Cancer Management and Research (Aug 2021)
The Crucial Roles of Intermediate Metabolites in Cancer
Abstract
Sisi Huang,1 Zhiqin Wang,2,3 Liang Zhao4 1Hengyang School of Medicine, University of South China, Hengyang, Hunan, 421001, People’s Republic of China; 2Department of Geriatric Neurology, Xiangya Hospital, Central South University, Changsha, Hunan, 410008, People’s Republic of China; 3National Clinical Research Center for Geriatric Disorders, Xiangya Hospital, Central South University, Changsha, Hunan, 410008, People’s Republic of China; 4Department of Hematology, Xiangya Hospital, Central South University, Changsha, Hunan, 410008, People’s Republic of ChinaCorrespondence: Zhiqin WangDepartment of Geriatric Neurology, Xiangya Hospital, Central South University, 87 Xiangya Road, Changsha, Hunan, 410008, People’s Republic of ChinaTel +86-731-89753752Email [email protected] ZhaoDepartment of Hematology, Xiangya Hospital, Central South University, 87 Xiangya Road, Changsha, Hunan, 410008, People’s Republic of ChinaTel +86-731-89753730Fax +86-731-84327497Email [email protected]: Metabolic alteration, one of the hallmarks of cancer cells, is important for cancer initiation and development. To support their rapid growth, cancer cells alter their metabolism so as to obtain the necessary energy and building blocks for biosynthetic pathways, as well as to adjust their redox balance. Once thought to be merely byproducts of metabolic pathways, intermediate metabolites are now known to mediate epigenetic modifications and protein post-transcriptional modifications (PTM), as well as connect cellular metabolism with signal transduction. Consequently, they can affect a myriad of processes, including proliferation, apoptosis, and immunity. In this review, we summarize multiple representative metabolites involved in glycolysis, the pentose phosphate pathway (PPP), the tricarboxylic acid (TCA) cycle, lipid synthesis, ketogenesis, methionine metabolism, glutamine metabolism, and tryptophan metabolism, focusing on their roles in chromatin and protein modifications and as signal-transducing messengers.Keywords: oncometabolites, extra-metabolic functions, epigenetic modification, signaling transduction, post-transcriptional modifications
