DOCSLIB.ORG

Did We Get Pasteur, Warburg, and Crabtree on a Right Note?

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
Did We Get Pasteur, Warburg, and Crabtree on a Right Note? CORE Metadata, citation and similar papers at core.ac.uk Provided by Frontiers - Publisher Connector OPINION ARTICLE published: 15 July 2013 doi: 10.3389/fonc.2013.00186 Did we get Pasteur, Warburg, and Crabtree on a right note? Lakshmipathi Vadlakonda1*, Abhinandita Dash1, Mukesh Pasupuleti 2, Kotha Anil Kumar 3 and PalluReddanna 3,4 1 Dr. CR Rao Advanced Institute of Mathematics Statistics and Computer Science, University of Hyderabad, Hyderabad, India 2 SRM Research Institute, SRM University, Kattankulathur, India 3 Department of Animal Sciences, School of Life Sciences, University of Hyderabad, Hyderabad, India 4 National Institute of Animal Biotechnology (NIAB), C.R. Rao AIMSCS, University of Hyderabad Campus, Hyderabad, India *Correspondence: [email protected], [email protected] Edited by: Alexandre Arcaro, University of Bern, Switzerland Reviewed by: Myriam Alcalay, Istituto Europeo di Oncologia, Italy Fahd Al-Mulla, Genatak, Kuwait Antoine Lavoisier (eighteenth century) dem- in the middle of twentieth century reported demonstrated 50% higher respiration in onstrated that living organisms consume that glucose is a negative regulator of respi- subcutaneous tumors than those in abdo- oxygen to slowly burn the fuels in their bod- ration. These reports indicate that there is men which has 50% higher oxygen ten- ies to release energy (1). Louis Pasteur (2) in an initial stimulation of oxygen consump- sion (8). It is noteworthy that Harvey (12), an epoch making discovery, recognized as tion for about 20–120 s following glucose around Warburg’s times, demonstrated that “the Pasteur effect,” declared “fermentation is consumption followed by an inhibitory oxygen is needed for the proper division of an alternate form of life and that fermenta- period, which after equilibration stabilizes Sea Urchin eggs, and lack of oxygen arrests tion is suppressed by respiration” [reviewed to a constant of about 30% of the endoge- the development. Recent studies indicate in (3–5)]. Yet another observation of Pasteur, nous rate until all the glucose was consumed that proliferative cells exhibit altered metab- that yeast cells consume oxygen to multiply, [reviewed by (9)]. olism (13–15) and tumor is a heterogeneous is debated less among cancer biologists. This tissue; a metabolic symbiosis exists between nevertheless, forms the first scientific obser- PASTEUR, WARBURG, AND CRABTREE cells in sharing glucose and lactate between vation that proliferating cells need oxygen to – THE THREE EDGES OF A TRIANGLE well oxygenated and low oxygenated popu- divide. Pasteur was involved in a path break- COIN? lation of cells (16). ing debate with Liebig on whether fermenta- A critical analysis of the statements suggests In short, with regard to proliferative tion is a chemical or a biological process? By that Pasteur, Warburg, and Crabtree repre- cells, there are two unifying principles in 1880s Pasteur could establish that fermen- sent the three edges of a Triangle Coin, while the three apparently diverging hypotheses tation is a physiological process, and oxy- glucose and oxygen form the two sides of the of Pasteur, Warburg, and Crabtree, i.e., gen, considered to be a putrefying factor by coin. Semantics apart, the three authors con- an inverse relation exists between glucose Liebig and others, was a growth promoting clude that glucose utilization and the pres- uptake and oxygen utilization (respiration); factor [reviewed in (3)]. Six decades later, ence of oxygen are required for proliferating while fermenting cells require more glucose, Warburg (6) proposed that damaged respi- cells. Pasteur observed that when sufficient the proliferative cells require both glucose ration and enhanced fermentation of glu- oxygen is available, yeast “seizes to be fer- and oxygen. Pasteur, in addition, points to cose is the prime cause of cancer formation. ment and increases in mass,” but renews its the requirement of nitrogen as an additional It became popular as “aerobic glycolysis” and capacity to ferment under depleted oxygen. source (albuminoid) for growth of yeast a counter to “the Pasteur effect.” Warburg was His observations that ammonia transformed uncompromising and was intolerant to any into a complex “albuminoid” (protein) com- ADENYLATE PHOSPHATE ESTERS (ATP, alternate theory on cancer formation and pound during fermentation and growth is ADP, AND AMPS) REGULATE declared to the German Central Committee a recognition of the fact that the two pro- METABOLISM for Cancer control in 1955 at Stuttgart “… cesses can coexist when nitrogen source The debate on Warburg and Pasteur, gave a there is today no other explanation for the and oxygen are available [see the reviews lead to deciphering the details of glycolysis, origin of cancer cells, either special or gen- (3, 4)]. Warburg’s hypothesis that “dam- citric acid cycle, and the role of adenylate eral. From this point of view, mutation and aged respiration promotes fermentation even phosphate esters (ATP, ADP, and AMPs) carcinogenic agent are not alternatives, but in the presence of oxygen” is a reiteration of in metabolic regulation [see (17–21)]. The empty words, unless metabolically speci- Pasteur’s statement on growth in principle. discovery of ATP by Fiske and Subbarow fied…” (7). Crabtree (8), a contemporary Warburg considered fermentation but not and Lohmann paved the way for under- of Warburg, suggested that pathological over oxygen is a deciding factor in proliferation. standing the role of oxygen in ATP gen- growths use aerobic glycolysis as a source He was aware that glucose consumption and eration through mitochondrial respiration of energy and glucose uptake and glycolytic the oxygen levels in different regions of the and oxidative phosphorylation (OXPHOS) activity has a depressive effect on oxygen tumors can vary and fermentation decreases [reviewed by (5)]. The debate on the mito- consumption. His conclusion gained the in the direction of capillary blood flow chondrial function, reactive oxygen species popularity as the “inverted Pasteur effect” (10). Tumors grafted in low oxygen tension (ROS), and regulation of OXPHOS, however, or the “Crabtree effect” (9). Several authors were shown to grow slowly (11); Crabtree is still alive (22, 23). Parallel to the research www.frontiersin.org July 2013 | Volume 3 | Article 186 | 1 Vadlakonda et al. Pasteur, Warburg, cancer metabolism and signaling on cancer cells were the studies on energetics During biosynthetic processes they act as reprograming (45). One of the consequences of muscle contraction, mainly by Lundsgard, regulators of the metabolic homeostasis in of inhibition of autophagy is also the inhibi- Meyerhof, A. V. Hill, and others, where lactate cells and regulate the carbon and nitrogen tion of mitophagy (46). In addition, inhi- production, heat generation, and oxidative fluxes between proteins, lipids by activating bition of FoxO3a by activated Akt down recovery of the energy remained the main anaplerotic and cataplerotic reactions for regulates the anti oxidant enzymes MnSOD focus [reviewed in (4)]. Some of these early reconstruction of membranes, and supra and catalases (47); mutational deregulation researchers came out with the theories of molecular structures [see (30–33)]. of mitochondrial genome by ROS disables competitive limitation of inorganic phos- mitochondrial ability to produce ATP. ROS phates (Pi), ADP, and hexokinase as regu- ENERGY STATUS OF CELLS ALSO in fact, are suggested to act as rheostat in lating agents of OXPHOS and glycolysis. Two MODULATES CELL SIGNALING deciding the cell fate and metabolism in key inhibitors, the indoleacetic acid (IAA) PATHWAYS hematopoietic stem cells by regulating the and nitrophenols which block glycolysis, The explosion of genomic research that fol- Bcl-2 proteins (48). As already indicated, and OXPHOS respectively, were developed lowed the discovery of DNA double helix in high energy (ATP/ADP) conditions promote to examine the relative influence of glycolysis the last half of twentieth Century has shifted activation of Akt (43) and the mTOR (44). and OXPHOS on metabolism of cells and focus of cancer research from metabolism The Akt-mTORC1 signaling also modulates exercising muscles which produced enor- to gene mutations (14, 34–36). One of the the mitochondrial survival by regulating the mous amounts of lactate [reviewed in (4) key contributions of the genomic era is activity of GSK3β, which has crucial regula- and (24)]. Most of these researchers were the discovery of the oncogenes and tumor tory role in activation of proapoptotic mito- influenced by either Warburg or Pasteur suppressors (37), which work in a regulated chondrial proteins (49, 50). Mitochondria hypotheses. For example, Nigam (25), dem- series of networks of signaling pathways that are required for amino acid metabolism, onstrated that in Novikoff Ascites-Hepatoma respond to environmental cues in modulat- citrate production, urea production, heme cells, when OXPHOS is blocked in the pres- ing the energy metabolism and cell cycle synthesis, and FeS assembly etc (51, 52). In ence of oxygen by nitrophenols, glucose progression. There was a renewed search for cancer cells, GSK3β remains inhibited; inhi- consumption is rapid but reaches a plateau pathways responsible for metabolic repro- bition of mitophagy during proliferation of within 10–15 min, and glycolysis (lactate graming in cancer cells [see (38–40)] and cells may also lead to activation of aspartate, production) is up regulated at the expense Akt was named
Load more

Recommended publications
  • Want to Cure Cancer? Then Revisit the Past; “Warburg Was Correct”, Cancer Is a Metabolic Disease
    Journal of Cancer Therapy, 2014, 5, 297-305 Published Online March 2014 in SciRes. http://www.scirp.org/journal/jct http://dx.doi.org/10.4236/jct.2014.53036 Want to Cure Cancer? Then Revisit the Past; “Warburg Was Correct”, Cancer Is a Metabolic Disease Robert L. Elliott, Xian P. Jiang, Jonathan F. Head Elliott-Baucom-Head Breast Cancer Research and Treatment Center, Baton Rouge, USA Email: [email protected] Received 20 February 2014; revised 15 March 2014; accepted 21 March 2014 Copyright © 2014 by authors and Scientific Research Publishing Inc. This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution International License (CC BY). http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ Abstract I want to make it very clear at the beginning of this communication; this is a controversial opinion review. However, I believe it is time to rethink our approach to cancer research and therapy. Many cancer researchers, especially those involved in cancer genomic research will disagree. I welcome the disagreement and hope it will stimulate an honest debate and dialog between all disciplines of cancer research and treatment. I am convinced that a vast disconnection exists between those in- volved in basic research and those in the clinical arena that treat this disease. Cancer researchers in all areas should not ignore the role of cancer metabolism in tumorigenesis, progression and metastasis. Keywords Host Immunity; Mitochondrial Dysfunction; Warburg Effect; Aerobic Fermentation; Tumor and Mitochondrial Iron Metabolism 1. Introduction (Why This Review?) After being involved in cancer research and treating breast cancer patients for over 40 years, I believe that we seriously need to reconsider how we approach and treat the disease.
    [Show full text]
  • Not a Simple Switch Well As NADPH
    MILESTONES MILESTONE 6 Moreover, glucose metabolism in the pentose- phosphate pathway (PPP) was found to be crucial for oncogenic KRAS-induced growth, through generating nucleotide precursors as Not a simple switch well as NADPH. PPP-derived antioxidants are also linked to promoting cancer cell survival, as shown by Joan Brugge’s group, thus highlighting the importance of antioxidant defence in cancer growth. Research in the 2010s led the field further away from Warburg’s path, showing substantial heterogeneity in cancer metabolism, and high- lighting the oncogenotype and tissue environ- ment as key determinants. Eileen White’s and Alec Kimmelman’s groups revealed that onco- genic KRAS-driven cancer cells depend on autophagy, a catabolic pathway that degrades intracellular organelles and macromolecules. Autophagy maintains mitochondrial metab- olism and redox control, and allows cancer cells to maintain growth in nutrient-scarce Credit: peepo Credit: environments. David M. Sabatini’s and Cantley’s groups have reported amplification of Cells respire—they consume oxygen and The link of cancer-driving gene mutations the gene encoding the rate-limiting enzyme in glucose to produce energy in the form of to the Warburg effect was corroborated on the serine synthesis pathway in certain cancer ATP. When oxygen is not available, cells in the level of tumour suppressors. Cellular res- types, thus making the growth of these cancers differentiated tissues break glucose down piration relies on the tricarboxylic acid (TCA) dependent on serine and glycine metabolism. into lactate (through glycolysis) for energy cycle as well as the electron-transport chain Crucially, J. Michael Bishop’s group has shown production.
