title: The metabolic switch and its regulation in cancer cells.
abstract: The primary features of cancer are maintained via intrinsically modified metabolic activity, which is characterized by enhanced nutrient supply, energy production, and biosynthetic activity to synthesize a variety of macromolecular components during each passage through the cell cycle. This metabolic shift in transformed cells, as compared with non-proliferating cells, involves aberrant activation of aerobic glycolysis, de novo lipid biosynthesis and glutamine-dependent anaplerosis to fuel robust cell growth and proliferation. Here, we discuss the unique metabolic characteristics of cancer, the constitutive regulation of metabolism through a variety of signal transduction pathways and/or enzymes involved in metabolic reprogramming in cancer cells, and their implications in cancer diagnosis and therapy.
authors.affiliation: State Key Laboratory of Biotherapy, West China Hospital, Sichuan University, Chengdu, China.
authors.forename: ShengTao
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Zhou
authors.forename: CanHua
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Huang
authors.forename: YuQuan
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Wei
mesh_terms: D002453:Cell Cycle; D006801:Humans; D009369:Neoplasms / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000473:pathology