bims-glucam 2021-03-07 papers

bims-glucam

Biomed News

on Glutamine cancer metabolism

Issue of 2021–03–07
sixteen papers selected by
Sreeparna Banerjee, Middle East Technical University

1-C Metabolism-Serine, Glycine, Folates-In Acute Myeloid Leukemia.
Resistance to Androgen Deprivation Leads to Altered Metabolism in Human and Murine Prostate Cancer Cell and Tumor Models.
Circ_0000003 regulates glutamine metabolism and tumor progression of tongue squamous cell carcinoma via the miR‑330‑3p/GLS axis.
Adaptation of pancreatic cancer cells to nutrient deprivation is reversible and requires glutamine synthetase stabilization by mTORC1.
Macropinocytosis in Cancer-Associated Fibroblasts is Dependent on CaMKK2/ARHGEF2 Signaling and Functions to Support Tumor and Stromal Cell Fitness.
Nrf2 Activation Sensitizes K-Ras Mutant Pancreatic Cancer Cells to Glutaminase Inhibition.
Mitochondrial uncoupler MB1-47 is efficacious in treating hepatic metastasis of pancreatic cancer in murine tumor transplantation models.
The anabolic role of the Warburg, Cori-cycle and Crabtree effects in health and disease.
Systematic Identification of MACC1-Driven Metabolic Networks in Colorectal Cancer.
Krebs cycle: activators, inhibitors and their roles in the modulation of carcinogenesis.
Early Noninvasive Metabolic Biomarkers of Mutant IDH Inhibition in Glioma.
Recent advances of redox-responsive nanoplatforms for tumor theranostics.
Very-low-protein diets lead to reduced food intake and weight loss, linked to inhibition of hypothalamic mTOR signaling, in mice.
Metabolic regulation of cell competition.
Pharmacological inhibition of tumor anabolism and host catabolism as a cancer therapy.
Targeting Energy Metabolism in Cancer Stem Cells: Progress and Challenges in Leukemia and Solid Tumors.

Pharmaceuticals (Basel). 2021 Feb 26. pii: 190. [Epub ahead of print]14(3):

1-C Metabolism-Serine, Glycine, Folates-In Acute Myeloid Leukemia.

Kanwal Mahmood, Ashkan Emadi.

  Metabolic reprogramming contributes to tumor development and introduces metabolic liabilities that can be exploited to treat cancer. Studies in hematological malignancies have shown alterations in fatty acid, folate, and amino acid metabolism pathways in cancer cells. One-carbon (1-C) metabolism is essential for numerous cancer cell functions, including protein and nucleic acid synthesis and maintaining cellular redox balance, and inhibition of the 1-C pathway has yielded several highly active drugs, such as methotrexate and 5-FU. Glutamine depletion has also emerged as a therapeutic approach for cancers that have demonstrated dependence on glutamine for survival. Recent studies have shown that in response to glutamine deprivation leukemia cells upregulate key enzymes in the serine biosynthesis pathway, suggesting that serine upregulation may be a targetable compensatory mechanism. These new findings may provide opportunities for novel cancer treatments.

Keywords:  amino acid metabolism; amino acid restriction in cancer; amino-acid-degrading enzymes; cancer therapy; leukemia

DOI:  https://doi.org/10.3390/ph14030190
Metabolites. 2021 Feb 26. pii: 139. [Epub ahead of print]11(3):

Resistance to Androgen Deprivation Leads to Altered Metabolism in Human and Murine Prostate Cancer Cell and Tumor Models.

Jinny Sun, Robert A Bok, Justin DeLos Santos, Deepti Upadhyay, Romelyn DeLos Santos, Shubhangi Agarwal, Mark Van Criekinge, Daniel B Vigneron, Rahul Aggarwal, Donna M Peehl, John Kurhanewicz, Renuka Sriram.

