Glucose-induced CRL4COP1-p53 axis amplifies glycometabolism to drive tumorigenesis
- Journal:
- Molecular Cell
- Published:
- DOI:
- 10.1016/j.molcel.2023.06.010
- Affiliations:
- 10
- Authors:
- 24
Research Highlight
Why cancer cells need a sugar fix
© Maskot/Getty
New light has been shed on the link between diabetes and cancer by the discovery of a cancer-promoting biochemical pathway involving glucose.
People with diabetes are more likely to get certain kinds of cancer. This is thought to be linked to the fact that, unlike normal cells, cancer cells generate much of their energy by breaking down glucose even when oxygen is plentiful.
Despite this effect being known for a century, there are still many unknowns surrounding it. In particular, it is not known how it occurs when the cells in a tumour exhibit great variation.
Now, a team led by researchers from SUSTech in Shenzhen, China, has discovered that cancer cells reprogram a pathway that senses glucose. This sets up a vicious cycle that causes the metabolism of glucose to increase.
This discovery could lead to new drug targets for cancers driven by this process.
References
- Molecular Cell 83, 2316–2331 (2023). doi: 10.1016/j.molcel.2023.06.010