Role of Mitochondria in Inflammation and Cancer:

Cancer is one of the major human diseases worldwide that cause 13% of all human deaths. Inflammation is considered as root cause of cancer. The association between the inflammation and various human cancers has been hypothesized for long time. The epidemiological data revealed that approximately 20% of cancer deaths are linked to chronic infections and persistent inflammation. The association of cancer and inflammation is subject of intense investigation during last several years. The association of NF-κB and cancer is emphasized by recent observation of amplification and overexpression of IKKε, a central kinase in NF-κB pathway, in cancer cell lines and patient-derived tumors. However, the significance and molecular basis of IKKε overexpression in various cancers are still under investigation. Our interest is to investigate the role of mitochondria in IKKε mediated inflammatory pathways in cancer.