Hypoxic mitochondria: accomplices in resistance

Mitochondria originated from a distant ancestor: the alpha-proteobacteria. They evolved over millions of years in a symbiotic relationship in eukaryotic cells by favoring consumption of oxygen by the electron transport chain with production of ATP. Contemporary mitochondria still play a crucial role in providing energy but also in apoptosis. Because of this symbiotic relationship and their pivotal function, mitochondria undoubtedly participate in tumorigenesis. Genetic defects in mitochondrial DNA, blockade of oxidative phosphorylation and mitophagy in tumor cells modify the production of damaging reactive oxygen species and restrain apoptosis. As the environment of tumor cells becomes more and more hypoxic, the hypoxia-inducible factor (HIF) is stabilized and participates in the reprogramming of cell metabolism. Recently, we became interested in asking whether HIF and hypoxia affect mitochondrial function. In this review, we show that hypoxia induces enlargement of mitochondria, due to abnormal fusion, which results in resistance to apoptosis and thus in survival. The role of hypoxia-induced BNIP3 and BNIP3L, proteins recently described as pro-survival proteins, in survival is also discussed.