Cancer Metabolism Study Identifies New Potential Drug Targets Against Tumours
Several cancer metabolic expression changes have been discovered through a US study analysing gene expression data sourced from 22 types of tumours.
Researchers from the Columbia University Medical Centre (CUMC), in a study published in Nature Biotechnology online, also found probable drug targets which could destroy the fuel of a tumour or lessen its ability to gradually establish the building blocks of cancer. Cancer’s special metabolism was first discovered in 1924 by Otto Warburg, a biochemist who found that cancer cells had a unique way of using glucose to create energy for a particular cell. This current study is an important step in gaining a better understanding of cancer metabolism.
Lead researcher and associate professor of biomedical informatics at CUMC, Dennis Vitkup explains the importance of this study, “So far, people have focused mainly on a few genes involved in major metabolic processes. Our study provides a comprehensive, global view of diverse metabolic alterations at the level of gene expression. Although a list of biochemical pathways in normal cells was comprehensively mapped during the last century, we still lack a complete understanding of their usage, regulation, and reprogramming in cancer.”
Additional findings indicated that expression changes caused by tumours vary vastly across various different types of cancer. Co-author of this paper and assistant professor at MIT, Matthew Vander Heiden commented on this saying, “Our study clearly demonstrates that there are no single and universal changes in cancer metabolism. That means that to understand transformation in cancer metabolism, researchers will need to consider how different tumour types adapt their metabolism to meet their specific needs.”
A further discovery indicated that changes in expression can encourage tumour formation by copying or cooperating with cancer mutations. For instance, researchers found that the expression of enzyme isocitrate dehydrogenase can increase in tumours with persistent mutations. It was also revealed that there were major differences in the way that cancer and a normal cell used isoenzymes. This difference meant that researchers could indentify even more possibilities to destroy cancer’s fuel and supply pathway.
Dr. Vitkup indicates that more research should be done on cancer metabolism as, “Cancer cells usually have multiple ways to turn on their growth program. You can knock out one, but the cells will usually find another pathway to turn on proliferation. Targeting metabolism may be more powerful, because if you starve a cell of energy or materials, it has nowhere to go.”