Effect of eEF2 on mitochondria metabolism
As mitochondrial dynamics is closely associated with metabolism of this organelle, (12 ) we next determined whether the expression of eEF2 affects the mitochondrial metabolism in MCF-7 cells. Fig. 3ashows that as compared with the control cells transfected with a non-targeting siRNA, the cells with knockdown of eEF2 showed a reduction in oxygen consumption rate (OCR), indicating an impaired metabolic activity of the mitochondria. Moreover, the expression of superoxide dismutase 2 (SOD2), an enzyme critical in controlling the mitochondrial reactive oxygen species (ROS), was increased in the cells with knockdown of eEF2 (Fig. 3b ), suggesting an increase of oxidative stress that is associated with the impaired mitochondrial function. These results suggest that the coincident changes of OCR and SOD2 in the cells with depletion of eEF2 may be a consequence of altered mitochondrial dynamics.