Related Experiment Video
Updated: May 25, 2026
06:21
Assessment of the Metabolic Profile of Primary Leukemia Cells
Published on: November 21, 2018
Cancer metabolism: current perspectives and future directions
C Muñoz-Pinedo1, N El Mjiyad, J-E Ricci
1Cell Death Regulation Group, IDIBELL (Bellvitge Biomedical Research Institute), Gran Via de L'Hospitalet 199, L'Hospitalet, Barcelona 08908 Spain. cmunoz@idibell.cat
Cell Death & Disease
|January 13, 2012
Summary
Cancer cells hijack cellular metabolism for growth and survival. Targeting these metabolic pathways offers a promising strategy to inhibit cancer progression and induce cell death.
Area of Science:
- Oncology
- Cellular Metabolism
- Cancer Biology
Background:
- Cellular metabolism is critical for life and death decisions.
- Metabolic regulation is increasingly recognized as integral to cancer progression.
- Oncogenes promote proliferation by driving nutrient uptake and biosynthesis.
Purpose of the Study:
- To review the link between metabolic transformation and oncogenic transformation.
- To explore why inhibiting cancer metabolism could be a key therapeutic strategy.
- To outline metabolic pathways as anti-cancer targets and discuss cell death pathways.
Main Methods:
- Literature review of current understanding in cancer metabolism.
- Analysis of oncogenic pathway-induced metabolic alterations.
- Examination of metabolic inhibitors and their engagement of cell death pathways.
Main Results:
- Metabolic transformation is closely linked to oncogenic transformation.
- Mutations in metabolic enzymes can lead to synthetic lethality with metabolic inhibitors.
- Hyperactivated oncogenic pathways increase tumor susceptibility to metabolic inhibition.
- Active metabolism regulates anti-apoptotic proteins (Bcl-2 family).
Conclusions:
- Targeting cancer cell metabolism presents a potential 'Achilles' heel' for cancer therapy.
- Metabolic inhibitors can engage specific cell death pathways.
- Understanding similarities between cancer and proliferating cell metabolism is key for therapeutic development.
Related Concept Videos
02:57Targeted Cancer Therapies
The targeted cancer therapies, also known as “molecular targeted therapies,” take advantage of the molecular and genetic differences between the cancer cells and the normal cells. It needs a thorough understanding of the cancer cells to develop drugs that can target specific molecular aspects that drive the growth, progression, and spread of cancer cells without affecting the growth and survival of other normal cells in the body.
There are several types of targeted therapies against specific...
There are several types of targeted therapies against specific...
02:57Targeted Cancer Therapies
The targeted cancer therapies, also known as “molecular targeted therapies,” take advantage of the molecular and genetic differences between the cancer cells and the normal cells. It needs a thorough understanding of the cancer cells to develop drugs that can target specific molecular aspects that drive the growth, progression, and spread of cancer cells without affecting the growth and survival of other normal cells in the body.
There are several types of targeted therapies against specific...
There are several types of targeted therapies against specific...
02:18Cancer
Cancers arise due to mutations in genes involved in the regulation of cell division, which leads to unrestricted cell proliferation. Modern science and medicine have made great strides in the understanding and treatment of cancer, including eradicating cancer in some patients. However, there is still no cure for cancer. This is largely due to the fact that cancer is a large group of many diseases.
02:53Adaptive Mechanisms in Cancer Cells
Cancer cells accumulate genetic changes at an abnormally rapid rate due to the defects in the DNA repair mechanisms. From an evolutionary perspective, such genetic instability is advantageous for cancer development. Mutant cell lines accumulate a series of beneficial mutations that contribute to their progression into cancer.
Some of the advantages that cancer cells have on normal cells include - enhanced ability to divide without terminally differentiating, induce new blood vessel formation,...
Some of the advantages that cancer cells have on normal cells include - enhanced ability to divide without terminally differentiating, induce new blood vessel formation,...
02:53Adaptive Mechanisms in Cancer Cells
Cancer cells accumulate genetic changes at an abnormally rapid rate due to the defects in the DNA repair mechanisms. From an evolutionary perspective, such genetic instability is advantageous for cancer development. Mutant cell lines accumulate a series of beneficial mutations that contribute to their progression into cancer.
Some of the advantages that cancer cells have on normal cells include - enhanced ability to divide without terminally differentiating, induce new blood vessel formation,...
Some of the advantages that cancer cells have on normal cells include - enhanced ability to divide without terminally differentiating, induce new blood vessel formation,...
03:03mTOR Signaling and Cancer Progression
The mammalian target of rapamycin or mTOR protein was discovered in 1994 due to its direct interaction with rapamycin. The protein gets its name from a yeast homolog called TOR. The mTOR protein complex in mammalian cells plays a major role in balancing anabolic processes such as the synthesis of proteins, lipids, and nucleotides and catabolic processes, such as autophagy in response to environmental cues, such as availability of nutrients and growth factors.
The mTOR pathway or the...
The mTOR pathway or the...