The Evolving Landscape of Noncanonical Functions of Metabolic Enzymes in Cancer and Other Pathologies

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Assessment of the Metabolic Profile of Primary Leukemia Cells
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Daqian Xu1, Fei Shao2, Xueli Bian2

  • 1Zhejiang Provincial Key Laboratory of Pancreatic Disease, The First Affiliated Hospital, and Institute of Translational Medicine, Zhejiang University School of Medicine, Hangzhou 310029, China.

Cell Metabolism
|January 6, 2021
PubMed

Insights

Metabolic enzymes have dual roles, performing essential functions and "moonlighting" in nonmetabolic activities. Aberrant regulation of these moonlighting enzymes drives cancer progression by impacting cell activities and the tumor microenvironment.

Area of Science:

  • Biochemistry
  • Molecular Biology
  • Oncology

Background:

  • Metabolic enzymes are crucial for cellular energy and biosynthesis.
  • Pathological signaling pathways, particularly oncogenic ones, influence metabolic enzyme activity.
  • Metabolic enzymes can possess noncanonical functions beyond metabolism, termed 'moonlighting'.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To review the nonmetabolic,
  • moonlighting
  • functions of metabolic enzymes.
  • To elucidate the role of aberrantly regulated metabolic enzymes in disease pathology, especially cancer.

Main Methods:

  • Literature review focusing on metabolic enzymes with moonlighting functions.
  • Analysis of signaling pathways that regulate these enzymes.
  • Examination of the impact of dysregulated moonlighting enzymes on cellular processes and disease.

Main Results:

  • Metabolic enzymes exhibit significant nonmetabolic functions critical for cellular activities.
  • Aberrant regulation of these moonlighting enzymes is implicated in gene expression, cell-cycle control, DNA repair, proliferation, survival, and apoptosis.
  • Dysfunctional metabolic enzymes contribute to tumor microenvironment remodeling and cancer progression.

Conclusions:

  • Metabolic enzymes' moonlighting functions are critical drivers of pathological processes.
  • Targeting aberrantly regulated metabolic enzymes offers potential therapeutic strategies for cancer.
Keywords:
DNA repairapoptosiscell proliferationcell-cycle progressiongene expressionmetabolic enzymenoncanonical functionsurvivaltumor microenvironment

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