  Currently, no clinical methods reliably predict the development of castration-resistant prostate cancer (CRPC) that occurs almost universally in men undergoing androgen deprivation therapy. Hyperpolarized (HP) 13C magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) could potentially detect the incipient emergence of CRPC based on early metabolic changes. To characterize metabolic shifts occurring upon the transition from androgen-dependent to castration-resistant prostate cancer (PCa), the metabolism of [U-13C]glucose and [U-13C]glutamine was analyzed by nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy. Comparison of steady-state metabolite concentrations and fractional enrichment in androgen-dependent LNCaP cells and transgenic adenocarcinoma of the murine prostate (TRAMP) murine tumors versus castration-resistant PC-3 cells and treatment-driven CRPC TRAMP tumors demonstrated that CRPC was associated with upregulation of glycolysis, tricarboxylic acid metabolism of pyruvate; and glutamine, glutaminolysis, and glutathione synthesis. These findings were supported by 13C isotopomer modeling showing increased flux through pyruvate dehydrogenase (PDH) and anaplerosis; enzymatic assays showing increased lactate dehydrogenase, PDH and glutaminase activity; and oxygen consumption measurements demonstrating increased dependence on anaplerotic fuel sources for mitochondrial respiration in CRPC. Consistent with ex vivo metabolomic studies, HP [1-13C]pyruvate distinguished androgen-dependent PCa from CRPC in cell and tumor models based on significantly increased HP [1-13C]lactate.

Keywords:  TRAMP; androgen-dependent; castration-resistant; glycolysis; hyperpolarized [1-13C]pyruvate; lactate; magnetic resonance; metabolism; prostate cancer

DOI:  https://doi.org/10.3390/metabo11030139
Oncol Rep. 2021 Apr;pii: 45. [Epub ahead of print]45(4):

Circ_0000003 regulates glutamine metabolism and tumor progression of tongue squamous cell carcinoma via the miR‑330‑3p/GLS axis.

Cuijuan Qian, Shihang Chen, Sen Li, Yichao Wang, Jun Yao.

Various circular RNAs (circRNAs) have been shown to exert vital functions in tongue squamous cell carcinoma (TSCC). However, their roles in TSCC progression remain to be elucidated. This research aimed to investigate the role and mechanism of hsa_circ_0000003 (circ_0000003) in TSCC progression. Here, we found that circ_0000003 expression was upregulated in TSCC tissues and cell lines, and high circ_0000003 expression was correlated with advanced TNM stage, increased tumor size and poor patient survival. Circ_0000003 was revealed to facilitate cell proliferation, migration and invasion of TSCC cells. Mechanistically, we found that circ_0000003 acted as a competing endogenous RNA (ceRNA) that sponged miR‑330‑3p, thereby elevating glutaminase (GLS) expression. Accordingly, cell invasion, migration, glutamine consumption, α‑ketoglutarate (α‑KG) production and ATP production were significantly decreased by circ_0000003 knockdown in TSCC cells, and these effects were reversed by miR‑330‑3p inhibition. In conclusion, circ_0000003 facilitates TSCC cell proliferation, migration, invasion and glutamine catabolism by regulating the miR‑330‑3p/GLS pathway.

DOI: https://doi.org/10.3892/or.2021.7996
Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 2021 Mar 09. pii: e2003014118. [Epub ahead of print]118(10):

Adaptation of pancreatic cancer cells to nutrient deprivation is reversible and requires glutamine synthetase stabilization by mTORC1.

Pei-Yun Tsai, Min-Sik Lee, Unmesh Jadhav, Insia Naqvi, Shariq Madha, Ashley Adler, Meeta Mistry, Sergey Naumenko, Caroline A Lewis, Daniel S Hitchcock, Frederick R Roberts, Peter DelNero, Thomas Hank, Kim C Honselmann, Vicente Morales Oyarvide, Mari Mino-Kenudson, Clary B Clish, Ramesh A Shivdasani, Nada Y Kalaany.

  Pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDA) is a lethal, therapy-resistant cancer that thrives in a highly desmoplastic, nutrient-deprived microenvironment. Several studies investigated the effects of depriving PDA of either glucose or glutamine alone. However, the consequences on PDA growth and metabolism of limiting both preferred nutrients have remained largely unknown. Here, we report the selection for clonal human PDA cells that survive and adapt to limiting levels of both glucose and glutamine. We find that adapted clones exhibit increased growth in vitro and enhanced tumor-forming capacity in vivo. Mechanistically, adapted clones share common transcriptional and metabolic programs, including amino acid use for de novo glutamine and nucleotide synthesis. They also display enhanced mTORC1 activity that prevents the proteasomal degradation of glutamine synthetase (GS), the rate-limiting enzyme for glutamine synthesis. This phenotype is notably reversible, with PDA cells acquiring alterations in open chromatin upon adaptation. Silencing of GS suppresses the enhanced growth of adapted cells and mitigates tumor growth. These findings identify nongenetic adaptations to nutrient deprivation in PDA and highlight GS as a dependency that could be targeted therapeutically in pancreatic cancer patients.

Keywords:  epigenetics; glutamine synthetase; mTORC1; nutrient deprivation; pancreatic cancer

DOI:  https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.2003014118
Cancer Discov. 2021 Mar 02. pii: candisc.0119.2020. [Epub ahead of print]

Macropinocytosis in Cancer-Associated Fibroblasts is Dependent on CaMKK2/ARHGEF2 Signaling and Functions to Support Tumor and Stromal Cell Fitness.

Yijuan Zhang, M Victoria Recouvreux, Michael Jung, Koen M O Galenkamp, Yunbo Li, Olga Zagnitko, David A Scott, Andrew M Lowy, Cosimo Commisso.

Although pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) cells are exposed to a nutrient-depleted tumor microenvironment, they can acquire nutrients via macropinocytosis, an endocytic form of protein scavenging that functions to support cancer metabolism. Here, we provide evidence that macropinocytosis is operational in the pancreatic tumor stroma. We find that glutamine deficiency triggers macropinocytic uptake in pancreatic cancer-associated fibroblasts (CAFs). Mechanistically, we decipher that stromal macropinocytosis is potentiated via the enhancement of cytosolic Ca2+ and dependent on ARHGEF2 and CaMKK2-AMPK signaling. We elucidate that macropinocytosis has dual function in CAFs - it serves as a source of intracellular amino acids that sustain CAF cell fitness and function, and it provides secreted amino acids that promote tumor cell survival. Importantly, we demonstrate that stromal macropinocytosis supports PDAC tumor growth. These results highlight the functional role of macropinocytosis in the tumor stroma and provide a mechanistic understanding of how nutrient deficiency can control stromal protein scavenging.

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1158/2159-8290.CD-20-0119
Int J Mol Sci. 2021 Feb 14. pii: 1870. [Epub ahead of print]22(4):

Nrf2 Activation Sensitizes K-Ras Mutant Pancreatic Cancer Cells to Glutaminase Inhibition.

Shin Hamada, Ryotaro Matsumoto, Yu Tanaka, Keiko Taguchi, Masayuki Yamamoto, Atsushi Masamune.

  Pancreatic cancer remains intractable owing to the lack of effective therapy for unresectable cases. Activating mutations of K-ras are frequently found in pancreatic cancers, but these have not yet been targeted by cancer therapies. The Keap1-Nrf2 system plays a crucial role in mediating the oxidative stress response, which also contributes to cancer progression. Nrf2 activation reprograms the metabolic profile to promote the proliferation of cancer cells. A recent report suggested that K-ras- and Nrf2-active lung cancer cells are sensitive to glutamine depletion. This finding led to the recognition of glutaminase inhibitors as novel anticancer agents. In the current study, we used murine pancreatic cancer tissues driven by mutant K-ras and p53 to establish cell lines expressing constitutively activated Nrf2. Genetic or pharmacological Nrf2 activation in cells via Keap1 deletion or Nrf2 activation sensitized cells to glutaminase inhibition. This phenomenon was confirmed to be dependent on K-ras activation in human pancreatic cancer cell lines harboring mutant K-ras, i.e., Panc-1 and MiaPaCa-2 in response to DEM pretreatment. This phenomenon was not observed in BxPC3 cells harboring wildtype K-ras. These results indicate the possibility of employing Nrf2 activation and glutaminase inhibition as novel therapeutic interventions for K-ras mutant pancreatic cancers.

