Abstract

Cancer cells are characterized by high levels of reactive oxygen species (ROS). This highly oxidative stress state is needed to promote, among ROS-dependent signaling, DNA damage and instability. In such a way that tumorigenic ROS accelerates the rate of cancer-causing mutations and thus the aggressiveness of the cancer itself. Accordingly, tumor cells use adaptive antioxidant mechanisms to keep their cellular redox state below a deadly threshold. Thus, it is conceivable that antioxidants may increase and support cancer progression. However, well-defined genetic studies addressing the role of antioxidants and redox balance in cancer progression are still missing. A few years ago our lab identified a novel antioxidant enzyme called UBIAD1. UBIAD1 helps to protect cells from oxidative stress conditions by synthetizing the non-mitochondrial pool of CoQ10. The role of Ubiad1 in cancer has yet to be fully investigated.