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Emerging Approaches for Targeting Metabolic Vulnerabilities in Malignant Glioma

  • Neuro-oncology (L A Abrey, Section Editor)
  • Published:
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Abstract

Malignant gliomas are intractable and among the most lethal human malignancies. Like other cancers, metabolic reprogramming is a key feature of glioma and is thought to accommodate the heightened nutrient requirements for tumor cell proliferation, growth, and survival. This metabolic rewiring, driven by oncogenic signaling and molded by the unique environment of the brain, may impose vulnerabilities that could be exploited therapeutically for increased tumor control. In this review, we discuss the prominent metabolic features of malignant glioma, the key pathways regulating glioma metabolism, and the potential therapeutic opportunities for targeting metabolic processes.

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Acknowledgments

This work was supported by the In Vivo Cellular and Molecular Imaging Center, National Cancer Institute P50 CA86306 (P.M.C. and D.A.N.), the Hasso Family Foundation (T.F.C. and D.A.N.), Art of the Brain (T.F.C.), and the National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellowships Program DGE 1144087 (W.X.M.).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Molecular and Medical Pharmacology, David Geffen School of Medicine, University of California, Los Angeles, 10833 Le Conte Ave., Los Angeles, CA, 90095, USA

    Peter M. Clark, Wilson X. Mai & David A. Nathanson

  2. Ahmanson Translational Imaging Division, David Geffen School of Medicine, University of California, Los Angeles, 10833 Le Conte Ave., Los Angeles, CA, 90095, USA

    Wilson X. Mai & David A. Nathanson

  3. Department of Neurology, David Geffen School of Medicine, University of California, Los Angeles, 10833 Le Conte Ave., Los Angeles, CA, 90095, USA

    Timothy F. Cloughesy

  4. Henry Singleton Brain Tumor Program, Jonsson Comprehensive Cancer Center, David Geffen School of Medicine, University of California, Los Angeles, 10833 Le Conte Ave., Los Angeles, CA, 90095, USA

    Timothy F. Cloughesy

  5. Crump Institute for Molecular Imaging, David Geffen School of Medicine, University of California, Los Angeles, CA, 90095, USA

    Peter M. Clark

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  1. Peter M. Clark
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Correspondence to David A. Nathanson.

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Conflict of Interest

Peter M. Clark declares no potential conflicts of interest.

Wilson X. Mai has a patent Targeting Metabolic Vulnerabilities in Cancer pending.

Timothy F. Cloughesy reports personal fees from Roche/Genentech, personal fees from Novartis, personal fees from Celgene, personal fees from Tocagen, personal fees from VBL, personal fees from NewGen, personal fees from Oxigene, personal fees from Amgen, personal fees from Nektar, personal fees from Upshire Smith, personal fees from AbbVie, and personal fees from Notable Labs.

David A. Nathanson has a patent Targeting Metabolic Vulnerabilities in Cancer pending.

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This article does not contain any studies with human or animal subjects performed by any of the authors.

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This article is part of the Topical Collection on Neuro-oncology

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Clark, P.M., Mai, W.X., Cloughesy, T.F. et al. Emerging Approaches for Targeting Metabolic Vulnerabilities in Malignant Glioma. Curr Neurol Neurosci Rep 16, 17 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11910-015-0613-6

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