Mitochondrial UQCRB as a new molecular prognostic biomarker of human colorectal cancer

A protein involved in cellular energy production could serve as a prognostic biomarker for colorectal cancer. Ho Jeong Kwon and colleagues from Yonsei University, Seoul, South Korea, looked at the UQCRB protein, which is responsible for generating an electrochemical gradient essential for energy transfer in the mitochondria, in both tumor and healthy tissues taken from 15 patients with colorectal cancer. They found that expression of the UCQRB gene and the levels of UQCRB, as well as the number of copies of the gene encoding UQCRB, were all elevated in the tumor tissues. The more these were elevated, the worse the patient's disease. These and other molecular differences, including DNA methylation levels, all suggest that UQCRB plays a critical role in regulating colorectal cancer and could form the basis of new diagnostics or drug targets.