    [Show full text]
  • Causes and Consequences of Increased Glucose Metabolism of Cancers
    Causes and Consequences of Increased Glucose Metabolism of Cancers Robert J. Gillies, Ian Robey, and Robert A. Gatenby University of Arizona, Tucson, Arizona does not appear to be a significant adaptive advantage of using In this review we examine the mechanisms (causes) underlying glycolysis when oxygen is present (the Warburg effect). Yet, the increased glucose consumption observed in tumors within its prevalence in the overwhelming majority of metastatic a teleological context (consequences). In other words, we will tumors is compelling evidence that aerobic glycolysis plays a ask not only ‘‘How do cancers have high glycolysis?’’ but also, very significant role in promoting tumor development. ‘‘Why?’’ We believe that the insights gained from answering the latter question support the conclusion that elevated glucose To address this, the evolutionary dynamics of carcinogen- consumption is a necessary component of carcinogenesis. esis have been modeled using several mathematic methods, Specifically we propose that glycolysis is elevated because it including information theory, evolutionary game theory, produces acid, which provides an evolutionary advantage to reaction–diffusion models, and modified cellular automata cancer cells vis-a-vis` normal parenchyma into which they invade. (2–12). Insights from these models combined with modern Key Words: cancer; glucose; metabolism; carcinogenesis; imaging, what we have termed ‘‘imag(in)ing,’’ have demon- acid-base; somatic evolution strated that hypoxia and acidosis develop inevitably in the J Nucl Med 2008; 49:24S–42S microenvironment of premalignant epithelial tumors, such as DOI: 10.2967/jnumed.107.047258 ductal carcinoma in situ (DCIS). This results from aberrant proliferation that carries cells away from their underlying blood supply, which remains on the opposite side of an in- tact basement membrane (BM).
    [Show full text]
  • 8. 2020-New METABOLISM in CANCER CELLS-Students
    METABOLIC ALTERATIONS IN CANCER CELLS METABOLIC CHARACTERISTICS OF CANCER CELLS Increased GLYCOLYTIC ACTIVITY (Warburg Effect) Increased production of LACTATE Loss of PASTEUR’S EFFECT (Oxygen inhibition of glycolysis) INCREASED CONSUMPTION Cox4- of GLUTAMINE 2 INCREASED PROTEIN SYNTHESIS DECREASED PROTEOLYSIS DECREASED SYNTHESIS OF FATTY ACIDS (increased lipolysis from host adipose tissue) ENERGETIC METABOLISM IN TUMOURS • WARBURG EFFECT • In the 1920s, Otto Warburg observed that tumor cells consume a large amount of glucose, much • more than normal cells, and convert most of it to lactic acid. This phenomenon, now known as the • ‘Warburg effect,’ is the foundation of one of the earliest general concepts of cancer: that a • fundamental disturbance of cellular metabolic activity is at the root of tumor formation and growth. Biography Otto Heinrich Warburg: • Born-October 8, 1883 in Germany • Died-August 1, 1970 in Berlin, Germany • Son of physicist Emil Warburg • Otto was a German physiologist and medical doctor. • He won a Nobel prize in Physiology and Medicine for his Warburg effect in 1931. • He was one of the twentieth century's leading biochemist One of his Lectures… • "Cancer, above all other diseases, has countless secondary causes. But, even for cancer, there is only one prime cause. Summarized in a few words, the prime cause of cancer is the replacement of the respiration of oxygen in normal body cells by a fermentation of sugar… " -- Dr. Otto H. Warburg in Lecture The Warburg hypothesis The prime cause of cancer is the replacement of the respiration of oxygen…by a fermentation of sugar…” Injury of respiration Aerobic glycolysis De-differentiation Normal cell Phase I Phase II Phase III Cancer cell The Warburg Effect • Pyruvate is an end-product of glycolysis, and is oxidized within the mitochondria.
