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Metabolic Regulation of Apoptosis in Cancer

K Matsuura1, K Canfield2, W Feng3

  • 1Department of Pharmacology and Cancer Biology, Duke University Medical Center, Durham, NC, United States.

International Review of Cell and Molecular Biology
|October 4, 2016
PubMed

Insights

Cancer cells disable apoptosis, a cellular suicide process, through altered metabolism. This review explores how glucose and lipid metabolism changes in cancer impact apoptosis signaling pathways.

Area of Science:

  • Cellular biology
  • Cancer research
  • Metabolic pathways

Background:

  • Apoptosis, or programmed cell death, is crucial for development and preventing diseases like cancer.
  • Cancer cells evade apoptosis, promoting uncontrolled growth, survival, and treatment resistance.
  • Metabolism is increasingly recognized as a key factor in cancer cells' evasion of apoptosis.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To review the regulation of cellular apoptosis.
  • To examine how cellular metabolism influences apoptosis signaling pathways.
  • To focus on altered glucose and lipid metabolism in cancer and their impact on apoptosis.

Main Methods:

  • Literature review of apoptosis regulation.
  • Analysis of metabolic influence on apoptotic signaling.
  • Focus on glucose and lipid metabolism alterations in cancer cells.

Main Results:

  • Metabolites can modulate the function of proteins involved in apoptosis.
  • The p53 protein regulates both apoptosis and cellular metabolism.
  • Dysregulated metabolism and p53 inactivation equip cancer cells to evade apoptosis.

Conclusions:

  • Altered cellular metabolism is a significant mechanism by which cancer cells evade apoptosis.
  • Understanding the interplay between metabolism and apoptosis is vital for cancer therapy.
  • Targeting metabolic pathways may offer new strategies to restore apoptosis in cancer cells.
Keywords:
BCL-2 familycaspasecell deathceramideglucosehypoxialipidsp53

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