The Chaperone TRAP1 As a Modulator of the Mitochondrial Adaptations in Cancer Cells

Mitochondria can receive, integrate, and transmit a variety of signals
to shape many biochemical activities of the cell. In the process of
tumor onset and growth, mitochondria contribute to the capability of
cells of escaping death insults, handling changes in ROS levels,
rewiring metabolism, and reprograming gene expression. Therefore,
mitochondria can tune the bioenergetic and anabolic needs of neoplastic
cells in a rapid and flexible way, and these adaptations are required
for cell survival and proliferation in the fluctuating environment of a
rapidly growing tumor mass. The molecular bases of pro-neoplastic
mitochondrial adaptations are complex and only partially understood.
Recently, the mitochondrial molecular chaperone TRAP1 (tumor necrosis
factor receptor associated protein 1) was identified as a key regulator
of mitochondrial bioenergetics in tumor cells, with a profound impact on
neoplastic growth. In this review, we analyze these findings and discuss
the possibility that targeting TRAP1 constitutes a new antitumor
approach.