Metabolic reprogramming in osteosarcoma

Tumor cells undergo metabolic reprogramming to meet their energy and anabolic demands to maintain their malignant phenotype. Activation of oncogenes and deletion of tumor suppressors promotes metabolic reprogramming in cancer by directly or indirectly regulating enzymatic activities associated with metabolic pathways. Metabolic reprogramming in tumor cells mainly involves the glycolytic pathway, pentose phosphate pathway, serine synthesis pathway, enhanced glutamine metabolism or fatty acid anabolism, and abnormal mitochondrial oxidative phosphorylation (OXPHOS). The tricarboxylic acid (TCA) cycle is the central pathway of mitochondrial OXPHOS, and glucose, amino acid and fatty acid metabolism are associated with the TCA cycle. Metabolic abnormalities and rewiring of metabolic pathways are also present in Osteosarcoma (OS). The abnormal metabolic pattern in OS is associated with cell proliferation, migration, invasion and drug resistance. This review summarizes the current studies on glycolysis, amino acid metabolism, lipid synthesis and the TCA cycle related to OS.