Keywords:  BPTES; CB-839; Keap1; Nrf2; glutaminase

DOI:  https://doi.org/10.3390/ijms22041870
Oncogene. 2021 Mar 01.

Mitochondrial uncoupler MB1-47 is efficacious in treating hepatic metastasis of pancreatic cancer in murine tumor transplantation models.

Amer Alasadi, Bin Cao, Jingjing Guo, Hanlin Tao, Juan Collantes, Victor Tan, Xiaoyang Su, David Augeri, Shengkan Jin.

Pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDA) is aggressive cancer characterized by rapid progression, metastatic recurrence, and highly resistant to treatment. PDA cells exhibit aerobic glycolysis, or the Warburg effect, which reduces the flux of pyruvate into mitochondria. As a result, more glycolytic metabolites are shunted to pathways for the production of building blocks (e.g., ribose) and reducing agents (e.g., NADPH) for biosynthesis that are necessary for cell proliferation. In addition, PDA cells are highly addicted to glutamine for both maintaining biosynthetic pathways and achieving redox balance. Mitochondrial uncoupling facilitates proton influx across the mitochondrial inner membrane without generating ATP, leading to a futile cycle that consumes glucose metabolites and glutamine. We synthesized a new mitochondrial uncoupler MB1-47 and tested its effect on cancer cell metabolism and the anticancer activity in pancreatic cancer cell models and murine tumor transplantation models. MB1-47 uncouples mitochondria in the pancreatic cancer cells, resulting in: (1) the acceleration of pyruvate oxidation and TCA turnover; (2) increases in AMP/ATP and ADP/AMP ratios; and (3) a decrease in the synthesis rate of nucleotides and sugar nucleotides. Moreover, MB1-47 arrests cell cycle at G0-G1 phase, reduces clonogenicity, and inhibits cell growth of murine and human pancreatic cancer cells. In vivo studies showed that MB1-47 inhibits tumor growth in murine tumor transplantation models, and inhibits the hepatic metastasis when tumor cells were transplanted intrasplenically. Our results provide proof of concept for a potentially new strategy of treating PDA, and a novel prototype experimental drug for future studies and development.

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41388-021-01688-7
Clin Nutr. 2021 Feb 17. pii: S0261-5614(21)00086-8. [Epub ahead of print]

The anabolic role of the Warburg, Cori-cycle and Crabtree effects in health and disease.

Peter B Soeters, Alan Shenkin, Lubos Sobotka, Maarten R Soeters, Peter W de Leeuw, Robert R Wolfe.

  In evolution, genes survived that could code for metabolic pathways, promoting long term survival during famines or fasting when suffering from trauma, disease or during physiological growth. This requires utilization of substrates, already present in some form in the body. Carbohydrate stores are limited and to survive long, their utilization is restricted to survival pathways, by inhibiting glucose oxidation and glycogen synthesis. This leads to insulin resistance and spares muscle protein, because being the main supplier of carbon for new glucose production. In these survival pathways, part of the glucose is degraded in glycolysis in peripheral (muscle) tissues to pyruvate and lactate (Warburg effect), which are partly reutilized for glucose formation in liver and kidney, completing the Cori-cycle. Another part of the glucose taken up by muscle contributes, together with muscle derived amino acids, to the production of substrates consisting of a complete amino acid mix but extra non-essential amino acids like glutamine, alanine, glycine and proline. These support cell proliferation, matrix deposition and redox regulation in tissues, specifically active in host response and during growth. In these tissues, also glucose is taken up delivering glycolytic intermediates, that branch off and act as building blocks and produce reducing equivalents. Lactate is also produced and released in the circulation, adding to the lactate released by muscle in the Cori-cycle and completing secondary glucose cycles. Increased fluxes through these cycles lead to modest hyperglycemia and hyperlactatemia in states of healthy growth and disease and are often misinterpreted as induced by hypoxia.

