bims-stacyt 2018-07-08 papers

on Metabolism and the paracrine crosstalk between cancer and the organism

Issue of 2018–07–08
two papers selected by
Cristina Muñoz Pinedo, L’Institut d’Investigació Biomèdica de Bellvitge

Metabolic reprogramming for cancer cells and their microenvironment: Beyond the Warburg Effect.
Crosstalk between cancer cells and endothelial cells: implications for tumor progression and intervention.

Biochim Biophys Acta. 2018 Jun 27. pii: S0304-419X(18)30035-0. [Epub ahead of print]

Metabolic reprogramming for cancer cells and their microenvironment: Beyond the Warburg Effect.

Linchong Sun, Caixia Suo, Shi-Ting Li, Huafeng Zhang, Ping Gao.

  While metabolic reprogramming of cancer cells has long been considered from the standpoint of how and why cancer cells preferentially utilize glucose via aerobic glycolysis, the so-called Warburg Effect, the progress in the following areas during the past several years has substantially advanced our understanding of the rewired metabolic network in cancer cells that is intertwined with oncogenic signaling. First, in addition to the major nutrient substrates glucose and glutamine, cancer cells have been discovered to utilize a variety of unconventional nutrient sources for survival. Second, the deregulated biomass synthesis is intertwined with cell cycle progression to coordinate the accelerated progression of cancer cells. Third, the reciprocal regulation of cancer cell's metabolic alterations and the microenvironment, involving extensive host immune cells and microbiota, have come into view as critical mechanisms to regulate cancer progression. These and other advances are shaping the current and future paradigm of cancer metabolism.

Keywords:  Biomass synthesis; Immune cells; Metabolic reprogramming; Microbiota; Tumor microenvironment

DOI:  https://doi.org/10.1016/j.bbcan.2018.06.005
Arch Pharm Res. 2018 Jun 30.

Crosstalk between cancer cells and endothelial cells: implications for tumor progression and intervention.

Hyojeong Choi, Aree Moon.

  Communication between tumor cells and stromal cells is crucial to tumor development and progression. Fibroblasts and macrophages are the most common stromal cells in the tumor microenvironment. Endothelial cells are another type of stromal cell in the tumor microenvironment required for angiogenesis via interaction with tumor cells. Tumor angiogenesis provides not only oxygen and nutrients for tumor cells but also the necessary anchorage to facilitate tumor metastasis. The present review summarizes studies on the crosstalk between cancer cells and endothelial cells with a focus on implications for tumor progression. The following four categories are discussed in this review: (1) cell-cell communication in tumor microenvironment; (2) induction of metastasis by interaction between cancer cells and endothelial cells; (3) angiogenesis induced by tumor cells; (4) therapeutic strategies targeting adhesion and signaling molecules as well as chemokines. This review provides useful information highlighting the process of cancer aggressiveness affected by the crosstalk between cancer cells and endothelial cells, and suggests therapeutic strategies against tumor progression.

Keywords:  Angiogenesis; Cancer cell; Endothelial cell; Tumor microenvironment

DOI:  https://doi.org/10.1007/s12272-018-1051-1