title: Profiling metabolic networks to study cancer metabolism.
abstract: Cancer is a disease of unregulated cell growth and survival, and tumors reprogram biochemical pathways to aid these processes. New capabilities in the computational and bioanalytical characterization of metabolism have now emerged, facilitating the identification of unique metabolic dependencies that arise in specific cancers. By understanding the metabolic phenotype of cancers as a function of their oncogenic profiles, metabolic engineering may be applied to design synthetically lethal therapies for some tumors. This process begins with accurate measurement of metabolic fluxes. Here we review advanced methods of quantifying pathway activity and highlight specific examples where these approaches have uncovered potential opportunities for therapeutic intervention.
authors.affiliation: Luxembourg Centre for Systems Biomedicine, University of Luxembourg, 7, avenue des Hauts-Fourneaux, L-4362 Esch-Belval, Luxembourg. karsten.hiller@uni.lu
authors.forename: Karsten
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Hiller
authors.forename: Christian M
authors.initials: CM
authors.lastname: Metallo
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D002952:Citric Acid Cycle; D006801:Humans; D007554:Isotopes; D053858:Metabolic Networks and Pathways / Q000187:drug effects; D055442:Metabolome; D009369:Neoplasms / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000473:pathology
chemical_list: D007554:Isotopes