Antioxidative and tumourigenic phenotype of frataxin-expressing glioma cells

Introduction: The mitochondrial protein frataxin (FRX) is thought to be involved in Fe/S-cluster biogenesis. Reduced expression due to gene mutation in patients with Friedreich's ataxia leads to dis-turbed mitochondrial iron homeostasis and oxidative stress. In xenografted carcinoma cells and a hepatocyte-specific knockout mouse, FRX had shown tumor suppressor features. We analyzed the role of FRX in gliomas. Methods: FRX expression in astrocytes and gliomas was analyzed by Western blotting. The cell line U87FRX was constructed by transfection of U87MG with a frataxin-plasmid, followed by G418 selection. Stable…