Abstract
Mitochondria are highly dynamics organelles that are regulated by fission and fusion processes. Mitochondria are responsible for many important functions in cells, such as ATP synthesis, calcium homeostasis, ROS signaling and apoptosis. More and more studies have revealed that mitochondrial dynamics is closely correlated with cellular events. In addition, mitochondrial fusion and fission imbalance has been linked to cancer formation and metastasis. FoxM1 is a transcription factor which is overexpressed in cancer cell and associates with many characteristic features of cancer, such as cell proliferation, metastasis, angiogenesis and apoptosis resistance. The relations between mitochondrial dynamics and FoxM1 have not been explored. We aim to clarify whether FoxM1 plays a role in tumorigenesis through affecting mitochondrial dynamics. In our study, we found that FoxM1 overexpression triggered adjustment of the balance of mitochondrial fusion and fission. In addition, we found FoxM1 overexpression reduced intracellular and mitochondrial superoxide levels. Furthermore, overexpression of FoxM1 aided the mitochondrial respiration activities under induced oxidative stress conditions. Our results indicated that FoxM1 involves in mitochondrial dynamics and adjustments of mitochondrial activities under stress conditions.