Bioenergetic dysfunction is a well- recognized feature of most (<97%) metastasizing tumors. Dysfunction of major cell proliferation controllers mutated in the majority of neoplasms, such as the p53, Ras, Myc, PI3K/Akt pathways, results in suppression of mitochondrial oxidative phosphorylation (OXPHOS) and in activation of glycolysis, known as the Warburg effect, which contributes to the resistance to apoptosis. Gencia has developed a recombinant form of human TFAM, the mitochondrial transcription factor A (rhTFAM), modified to allow it to traverse cellular barriers and to be specifically imported into the mitochondria.
