[The impact of mtDNA mutations on proteins structure in selected types of cancer].

Recently published papers report a large number of mitochondrial DNA mutations in many different cancer types, but their significance for electron transport chain proteins remains unknown. This review covers structural mutations of mitochondrial genes, choosing prostate cancer, esophageal cancer and epithelioma as research models. As all mitochondrial genes encode subunits of the electron transport chain, the review focuses on the consequences of structural mutations on cell metabolism.