Overview

• Researchers at the Centre for Genomic Regulation in Barcelona compressed HeLa cells to three microns wide and observed mitochondria racing to form nucleus-associated mitochondria (NAMs) in 84% of confined cells within seconds
• Live-cell ATP sensors showed NAMs elevate nuclear ATP by about 60% within three seconds of mechanical squeezing to power DNA repair processes
• DNA damage assays revealed that confined cells with NAM-driven ATP surges repaired double-strand breaks within hours and maintained cell division, whereas cells without this boost failed to proliferate
• Analysis of breast-tumor biopsies from 17 patients found NAMs in 5.4% of nuclei at invasive fronts versus 1.8% in dense tumor cores, indicating a threefold enrichment where metastasis occurs
• Disrupting the actin–ER scaffold with latrunculin A collapses NAM formation and reduces ATP surges, and researchers are now seeking drugs to selectively block this scaffold and curb tumor invasiveness