Zaineb Javed, PhD, published her thesis work in EMBO Reports describing how alternative splice variants of the mitochondrial fission protein Drp1 are aberrantly expressed in ovarian cancer.

Highlights of the study:

• High expression of the Drp1 alternative splice variant lacking exon 16 relative to other transcripts is associated with poor outcome in ovarian cancer patients.

• Lack of exon 16 results in association of Drp1 with microtubules, decreased localization to mitochondrial fission sites, fused mitochondrial networks, enhanced respiration, and altered tumor metabolism.

• The Drp1 variant lacking exon 16 enhances proliferation and metastasis in vitro and in vivo and decreases sensitivity to chemotherapeutics.

• Changing the relative expression ratios of Drp1 splice variants affects mitochondrial morphology, metabolism, and tumor cell function.

Read more here: https://www.embopress.org/doi/full/10.1038/s44319-024-00232-4

Javed Z, et al. Drp1 splice variants regulate ovarian cancer mitochondrial dynamics and tumor progression. EMBO Rep. 2024 Oct;25(10):4281-4310. PMCID: PMC11467262.