Brick by brick: metabolism and tumor cell growth

Ralph J. DeBerardinis, Nabil Sayed, Dara Ditsworth, Craig B. Thompson

Research output: Contribution to journalReview articlepeer-review

831 Scopus citations

Abstract

Tumor cells display increased metabolic autonomy in comparison to non-transformed cells, taking up nutrients and metabolizing them in pathways that support growth and proliferation. Classical work in tumor cell metabolism focused on bioenergetics, particularly enhanced glycolysis and suppressed oxidative phosphorylation (the 'Warburg effect'). But the biosynthetic activities required to create daughter cells are equally important for tumor growth, and recent studies are now bringing these pathways into focus. In this review, we discuss how tumor cells achieve high rates of nucleotide and fatty acid synthesis, how oncogenes and tumor suppressors influence these activities, and how glutamine metabolism enables macromolecular synthesis in proliferating cells.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Pages (from-to)54-61
Number of pages8
JournalCurrent Opinion in Genetics and Development
Volume18
Issue number1
DOIs
StatePublished - Feb 2008

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Genetics
  • Developmental Biology

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