Brick by brick: metabolism and tumor cell growth.
Tumor cells display increased metabolic autonomy in comparison to non-transformed cells, taking up nutrients and metabolizing them in pathways that support growth and proliferation. Classical work in tumor cell metabolism focused on bioenergetics, particularly enhanced glycolysis and suppressed oxidative phosphorylation (the 'Warburg effect'). But the biosynthetic activities required to create daughter cells are equally important for tumor growth, and recent studies are now bringing these pathways into focus. In this review, we discuss how tumor cells achieve high rates of nucleotide and fatty acid synthesis, how oncogenes and tumor suppressors influence these activities, and how glutamine metabolism enables macromolecular synthesis in proliferating cells.
Deberardinis
Ralph J
RJ
Department of Cancer Biology, Abramson Cancer Center and Abramson Family Cancer Research Institute, University of Pennsylvania, 1600 Penn Tower, 3400 Spruce Street, Philadelphia, PA 19104, United States.
Sayed
Nabil
N
Ditsworth
Dara
D
Thompson
Craig B
CB
D049109:Cell Proliferation; D005227:Fatty Acids / Q000096:biosynthesis; D005973:Glutamine / Q000378:metabolism; D006019:Glycolysis; D006801:Humans; D008055:Lipids / Q000096:biosynthesis; D008954:Models, Biological; D009369:Neoplasms / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000473:pathology; D012267:Ribosemonophosphates / Q000096:biosynthesis
D005227:Fatty Acids; D008055:Lipids; D012267:Ribosemonophosphates; D005973:Glutamine; C031626:ribose-5-phosphate