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Inhibition of Glycogen Metabolism as a Potential Strategy for Anticancer Therapy
Author(s) -
Dukhande Vikas V,
Barot Shrikant,
Husein Suemaya,
Palaguachi Christian
Publication year - 2017
Publication title -
the faseb journal
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.709
H-Index - 277
eISSN - 1530-6860
pISSN - 0892-6638
DOI - 10.1096/fasebj.31.1_supplement.942.10
Subject(s) - glycogen , cancer cell , autophagy , cancer , cancer research , warburg effect , anaerobic glycolysis , biology , programmed cell death , glycolysis , carcinogenesis , metastasis , microbiology and biotechnology , apoptosis , chemistry , metabolism , biochemistry , genetics
Cancer cells reprogram their energy metabolism to suit their growth and proliferation needs. Cancer cells upregulate glycolysis even in the presence of oxygen, a phenomenon termed Warburg effect. Glycolysis thus emerged as a promising target to kill cancer cells. Glycogen, a storage cache of glucose in the cell, could fuel the metabolic reprogramming in cancer cells. However, little is known about glycogen metabolism and its contributions to carcinogenesis, cancer growth, and metastasis. We aim to inhibit glycogen metabolism to arrest the growth of cancer cells and want to study molecular mechanisms of glycogen inhibition‐induced cancer cell death. We studied cell viability, apoptosis markers, autophagy markers, and cellular metabolism after glycogen metabolic inhibition using pharmacological agents in hepatoma and glioblastoma cells. Our results indicate that inhibition of glycogen metabolism induces cancer cell death and enhances the effects of anticancer drugs. Our ongoing studies will investigate the roles of apoptotic and autophagic processes in cancer cell death by glycogen metabolic inhibition. Our study is highly relevant for the understanding of the metabolic reprogramming in cancer cells and can elucidate potential targets for anticancer drugs. Support or Funding Information Supported by startup funds from the Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences, College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences, St. John's University to Vikas Dukhande.