Skip to main content

Thank you for visiting nature.com. You are using a browser version with limited support for CSS. To obtain the best experience, we recommend you use a more up to date browser (or turn off compatibility mode in Internet Explorer). In the meantime, to ensure continued support, we are displaying the site without styles and JavaScript.

  • Comment
  • Published:

We need to talk about the Warburg effect

Nature Metabolism volume 2, pages 127–129 (2020)Cite this article

Subjects

We are approaching the 100th anniversary of Otto Warburg’s first description of the metabolic phenotype bearing his name—a propensity for tumours to metabolize glucose anaerobically rather than aerobically, even when oxygen is available. Generations of scientists have studied the Warburg effect, yet misconceptions persist about its causes and relationship to oxidative metabolism in the mitochondria. Here, we review the definition of the Warburg effect and discuss its place within a modern understanding of cancer biology.

This is a preview of subscription content, access via your institution

Relevant articles

Open Access articles citing this article.

Access options

Buy this article

  • Purchase on Springer Link
  • Instant access to full article PDF
Buy now

Prices may be subject to local taxes which are calculated during checkout

Fig. 1: Glycolysis and TCA-cycle metabolism supply anabolic pathways.

References

  1. Koppenol, W. H., Bounds, P. L. & Dang, C. V. Nat. Rev. Cancer 11, 325–337 (2011).

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  2. Lunt, S. Y. & Vander Heiden, M. G. Annu. Rev. Cell Dev. Biol. 27, 441–464 (2011).

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  3. Fantin, V. R., St-Pierre, J. & Leder, P. Cancer Cell 9, 425–434 (2006).

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  4. Patra, K. C. et al. Cancer Cell 24, 213–228 (2013).

    Article  CAS  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  5. Newsholme, E. A., Crabtree, B. & Ardawi, M. S. Biosci. Rep. 5, 393–400 (1985).

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  6. Chen, P. H. et al. Mol Cell 76, 838–851.e835 (2019).

    Article  CAS  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  7. Warburg, O. Science 123, 309–314 (1956).

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  8. Weinberg, F. et al. Proc Natl Acad. Sci. USA 107, 8788–8793 (2010).

    Article  CAS  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  9. Tan, A. S. et al. Cell Metab. 21, 81–94 (2015).

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  10. Ju, Y. S. et al. eLife 3, e02935 (2014).

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  11. Fan, T. W. et al. Mol. Cancer 8, 41 (2009).

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  12. Maher, E. A. et al. NMR Biomed. 25, 1234–1244 (2012).

    Article  CAS  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  13. Hensley, C. T. et al. Cell 164, 681–694 (2016).

    Article  CAS  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  14. Kernstine, K.H. et al. Ann. Thorac. Surg. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.athoracsur.2019.10.061 (2019).

  15. Momcilovic, M. et al. Nature 575, 380–384 (2019).

    Article  CAS  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  16. Sena, L. A. et al. Immunity 38, 225–236 (2013).

    Article  CAS  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  17. Ansó, E. et al. Nat. Cell Biol. 19, 614–625 (2017).

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  18. Ma, E. H. et al. Immunity 51, 856–870.e855 (2019).

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  19. Linehan, W. M. et al. Cancer Discov. 9, 1006–1021 (2019).

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  20. Shim, E. H. et al. Cancer Discov. 4, 1290–1298 (2014).

    Article  CAS  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Howard Hughes Medical Institute and Children’s Medical Center Research Institute, UT Southwestern Medical Center, Dallas, TX, USA

    Ralph J. DeBerardinis

  2. Department of Medicine, Biochemistry and Molecular Genetics, Robert H. Lurie Cancer Center, Feinberg School of Medicine, Northwestern University, Chicago, IL, USA

    Navdeep S. Chandel

Authors
  1. Ralph J. DeBerardinis
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Navdeep S. Chandel
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding authors

Correspondence to Ralph J. DeBerardinis or Navdeep S. Chandel.

Ethics declarations

Competing interests

R.J.D. is an advisor for Agios Pharmaceuticals. N.S.C. is an advisor for Rafael Pharmaceuticals.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

DeBerardinis, R.J., Chandel, N.S. We need to talk about the Warburg effect. Nat Metab 2, 127–129 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1038/s42255-020-0172-2

Download citation

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/s42255-020-0172-2

This article is cited by

Search

Advanced search

Quick links

Nature Briefing: Cancer

Sign up for the Nature Briefing: Cancer newsletter — what matters in cancer research, free to your inbox weekly.

Get what matters in cancer research, free to your inbox weekly. Sign up for Nature Briefing: Cancer