Keywords:  Cori-cycle; Growth; Inflammation; Insulin resistance; Trauma/Disease; Warburg effect

DOI:  https://doi.org/10.1016/j.clnu.2021.02.012
Cancers (Basel). 2021 Feb 26. pii: 978. [Epub ahead of print]13(5):

Systematic Identification of MACC1-Driven Metabolic Networks in Colorectal Cancer.

Jan Lisec, Dennis Kobelt, Wolfgang Walther, Margarita Mokrizkij, Carsten Grötzinger, Carsten Jaeger, Katharina Baum, Mareike Simon, Jana Wolf, Nicola Beindorff, Winfried Brenner, Ulrike Stein.

  MACC1 is a prognostic and predictive metastasis biomarker for more than 20 solid cancer entities. However, its role in cancer metabolism is not sufficiently explored. Here, we report on how MACC1 impacts the use of glucose, glutamine, lactate, pyruvate and fatty acids and show the comprehensive analysis of MACC1-driven metabolic networks. We analyzed concentration-dependent changes in nutrient use, nutrient depletion, metabolic tracing employing 13C-labeled substrates, and in vivo studies. We found that MACC1 permits numerous effects on cancer metabolism. Most of those effects increased nutrient uptake. Furthermore, MACC1 alters metabolic pathways by affecting metabolite production or turnover from metabolic substrates. MACC1 supports use of glucose, glutamine and pyruvate via their increased depletion or altered distribution within metabolic pathways. In summary, we demonstrate that MACC1 is an important regulator of metabolism in cancer cells.

Keywords:  MACC1; cancer metabolism; colorectal cancer; metabolic networks; metabolic profiling

DOI:  https://doi.org/10.3390/cancers13050978
Arch Toxicol. 2021 Mar 02.

Krebs cycle: activators, inhibitors and their roles in the modulation of carcinogenesis.

Amin Gasmi, Massimiliano Peana, Maria Arshad, Monica Butnariu, Alain Menzel, Geir Bjørklund.

  A fundamental metabolic feature of cancerous tissues is high glucose consumption. The rate of glucose consumption in a cancer cell can be 10-15 times higher than in normal cells. Isolation and cultivation of tumor cells in vitro highlight properties that are associated with intensive glucose utilization, the presence of minimal oxidative metabolism, an increase in lactate concentrations in the culture medium and a reduced rate of oxygen consumption. Although glycolysis is suggested as a general feature of malignant cells and recently identified as a possible contributing factor to tumor progression, several studies highlight distinct metabolic characteristics in some tumors, including a relative decrease in avidity compared to glucose and/or a glutamine dependency of lactate and even proliferative tumor cells. The aim of this review is to determine the particularities in the energy metabolism of cancer cells, focusing on the main nutritional substrates, such as glucose and glutamine, evaluating lactate dehydrogenase as a potential marker of malignancy and estimating activators and inhibitors in cancer treatment.

Keywords:  Activators; Cancer; Glucose; Glycolysis; Inhibitors; Krebs cycle

DOI:  https://doi.org/10.1007/s00204-021-02974-9
Metabolites. 2021 Feb 13. pii: 109. [Epub ahead of print]11(2):

Early Noninvasive Metabolic Biomarkers of Mutant IDH Inhibition in Glioma.

Marina Radoul, Donghyun Hong, Anne Marie Gillespie, Chloé Najac, Pavithra Viswanath, Russell O Pieper, Joseph F Costello, Hema Artee Luchman, Sabrina M Ronen.