    [Show full text]
  • The Warburg Effect and Mitochondrial Stability in Cancer Cells
    Molecular Aspects of Medicine 31 (2010) 60–74 Contents lists available at ScienceDirect Molecular Aspects of Medicine journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/mam Review The Warburg effect and mitochondrial stability in cancer cells Vladimir Gogvadze, Boris Zhivotovsky, Sten Orrenius * Institute of Environmental Medicine, Division of Toxicology, Karolinska Institutet, Box 210, Stockholm SE-171 77, Sweden article info abstract Article history: The last decade has witnessed a renaissance of Otto Warburg’s fundamental hypothesis, Received 22 June 2009 which he put forward more than 80 years ago, that mitochondrial malfunction and subse- Received in revised form 31 July 2009 quent stimulation of cellular glucose utilization lead to the development of cancer. Since Accepted 2 December 2009 most tumor cells demonstrate a remarkable resistance to drugs that kill non-malignant cells, the question has arisen whether such resistance might be a consequence of the abnormalities in tumor mitochondria predicted by Warburg. The present review discusses Keywords: potential mechanisms underlying the upregulation of glycolysis and silencing of mitochon- The Warburg effect drial activity in cancer cells, and how pharmaceutical intervention in cellular energy Apoptosis Mitochondria metabolism might make tumor cells more susceptible to anti-cancer treatment. Cancer Ó 2009 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. Contents 1. Introduction: The Warburg effect vs. the Pasteur effect – historical background and current views. ....... 61 2. Possible mechanisms of mitochondrial silencing in cancer cells . .......................................... 62 2.1. The Crabtree effect . ...................................................................... 62 2.2. HIF and suppression of mitochondrial activity . ................................................... 62 2.3. Importance of ROS in cancer . ...................................................................... 63 3. Consequences of the glycolytic switch in tumors . ............................................................. 64 4.
    [Show full text]
  • Discussion of Doctor Greenstein's Paper*
    Discussion of Doctor Greenstein's Paper* SIDNEY WEINHOUSE (Lankenau Ho,pital Research Institute and The Insiituiefor Cancer Research, Philad4phia, Pa.) Dr. Greenstein in his scholarly and thoughtful and processes are integrated to produce the func. review has provided a theme which is indeed a tioning cell. fundamental one in biology—that of biochemical The harmonious activities of the functioning uniformity versus heterogeneity. I have been cell may be compared with the musical structure of deeply impressed by the great deal of evidence a beautiful symphony. Suppose we had befoi@e us that can be collected to show that, biochemically, all the various elements of music which made up the cancer cell is a distinctive cell type. Though the symphony but did not have the actual score. the cancer cell may or may not retain certain char We could classify the notes into so many of each acteristics of its non-neoplastic ancestor, in its notes of the scale, and we could subclassify these enzymatic characteristics it apparently resembles into half-, quarter-, eighth-, and sixteenth-notes. its sisters and cousins more than its parent. What After careful analysis of such data we would know I may call the Greenstein Hypothesis, that in the a great deal about the ingredients of a symphony. neoplastic transformation there is a convergence of Possibly by pursuing this study further we might enzyme activities to a common pattern, is one of even find that by and large all symphonies have the few experimentally conceived generalizations the same content of these various musical com in the cancer field.
    [Show full text]
  • Mitochondrial Uncoupling and the Warburg Effect: Molecular Basis for the Reprogramming of Cancer Cell Metabolism
    Published OnlineFirst March 3, 2009; DOI: 10.1158/0008-5472.CAN-08-3722 Published Online First on March 3, 2009 as 10.1158/0008-5472.CAN-08-3722 Review Mitochondrial Uncoupling and the Warburg Effect: Molecular Basis for the Reprogramming of Cancer Cell Metabolism Ismael Samudio,1 Michael Fiegl,1 and Michael Andreeff 1,2 1Section of Molecular Hematology and Therapy, Department of Stem Cell Transplantation and Cellular Therapy, and 2Department of Leukemia, The University of Texas M. D. Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, Texas Abstract glycolysis in cancer cells have been reproduced countless times— The precise mitochondrial alterations that underlie the not to mention the wealth of positron emission tomography increased dependence of cancer cells on aerobic glycolysis images that support an increased uptake of radiolabeled glucose in for energy generation have remained a mystery. Recent tumor tissues. evidence suggests that mitochondrial uncoupling—the abro- It is noteworthy that although Warburg’s hypothesis remains a gation of ATP synthesis in response to mitochondrial topic of discussion among cancer biologists, Otto Warburg himself membrane potential—promotes the Warburg effect in had alluded to an alternative hypothesis put forth by Feodor leukemia cells, and may contribute to chemoresistance. Lynen—one which did not necessitate permanent or transmissible Intriguingly, leukemia cells cultured on bone marrow–derived alterations to the oxidative capacity of mitochondria—that suggested the possibility that the increased dependence of cancer stromal feeder layers are more resistant to chemotherapy, increase the expression of uncoupling protein 2, and decrease cells on glycolysis stemmed not from their inability to reduce oxygen, but rather from their inability to synthesize ATP in the entry of pyruvate into the Krebs cycle—without compro- DC mising the consumption of oxygen, suggesting a shift to the response to the mitochondrial proton gradient ( M; ref.
