The metabolic process which fuels the growth of many cancers has its origins in normal brain growth finds a new study published in BioMed Central's open access journal Cancer & Metabolism. Using knock-out mice the study shows that interfering with Hexokinase-2 (Hk2), an enzyme integral to glucose metabolism, reduces the aggressiveness of medulloblastoma, the most common malignant brain tumor in children, and allows long term survival of mice.
Most cells only convert glucose to lactate in the absence of oxygen, for example, during a short burst of intensive exercise (anaerobic glycolysis). However rapidly dividing cells, including many cancer cells, convert glucose to lactate even in the presence of oxygen (aerobic glycolysis).
Researchers from the University of North Carolina have found that Hk2 switches on aerobic glycolysis in progenitor cells of the brain and in medulloblastoma. In the absence of Hk2, brain development was disordered. Additionally they found that deleting the Hk2 gene in mice genetically prone to develop medulloblastoma reduced the aggressiveness of the tumors, allowing long-term survival of the mice.
Dr. Timothy Gershon, who led this study, explained, "As long ago as 1924 Otto Warburg hypothesized that cancers use glycolysis to provide energy for growth even in the presence of oxygen. We found that glycolysis in the presence of oxygen is a developmental process that is co-opted in cancer to support malignant growth. We can now think about targeting this process in patients".
Open access publisher BioMed Central is proud to announce the launch of the Cancer & Metabolism . Professor Chi van Dang, co-Editor-in-Chief, commented that "It has become self-evident that metabolism and bioenergetics are regulated by cancer genes. Cancer & Metabolism is launched uniquely to fulfil the needs of a burgeoning field." Professor Michael Pollak, co-Editor-in-Chief, added that "The scope of Cancer & Metabolism will allow for an interdisciplinary readership including cancer biologists, endocrinologists, oncologists, clinical trialists and population scientists."
Media contact
Dr Hilary Glover
Scientific Press Officer, BioMed Central
Tel: +44 (0) 20 3192 2370
Mob: +44 (0) 778 698 1967
Email: hilary.glover@biomedcentral.com
Notes
1. Hexokinase-2-mediated aerobic glycolysis is integral to cerebellar neurogenesis and pathogenesis of medulloblastoma Timothy R Gershon, Andrew Crowther, Andrey Tikunov, Idoia Garcia, Ryan Annis, Hong Yuan, C Ryan Miller, Jeffrey Macdonald, James M Olson and Mohanish Deshmukh Cancer & Metabolism 2013 1:1 doi:10.1186/2049-3002-1-2
Please name the journal in any story you write. If you are writing for the web, please link to the article. All articles are available free of charge, according to BioMed Central's open access policy.
Article citation and URL available on request on the day of publication.
2. Cancer & Metabolism publishes studies on all aspects of the relationship between cancer and metabolism, including molecular biology and genetics of cancer metabolism; whole-body metabolism, including diabetes and obesity, in relation to cancer; metabolomics in relation to cancer; metabolism-based imaging; and preclinical and clinical studies of metabolism-related cancer therapies.
3. BioMed Central (http://www.biomedcentral.com/) is an STM (Science, Technology and Medicine) publisher which has pioneered the open access publishing model. All peer-reviewed research articles published by BioMed Central are made immediately and freely accessible online, and are licensed to allow redistribution and reuse. BioMed Central is part of Springer Science+Business Media, a leading global publisher in the STM sector. @BioMedCentral
Journal
Cancer & Metabolism