  Approximately 80% of low-grade glioma (LGGs) harbor mutant isocitrate dehydrogenase 1/2 (IDH1/2) driver mutations leading to accumulation of the oncometabolite 2-hydroxyglutarate (2-HG). Thus, inhibition of mutant IDH is considered a potential therapeutic target. Several mutant IDH inhibitors are currently in clinical trials, including AG-881 and BAY-1436032. However, to date, early detection of response remains a challenge. In this study we used high resolution 1H magnetic resonance spectroscopy (1H-MRS) to identify early noninvasive MR (Magnetic Resonance)-detectable metabolic biomarkers of response to mutant IDH inhibition. In vivo 1H-MRS was performed on mice orthotopically-implanted with either genetically engineered (U87IDHmut) or patient-derived (BT257 and SF10417) mutant IDH1 cells. Treatment with either AG-881 or BAY-1436032 induced a significant reduction in 2-HG. Moreover, both inhibitors led to a significant early and sustained increase in glutamate and the sum of glutamate and glutamine (GLX) in all three models. A transient early increase in N-acetylaspartate (NAA) was also observed. Importantly, all models demonstrated enhanced animal survival following both treatments and the metabolic alterations were observed prior to any detectable differences in tumor volume between control and treated tumors. Our study therefore identifies potential translatable early metabolic biomarkers of drug delivery, mutant IDH inhibition and glioma response to treatment with emerging clinically relevant therapies.

Keywords:  1H-MRS; glioma; mutant IDH inhibitor; noninvasive metabolic biomarkers

DOI:  https://doi.org/10.3390/metabo11020109
J Control Release. 2021 Mar 01. pii: S0168-3659(21)00105-X. [Epub ahead of print]

Recent advances of redox-responsive nanoplatforms for tumor theranostics.

Miaomiao Chen, Dapeng Liu, Fusheng Liu, Yingnan Wu, Xiaojun Peng, Fengling Song.

  Nano-biotechnologies which combine diagnosis with therapy in an integrated nanoplatform provide a promising prospect for cancer theranostics. Currently, the development of personalized medicine requires the exploitation of "smart" theranostic nanoplatforms with specific targeting, precise cargoes release, non-invasive therapeutics for cancers and so on. High levels of hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) and glutathione (GSH) are prominent features of tumor microenvironment (TME), which are distinctly different from healthy tissues. Accordingly, extensive redox-responsive theranostic nanoplatforms have been exploited by modulating intracellular redox homeostasis. In this review, we first summarized the recent advances of overexpressed H2O2- and antioxidant GSH-responsive nanoplatforms for tumor diagnose and treatment. Then, the strategies by synergistically boosting reactive oxygen species (ROS) production and GSH depletion for amplifying oxidative stress are highlighted. At last, the prospects and controversies of stimuli-driven nanotheranostics are also discussed for future development.

Keywords:  GSH; H(2)O(2); Nanoplatform; Oxidative stress; Redox-responsive; Theranostic

DOI:  https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jconrel.2021.02.030
Cell Metab. 2021 Feb 20. pii: S1550-4131(21)00017-6. [Epub ahead of print]

Very-low-protein diets lead to reduced food intake and weight loss, linked to inhibition of hypothalamic mTOR signaling, in mice.

Yingga Wu, Baoguo Li, Li Li, Sharon E Mitchell, Cara L Green, Giuseppe D'Agostino, Guanlin Wang, Lu Wang, Min Li, Jianbo Li, Chaoqun Niu, Zengguang Jin, Anyongqi Wang, Yu Zheng, Alex Douglas, John R Speakman.

  The protein leverage hypothesis predicts that low dietary protein should increase energy intake and cause adiposity. We designed 10 diets varying from 1% to 20% protein combined with either 60% or 20% fat, contrasting the expectation that very low protein did not cause increased food intake. Although these mice had activated hunger signaling, they ate less food, resulting in decreased body weight and improved glucose tolerance but not increased frailty, even under 60% fat. Moreover, they did not show hyperphagia when returned to a 20% protein diet, which could be mimicked by treatment with rapamycin. Intracerebroventricular injection of AAV-S6K1 significantly blunted the decrease in both food intake and body weight in mice fed 1% protein, an effect not observed with inhibition of eIF2a, TRPML1, and Fgf21 signaling. Hence, the 1% protein diet induced decreased food intake and body weight via a mechanism partially dependent on hypothalamic mTOR signaling.

Keywords:  energy expenditure; energy intake; hunger; low protein; mTOR signaling; obesity

DOI:  https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cmet.2021.01.017
Dev Biol. 2021 Feb 27. pii: S0012-1606(21)00051-8. [Epub ahead of print]

Metabolic regulation of cell competition.

