Study Points to New Drug Target in Fight Against Cancer

In a study this week in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, an international team of researchers describes how a cancer-linked version of the protein mitoNEET can close the primary gateways in the outer surface of mitochondria, the "power plants" that supply cells with chemical energy. These gateways, or "voltage-dependent anion channels" (VDACs), normally open and close to allow the passage of metabolites and other small molecules between mitochondria and the rest of the cell.