FASTK

FASTK/FASTKD family is mainly located in mitochondria and consists of RNA-binding proteins (including FASTK, FASTKD1-5), which finely regulate the processing, stability and translation of mitochondrial-encoded mRNA/rRNA, maintaining oxidative phosphorylation (OXPHOS) and cellular energy metabolism homeostasis; inhibition/knockdown will lead to specific mitochondrial RNA degradation, respiratory chain complex defects, ROS accumulation and energy crisis, while activation will maintain mitochondrial function. This family targets mitochondrial mRNA such as ND6 and COX3, as well as 16S rRNA, and mainly participates in mitochondrial RNA metabolism and the Fas apoptosis pathway.
Its abnormal expression is associated with mitochondrial diseases such as Leigh syndrome, hypertrophic cardiomyopathy, as well as tumors like lung cancer and pancreatic cancer (energy metabolism reprogramming); currently, it is mainly used in the research of disease biomarkers or metabolic intervention targets. Popular directions include the specific functional roles of members, RNA binding mechanisms, the role of tumor metabolism and immunity, as well as the development of targeted regulators such as PROTAC.