Proteins moonlighting in tumor metabolism and epigenetics / 医学前沿

Cancer development is a complicated process controlled by the interplay of multiple signaling pathways and restrained by oxygen and nutrient accessibility in the tumor microenvironment. High plasticity in using diverse nutrients to adapt to metabolic stress is one of the hallmarks of cancer cells. To respond to nutrient stress and to meet the requirements for rapid cell proliferation, cancer cells reprogram metabolic pathways to take up more glucose and coordinate the production of energy and intermediates for biosynthesis. Such actions involve gene expression and activity regulation by the moonlighting function of oncoproteins and metabolic enzymes. The signal - moonlighting protein - metabolism axis facilitates the adaptation of tumor cells under varying environment conditions and can be therapeutically targeted for cancer treatment.

Dysregulation of glucose metabolism in tumorigenesis and tumor progression / 中国生化药物杂志

Dysregulation of cell metabolism, especially glucose metabolism, is implicated in tumorigenesis and tumor progression.Cancer cells uptake a large amount of glucose and prefer to perform glycolysis in the cytosol even under normal oxygen condition, which fuels fast cell growth and proliferation.Dysregulation of glucose metabolism leads to tumorigenesis and promotes cancer development.Conversely, the initiation and development of cancer reprograms glucose metabolism to confer cancer cells the ability to survive and proliferate.Oncogenes, tumor suppressors or non-coding RNAs could regulate glucose metabolism.Meanwhile, the enzymes and metabolites involved in glucose metabolism could regulate the expression of factors related to cancer.Enzymes, the direct executor of cell metabolism, play a key role in dysregulation of glucose metabolism, tumorigenesis and tumor development.