WIKIMEDIA, REYTANTo fuel runaway tumor growth, cancer cells use a metabolic mechanism, called glycolysis, that normal cells were believed to only use in the absence of oxygen. But according to a study released today (January 23) in Cancer & Metabolism, certain progenitor cells use glycolysis to power rapid growth during early tissue development, even when oxygen is readily available—suggesting that tumors arise out of the normal metabolic processes for tissue growth.
“They demonstrate nicely that [aerobic glycolysis] is required in normal development,” said cancer genetics researcher Chi Van Dang, director of University of Pennsylvania’s Abramson Cancer Center, who was not involved in the study. Moreover, he adds, the study highlights the importance of tightly regulated metabolism and cell growth—whether to spur early tissue development or unbridled tumor development. Before this study, “the prevailing viewpoint was that metabolism was just along for the ride.” (Read an in-depth discussion of the role of metabolism in complex diseases in The Scientist’s 2011 feature, “Power Failure.”)
Unlike the controlled diet of normal cells that make energy from pyruvate in the presence of oxygen, cancer cells gobble up glucose and convert it to lactic acid. Why and how tumors utilize this ...
