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Glucose Metabolism in Cancer

  • Chapter
The Heterogeneity of Cancer Metabolism

Part of the book series: Advances in Experimental Medicine and Biology ((AEMB,volume 1063))

Abstract

Otto Warburg observed a peculiar phenomenon in 1924, unknowingly laying the foundation for the field of cancer metabolism. While his contemporaries hypothesized that tumor cells derived the energy required for uncontrolled replication from proteolysis and lipolysis, Warburg instead found them to rapidly consume glucose, converting it to lactate [1]. The significance of this finding, later termed the Warburg effect, went unnoticed by the larger scientific community at that time. The field of cancer metabolism lay dormant for almost a century awaiting advances in molecular biology and genetics which would later open the doors to new cancer therapies.

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Abbreviations

3PO:

3-(3-Pyridinyl)-1-(4-pyridinyl)-2-propen-1-one

AGL:

Amylo-alpha-1, 6-glucosidase, 4-alpha-glucanotransferase

AKT:

Also known as PKB, protein kinase B

ATP:

Adenosine triphosphate

CP-320626:

5-Chloro-N-[(2S)-3-(4-fluorophenyl)-1-(4-hydroxypiperidin-1-yl)-1-oxopropan-2-yl]-1H-indole-2-carboxamide

F1,6-BP:

Fructose-1,6-bisphosphatase

F2,6-BP:

Fructose-2,6-bisphosphate

FX-11:

3-Dihydroxy-6-methyl-7-phenylmethyl-4-propylnaphthalene-1-carboxylic acid

G1P:

Glucose-1-phosphate

G6P:

Glucose-6-phosphate

GBE:

1,4-Alpha-glucan branching enzyme

GLUT:

Glucose transporter

GSK2:

Glycogen synthase kinase 2

GYS1:

Glycogen synthase 1

HIF-1α:

Hypoxia-inducible factor 1α

HK2:

Hexokinase 2

LDHA:

Lactate dehydrogenase A

mTOR:

Mechanistic target of rapamycin

NAD:

Nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide

PCK2:

Phosphoenolpyruvate carboxykinase 2

PCK1:

Phosphoenolpyruvate carboxykinase 1

PFK:

Phosphofructokinase

PFKFB3:

6-Phosphofructo-2-kinase/fructose-2,6-biphosphatase 3

PGM:

Phosphoglucomutase

PI3K:

Phosphoinositide 3-kinase

PPP:

Pentose phosphate pathway

PPP1R3C:

Protein phosphatase 1 regulatory subunit 3C

TCA:

Tricarboxylic acid

TIGAR:

TP53-induced glycolysis and apoptosis regulator

TP53:

Tumor protein 53

UGP2:

UTP:glucose-1-P uridylyltransferase 2

VHL:

Von Hippel-Lindau

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Medicine, Columbia University Medical Center, New York, NY, USA

    Sminu Bose

  2. Department of Pathology and Oncology, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD, USA

    Anne Le

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Correspondence to Anne Le .

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  1. Johns Hopkins Medicine, Baltimore, MD, USA

    Anne Le MD, HDR

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Bose, S., Le, A. (2018). Glucose Metabolism in Cancer. In: Le, A. (eds) The Heterogeneity of Cancer Metabolism. Advances in Experimental Medicine and Biology, vol 1063. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-77736-8_1

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