    [Show full text]
  • Reinventing Cancer Cell Metabolism
    CCR FOCUS From the Editor Reinventing Cancer Cell Metabolism In today’s media world, when journal publications seem at times to be outdated by the time they appear in print, oncologists are fascinated to find that experiments reported some 80 years ago could be the object of surprising new discoveries. And yet, that is precisely the setting for the CCR Focus published in this issue of Clinical Cancer Research. In 1931, Otto Warburg (top photo) was awarded the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine for his discovery that, in essence, cancer cells under normal conditions metabolize glucose as though they lack oxygen, deriving much of their energy from a high rate of glycolysis. In a 1956 lecture, Warburg explained that normal livers and kidneys obtain 100 times more energy from mitochondrial respiration [oxidation of pyruvate in the tricarboxylic acid (TCA) cycle] than from glycolysis and lactate production in the cytoplasm, whereas cancer cells obtain energy equally from both sources (1). Warburg went further to state that cancer was caused by respiratory Otto Heinrich Warburg, impairment, the Warburg hypothesis, which can be contrasted with the experimental 1883–1970 observation known as the Warburg effect. We now understand that this "glycolytic preference" allows the cancer cell to generate all the components required for sustained cellular proliferation. All successful cancers engage this switch to glycolysis, and many of the mutations that drive proliferation and oncogenesis also alter metabolic regu- lation. With the leadership of Guest Editor Beverly Teicher, the experts contributing to this CCR Focus section discuss the profound metabolic changes that promote cancer cell survival.
    [Show full text]
  • A Novel Therapeutic Strategy for the Metabolic Management of Cancer Thomas N
    Seyfried et al. Nutrition & Metabolism (2017) 14:19 DOI 10.1186/s12986-017-0178-2 METHODOLOGY Open Access Press-pulse: a novel therapeutic strategy for the metabolic management of cancer Thomas N. Seyfried1*, George Yu2, Joseph C. Maroon3 and Dominic P. D’Agostino4 Abstract Background: A shift from respiration to fermentation is a common metabolic hallmark of cancer cells. As a result, glucose and glutamine become the prime fuels for driving the dysregulated growth of tumors. The simultaneous occurrence of “Press-Pulse” disturbances was considered the mechanism responsible for reduction of organic populations during prior evolutionary epochs. Press disturbances produce chronic stress, while pulse disturbances produce acute stress on populations. It was only when both disturbances coincide that population reduction occurred. Methods: This general concept can be applied to the management of cancer by creating chronic metabolic stresses on tumor cell energy metabolism (press disturbance) that are coupled to a series of acute metabolic stressors that restrict glucose and glutamine availability while also stimulating cancer-specific oxidative stress (pulse disturbances). The elevation of non-fermentable ketone bodies protect normal cells from energy stress while further enhancing energy stress in tumor cells that lack the metabolic flexibility to use ketones as an efficient energy source. Mitochondrial abnormalities and genetic mutations make tumor cells vulnerable metabolic stress. Results: The press-pulse therapeutic strategy for cancer management is illustrated with calorie restricted ketogenic diets (KD-R) used together with drugs and procedures that create both chronic and intermittent acute stress on tumor cell energy metabolism, while protecting and enhancing the energy metabolism of normal cells.
    [Show full text]
  • Otto Warburg's Contributions to Current Concepts of Cancer
    REVIEWS Otto Warburg’s contributions to current concepts of cancer metabolism Willem H. Koppenol*, Patricia L. Bounds* and Chi V. Dang‡ Abstract | Otto Warburg pioneered quantitative investigations of cancer cell metabolism, as well as photosynthesis and respiration. Warburg and co-workers showed in the 1920s that, under aerobic conditions, tumour tissues metabolize approximately tenfold more glucose to lactate in a given time than normal tissues, a phenomenon known as the Warburg effect. However, this increase in aerobic glycolysis in cancer cells is often erroneously thought to occur instead of mitochondrial respiration and has been misinterpreted as evidence for damage to respiration instead of damage to the regulation of glycolysis. In fact, many cancers exhibit the Warburg effect while retaining mitochondrial respiration. We re-examine Warburg’s observations in relation to the current concepts of cancer metabolism as being intimately linked to alterations of mitochondrial DNA, oncogenes and tumour suppressors, and thus readily exploitable for cancer therapy. 6 Respiration Es ware möglich, die gesamte Geschichte der in Warburg’s work today , although his findings and The metabolic process by Biochemie … an Otto Warburgs werk aufzuzeigen. conclusions are often misinterpreted. The semantics which energy is produced in (It would be possible to illustrate the entire history of Warburg’s report that “the respiration of all cancer the presence of O through the 7 2 of biochemistry … with the work of Otto Warburg.) cells is damaged” continues to be debated, because the oxidation of organic 1 compounds (typically sugars) (Adolf F. J. Butenandt, 1970) experiments by Warburg and his co-workers, and those of contemporary investigators, indicate that such a to CO2 and H2O by glycolysis, the citric acid cycle and Otto Warburg (FIG.
