scholarly journals Why the tumor cell metabolism is not that abnormal

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Pierre Jacquet ◽  
Angélique Stéphanou

AbstractThe cell energy metabolism is a multifactorial and evolving process that we address with a theoretical approach in order to decipher the functioning of the core system of the glycolysis-OXPHOS relationship. The model is based on some key experimental observations and well established facts. It emphasizes the role of lactate as a substrate, as well as the central role of pyruvate in the regulation of the metabolism. The simulations show how imposed environmental constraints and imposed energy requirements push the cell to adapt its metabolism to sustain its needs. The results highlight the cooperativeness of the two metabolic modes and allows to revisit the notions of metabolic switch and metabolic reprogramming. Our results thus tend to show that the Warburg effect is not an inherent characteristic of the tumor cell, but a spontaneous and transitory adaptation mechanism to a disturbed environment. This means that the tumor cell metabolism is not fundamentally different from that of a normal cell. This has implications on the way therapies are being considered. The quest to normalize the tumor acidity could be a good strategy.Author SummaryCancer cells metabolism focuses the interest of the cancer research community. Although this process is intensely studied experimentally, there exists very few theoretical models that tackle this issue. One main reason is the extraordinary complexity of the metabolism that involves many inter-related regulation networks which makes it illusory to recreate computationally this complexity. In this study we propose a simplified model of the metabolism which focuses on the interrelation of the three main energetic metabolites that are oxygen, glucose and lactate with the aim to better understand the dynamic of the core system of the glycolysis-OXPHOS relationship. However simple, the model highlights the main rules that allow the cell to dynamically adapt its metabolism to its changing environment. It moreover allows to address this impact at the tissue scale. Simulations performed in a spheroid exhibit non-trivial spatial heterogeneity of the energy metabolism. It further reveals that the metabolic features that are commonly assigned to cancer cells are not necessarily due to cell intrinsic abnormality. They can emerge spontaneously because of the disregulated over-acidic environment.

2021 ◽  
Vol 49 (2) ◽  
pp. 815-827
Author(s):  
Giancarlo Solaini ◽  
Gianluca Sgarbi ◽  
Alessandra Baracca

In the last two decades, IF1, the endogenous inhibitor of the mitochondrial F1Fo-ATPase (ATP synthase) has assumed greater and ever greater interest since it has been found to be overexpressed in many cancers. At present, several findings indicate that IF1 is capable of playing a central role in cancer cells by promoting metabolic reprogramming, proliferation and resistance to cell death. However, the mechanism(s) at the basis of this pro-oncogenic action of IF1 remains elusive. Here, we recall the main features of the mechanism of the action of IF1 when the ATP synthase works in reverse, and discuss the experimental evidence that support its relevance in cancer cells. In particular, a clear pro-oncogenic action of IF1 is to avoid wasting of ATP when cancer cells are exposed to anoxia or near anoxia conditions, therefore favoring cell survival and tumor growth. However, more recently, various papers have described IF1 as an inhibitor of the ATP synthase when it is working physiologically (i.e. synthethizing ATP), and therefore reprogramming cell metabolism to aerobic glycolysis. In contrast, other studies excluded IF1 as an inhibitor of ATP synthase under normoxia, providing the basis for a hot debate. This review focuses on the role of IF1 as a modulator of the ATP synthase in normoxic cancer cells with the awareness that the knowledge of the molecular action of IF1 on the ATP synthase is crucial in unravelling the molecular mechanism(s) responsible for the pro-oncogenic role of IF1 in cancer and in developing related anticancer strategies.


2021 ◽  
Vol 167 ◽  
pp. 12-28
Author(s):  
Sander Bekeschus ◽  
Grit Liebelt ◽  
Jonas Menz ◽  
Julia Berner ◽  
Sanjeev Kumar Sagwal ◽  
...  

2021 ◽  
Vol 22 (3) ◽  
pp. 1171
Author(s):  
Dexter L. Puckett ◽  
Mohammed Alquraishi ◽  
Winyoo Chowanadisai ◽  
Ahmed Bettaieb

Pyruvate kinase is a key regulator in glycolysis through the conversion of phosphoenolpyruvate (PEP) into pyruvate. Pyruvate kinase exists in various isoforms that can exhibit diverse biological functions and outcomes. The pyruvate kinase isoenzyme type M2 (PKM2) controls cell progression and survival through the regulation of key signaling pathways. In cancer cells, the dimer form of PKM2 predominates and plays an integral role in cancer metabolism. This predominance of the inactive dimeric form promotes the accumulation of phosphometabolites, allowing cancer cells to engage in high levels of synthetic processing to enhance their proliferative capacity. PKM2 has been recognized for its role in regulating gene expression and transcription factors critical for health and disease. This role enables PKM2 to exert profound regulatory effects that promote cancer cell metabolism, proliferation, and migration. In addition to its role in cancer, PKM2 regulates aspects essential to cellular homeostasis in non-cancer tissues and, in some cases, promotes tissue-specific pathways in health and diseases. In pursuit of understanding the diverse tissue-specific roles of PKM2, investigations targeting tissues such as the kidney, liver, adipose, and pancreas have been conducted. Findings from these studies enhance our understanding of PKM2 functions in various diseases beyond cancer. Therefore, there is substantial interest in PKM2 modulation as a potential therapeutic target for the treatment of multiple conditions. Indeed, a vast plethora of research has focused on identifying therapeutic strategies for targeting PKM2. Recently, targeting PKM2 through its regulatory microRNAs, long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs), and circular RNAs (circRNAs) has gathered increasing interest. Thus, the goal of this review is to highlight recent advancements in PKM2 research, with a focus on PKM2 regulatory microRNAs and lncRNAs and their subsequent physiological significance.


Autophagy ◽  
2013 ◽  
Vol 9 (2) ◽  
pp. 244-245 ◽  
Author(s):  
Dario C. Altieri

2022 ◽  
Vol 11 ◽  
Author(s):  
Dingju Wei ◽  
Meng Xu ◽  
Zhihua Wang ◽  
Jingjing Tong

Metabolic reprogramming is one of the hallmarks of malignant tumors, which provides energy and material basis for tumor rapid proliferation, immune escape, as well as extensive invasion and metastasis. Blocking the energy and material supply of tumor cells is one of the strategies to treat tumor, however tumor cell metabolic heterogeneity prevents metabolic-based anti-cancer treatment. Therefore, searching for the key metabolic factors that regulate cell cancerous change and tumor recurrence has become a major challenge. Emerging technology––single-cell metabolomics is different from the traditional metabolomics that obtains average information of a group of cells. Single-cell metabolomics identifies the metabolites of single cells in different states by mass spectrometry, and captures the molecular biological information of the energy and substances synthesized in single cells, which provides more detailed information for tumor treatment metabolic target screening. This review will combine the current research status of tumor cell metabolism with the advantages of single-cell metabolomics technology, and explore the role of single-cell sequencing technology in searching key factors regulating tumor metabolism. The addition of single-cell technology will accelerate the development of metabolism-based anti-cancer strategies, which may greatly improve the prognostic survival rate of cancer patients.


2021 ◽  
pp. 2101702
Author(s):  
Yuchen Zhang ◽  
Liqi Li ◽  
Yanan Li ◽  
Yang Fei ◽  
Chencheng Xue ◽  
...  

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