Lorena Esteban-Martínez, Miguel Torres.

  Cell Competition is a selective process by which viable cells are eliminated from developing or adult tissues by interactions with their neighbors. In many cases, the eliminated cells (losers) display reduced fitness, yet they would be able to sustain tissue growth or maintenance in a homotypic environment, and are only eliminated when confronted with surrounding wild type cells (winners). In addition, cells with oncogenic mutations that do not show reduced fitness can also be eliminated from tissues when surrounded by wild type cells. Depending on the context, transformed cells can also become supercompetitors and eliminate surrounding wild type cells, thereby promoting tumor formation. Several factors have been shown to play essential roles in Cell Competition, including genes relevant in developmental growth, tumor formation and epithelial apico-basal polarity. Recent discoveries, however, suggest that energy metabolism plays a central role in very different models of cell competition. Here we review the involvement of mitochondrial dynamics and metabolism, autophagy and nutritional status in cell competition and discuss the possible implications of this emerging field.

Keywords:  Apoptosis; Autophagy; Energy metabolism; Glycolysis; Lactate; Mitochondria; Tumor formation; Tumor suppression; Warburg effect

DOI:  https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ydbio.2021.02.011
Sci Rep. 2021 Mar 04. 11(1): 5222

Pharmacological inhibition of tumor anabolism and host catabolism as a cancer therapy.

Alejandro Schcolnik-Cabrera, Alma Chavez-Blanco, Guadalupe Dominguez-Gomez, Mandy Juarez, Ariana Vargas-Castillo, Rafael Isaac Ponce-Toledo, Donna Lai, Sheng Hua, Armando R Tovar, Nimbe Torres, Delia Perez-Montiel, Jose Diaz-Chavez, Alfonso Duenas-Gonzalez.

The malignant energetic demands are satisfied through glycolysis, glutaminolysis and de novo synthesis of fatty acids, while the host curses with a state of catabolism and systemic inflammation. The concurrent inhibition of both, tumor anabolism and host catabolism, and their effect upon tumor growth and whole animal metabolism, have not been evaluated. We aimed to evaluate in colon cancer cells a combination of six agents directed to block the tumor anabolism (orlistat + lonidamine + DON) and the host catabolism (growth hormone + insulin + indomethacin). Treatment reduced cellular viability, clonogenic capacity and cell cycle progression. These effects were associated with decreased glycolysis and oxidative phosphorylation, leading to a quiescent energetic phenotype, and with an aberrant transcriptomic landscape showing dysregulation in multiple metabolic pathways. The in vivo evaluation revealed a significant tumor volume inhibition, without damage to normal tissues. The six-drug combination preserved lean tissue and decreased fat loss, while the energy expenditure got decreased. Finally, a reduction in gene expression associated with thermogenesis was observed. Our findings demonstrate that the simultaneous use of this six-drug combination has anticancer effects by inducing a quiescent energetic phenotype of cultured cancer cells. Besides, the treatment is well-tolerated in mice and reduces whole animal energetic expenditure and fat loss.

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-021-84538-6
Cell Stem Cell. 2021 Mar 04. pii: S1934-5909(21)00063-1. [Epub ahead of print]28(3): 378-393

Targeting Energy Metabolism in Cancer Stem Cells: Progress and Challenges in Leukemia and Solid Tumors.

Courtney L Jones, Anagha Inguva, Craig T Jordan.

Malignant stem cells have long been considered a key therapeutic target in leukemia. Therapeutic strategies designed to target the fundamental biology of leukemia stem cells while sparing normal hematopoietic cells may provide better outcomes for leukemia patients. One process in leukemia stem cell biology that has intriguing therapeutic potential is energy metabolism. In this article we discuss the metabolic properties of leukemia stem cells and how targeting energy metabolism may provide more effective therapeutic regimens for leukemia patients. In addition, we highlight the similarities and differences in energy metabolism between leukemia stem cells and malignant stem cells from solid tumors.

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.stem.2021.02.013