    [Show full text]
  • Why Do Cancers Have High Aerobic Glycolysis?
    REVIEWS WHY DO CANCERS HAVE HIGH AEROBIC GLYCOLYSIS? Robert A. Gatenby* and Robert J. Gillies ‡ Abstract | If carcinogenesis occurs by somatic evolution, then common components of the cancer phenotype result from active selection and must, therefore, confer a significant growth advantage. A near-universal property of primary and metastatic cancers is upregulation of glycolysis, resulting in increased glucose consumption, which can be observed with clinical tumour imaging. We propose that persistent metabolism of glucose to lactate even in aerobic conditions is an adaptation to intermittent hypoxia in pre-malignant lesions. However, upregulation of glycolysis leads to microenvironmental acidosis requiring evolution to phenotypes resistant to acid-induced cell toxicity. Subsequent cell populations with upregulated glycolysis and acid resistance have a powerful growth advantage, which promotes unconstrained proliferation and invasion. The multistep process of carcinogenesis is often described reported by Warburg in the 1920s3, leading him to the as occuring by somatic evolution, because it seems for- hypothesis that cancer results from impaired mitochon- mally analogous to Darwinian processes, wherein pheno- drial metabolism. Although the ‘Warburg hypothesis’ typic properties are retained or lost depending on their has proven incorrect, the experimental observations of contribution to individual fitness. According to this increased glycolysis in tumours even in the presence of model, traits that are found in invasive cancers must arise oxygen have been repeatedly verified4. as adaptive mechanisms to environmental proliferative Following Warburg’s initial observation, interest in constraints during carcinogenesis1.Conversely, the com- the metabolic property of cancers has varied over time. mon appearance of a phenotypic property in cancer pop- Intense investigation in the 1960s was followed by a ulations is presumptive evidence that it must confer a steep decline concomitant with the widespread applica- selective growth advantage.
    [Show full text]
  • Strategies for Selective Targeting of the Warburg Effect In
    STRATEGIES FOR SELECTIVE TARGETING OF THE WARBURG EFFECT IN CANCER A Dissertation Presented to the Faculty of the Graduate School of Cornell University In Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy by Maria Volpe Liberti December 2018 © 2018 Maria Volpe Liberti STRATEGIES FOR SELECTIVE TARGETING OF THE WARBURG EFFECT IN CANCER Maria Volpe Liberti, Ph.D. Cornell University 2018 Cancer cells undergo numerous adaptive processes to sustain rapid growth and survival. One notable mechanism is by rewiring their metabolism, most prominently through a phenomenon known as the Warburg Effect (WE). The WE is defined as an increase in glucose consumption and lactate secretion in the presence or absence of oxygen. Although the WE has been extensively studied, efforts to therapeutically target it have been largely unsuccessful due to the lack of obvious metabolic biomarkers and difficulties achieving full enzyme inhibition without inducing toxicity in normal tissue . Although targeted cancer therapies that use genetics have been successful, principles for selectively targeting tumor metabolism that also depend on environmental factors remain unknown. This limitation prompted the investigation to determine whether differential control in metabolism can be exploited for therapy. In this dissertation, I first determined whether therapeutic targeting of glyceraldehyde-3-phosphate dehydrogenase (GAPDH), an enzyme that differentially regulates the Warburg Effect in cancer, can result in anti-tumor efficacy. Using comparative metabolomics, integrated pharmacogenomics, and systems biology, I found that koningic acid (KA), a natural product produced by the Trichoderma species, is a highly specific inhibitor of GAPDH. Notably, I determined that the quantitative extent of the Warburg Effect predicts response to KA in both cancer cells and tumors.
    [Show full text]