Research results have emerged showing that cancer cells spread far within the body using energy stolen from mitochondria in surrounding nerve cells. Mitochondria are the organelles that provide energy. This discovery, which sheds light on the driving force of cancer cells, is expected to open new avenues for the treatment of hard-to-treat cancers.
Researchers from the University of South Alabama noted on the 25th (local time) that "they discovered cancer cells draw mitochondria, which produce energy, from surrounding nerve cells to recharge themselves" in an international academic journal, Nature. While it has already been established that nerve cells adjacent to cancer cells assist in cancer growth, this is the first confirmation that cancer cells steal mitochondria from nerve cells to enhance their strength.
Mitochondria act as power plants producing energy needed by cells in our bodies. Animal cells, including humans, cannot survive without mitochondria. The researchers explained that cancer cells that steal mitochondria grow stronger, enabling them to pass through blood vessels and withstand physiological stress like oxygen deficiency and attacks from immune cells better.
The research team differentiated breast cancer cells and nerve cells in mice using red and green fluorescent substances. As a result, they were able to observe in real-time that cancer cells were receiving green mitochondria from nerve cells. Professor Simon Grelet, a molecular biologist leading the study, said, "We captured on video the process whereby cancer cells extend their cell membranes thinly and long into the nerve cells, pulling mitochondria one by one inside them," adding, "Mitochondria entered the cancer cells one by one, traveling through delicate corridors like trains."
The researchers then inserted cancer cells into mouse breast tissue to experiment whether the same phenomenon occurs inside the body. As a result, mitochondria from the fluorescently marked nerve cells were found inside the cancer cells. Initially, the breast cancer cells had only 2% of nerve cell mitochondria, but cancer cells that spread to the brain had a proportion of 14%. This indicates that cancer cells that steal mitochondria have significantly higher survival and metastatic capabilities.
A similar phenomenon occurred in humans. Analyzing tissues from eight patients with metastatic breast cancer, the research team found that cancer cells that had metastasized to other organs had, on average, 17% more mitochondria than those located in the breast. Analysis of prostate cancer tissues also showed that cancer cells closer to nerves had more mitochondria accumulated.
This research is the first achievement to confirm the new concept of material exchange between cancer cells and nerve cells, particularly that mitochondria can move into cancer cells. Elizabeth Repasky, a professor at the Roswell Park Comprehensive Cancer Center in New York who did not participate in the study, remarked that it is "a significant advancement in cancer neuroscience that clarifies the relationship between nerves and cancer," noting that "blocking the movement of mitochondria could inhibit metastasis."
The researchers expressed hopes that by blocking the movement of mitochondria, it would be possible to reduce both metastasis and mortality rates. They also mentioned plans to develop new drugs aimed at preventing cancer metastasis by inhibiting cancer cells from stealing mitochondria.
References
Nature (2025), DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41586-025-09176-8