Open AccessThe Crucial Roles of Intermediate Metabolites in Cancer
Author(s) -
Sisi Huang,
Zhiqin Wang,
Liang Zhao
Publication year - 2021
Publication title -
cancer management and research
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.024
H-Index - 40
ISSN - 1179-1322
DOI - 10.2147/cmar.s321433
Subject(s) - metabolic pathway , signal transduction , epigenetics , biology , pentose phosphate pathway , citric acid cycle , biochemistry , glutamine , metabolism , cancer cell , microbiology and biotechnology , ketogenesis , glycolysis , cancer , amino acid , ketone bodies , genetics , gene
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.