostasis

Authors
Catalina-Rodriguez, O., Kolukula, V.K., Tomita, Y., Preet, A., Palmieri, F., Wellstein, A., Byers, S., Giaccia, A.J., Glasgow, E., Albanese, C., and Avantaggiati, M.L.
ID
ZDB-PUB-121105-10
Date
2012
Source
Oncotarget   3(10): 1220-1235 (Journal)
Registered Authors
Glasgow, Eric
Keywords
none
MeSH Terms
  • Adenosine Triphosphate/metabolism
  • Animals
  • Autophagy*
  • Blotting, Western
  • Breast Neoplasms/metabolism
  • Breast Neoplasms/pathology*
  • Cell Proliferation*
  • Female
  • Fluorescent Antibody Technique
  • Homeostasis*
  • Humans
  • Immunoenzyme Techniques
  • Mice
  • Mice, Inbred BALB C
  • Mice, Nude
  • Mitochondria/metabolism
  • Mitochondria/pathology*
  • RNA, Messenger/genetics
  • Reactive Oxygen Species/metabolism
  • Real-Time Polymerase Chain Reaction
  • Repressor Proteins/genetics
  • Repressor Proteins/metabolism*
  • Zebrafish/genetics
PubMed
23100451 Full text @ Oncotarget
Abstract

Dysregulation of the pathways that preserve mitochondrial integrity hallmarks many human diseases including diabetes, neurodegeration, aging and cancer. The mitochondrial citrate transporter gene, SLC25A1 or CIC, maps on chromosome 22q11.21, a region amplified in some tumors and deleted in developmental disorders known as velo-cardio-facial- and DiGeorge syndromes. We report here that in tumor cells CIC maintains mitochondrial integrity and bioenergetics, protects from mitochondrial damage and circumvents mitochondrial depletion via autophagy, hence promoting proliferation. CIC levels are increased in human cancers and its inhibition has anti-tumor activity, albeit with no toxicity on adult normal tissues. The knock-down of the CIC gene in zebrafish leads to mitochondria depletion and to proliferation defects that recapitulate features of human velo-cardio-facial syndrome, a phenotype rescued by blocking autophagy. Our findings reveal that CIC maintains mitochondrial homeostasis in metabolically active, high proliferating tissues and imply that this protein is a therapeutic target in cancer and likely, in other human diseases.

Genes / Markers
Figures
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Expression
Phenotype
Mutations / Transgenics
Human Disease / Model
Sequence Targeting Reagents
Fish
Antibodies
Orthology
Engineered Foreign Genes
Mapping