Why Is Mitochondria Important?

The main objective of mitochondria is to produce energy for the cells. Mitochondria produce energy for the tissues and muscles inside of the human body. Cancer destroys mitochondrial pathways for energy production and other functions. Restoring functions of mitochondria may lead to restoration of apoptosis in cancer cells that are resistant to current methods of cancer treatment and therapy.1 Many people have looked into restoring the functions of mitochondria. One of the first people to notice the changes in cancer cells compared to normal cells within mitochondria was Otto Warburg. Otto Warburg brought together plant physiology and oncology to come up with the Warburg Effect.

Keywords: Mitochondria, Apoptosis, Warburg Effect, Glycolysis, Dichloroacetate

All About Mitochondria
Mitochondria are organelles in cytoplasm that produce energy for the cells, muscles, and the tissues in the
Cancer cells produce energy at a rate of two ATPs per glucose molecule. Cancer cells make more glucose for energy for the cell. Respiration dysfunction in cancer cells prevents glucose oxidation. Without glucose oxidation, cells aren’t able to turn that energy into the chemical form cells use.1 Mitochondria have a way of shutting off the cell so it doesn’t mutate. When cells get older, they shut down so they do not produce two new damaged cells during the process of nuclear fission. As the human body gets older, its ability to stop those old and damaged cells from mutating gets harder and the chances of mutations that lead to cancer gets higher.3 If mutations with cancer happens, the mitochondria can’t shut the cell off from mutating. So therefor, the cell will keep dividing making it hard to get rid of the cancer within all of the cells. That’s where Warburg came in to try to find a solution to repair the mitochondria’s ability to shut off the mutations of old or damaged