A key characteristic of cancer cells is the ability to switch from a predominantly oxidative metabolism to glycolysis and the production of lactate even when oxygen is plentiful. This metabolic switch, known as the Warburg effect, was first described in the 1920s, and has fascinated and puzzled researchers ever since. However, a dramatic increase in glycolysis in the presence of oxygen is one o...

The Warburg effect is a well-known feature of cancer cells. However, its' functional significance hasn't been elucidated yet. Pyruvate kinase muscle (PKM), which is a rate-limiting glycolytic enzyme, has 2 isoforms, PKM1 and PKM2. It has been reported that PKM2 is a tumor-specific isoform and promotes the Warburg effect. Also, it has been thought that tumor cells switch their PKM isoform from P...

A key aberrant biological difference between tumor cells and normal differentiated cells is altered metabolism, whereby cancer cells acquire a number of stable genetic and epigenetic alterations to retain proliferation, survive under unfavorable microenvironments and invade into surrounding tissues. A classic biochemical adaptation is the metabolic shift to aerobic glycolysis rather than mitoch...

Our previous study demonstrated that 5-aminolevulinic acid (ALA) administered to mice stimulates oxidative phosphorylation by upregulation of the mitochondrial respiratory chain complex IV enzyme cytochrome c oxidase (COX). The present study investigated whether ALA disrupts the Warburg effect, which represents a shift in ATP generation from oxidative phosphorylation to glycolysis, protecting t...

Herein, we use lessons learned in exercise physiology and metabolism to propose that augmented lactate production ('lactagenesis'), initiated by gene mutations, is the reason and purpose of the Warburg Effect and that dysregulated lactate metabolism and signaling are the key elements in carcinogenesis. Lactate-producing ('lactagenic') cancer cells are characterized by increased aerobic glycolys...

Inflammatory immune cells, when activated, display much the same metabolic profile as a glycolytic tumor cell. This involves a shift in metabolism away from oxidative phosphorylation towards aerobic glycolysis, a phenomenon known as the Warburg effect. The result of this change in macrophages is to rapidly provide ATP and metabolic intermediates for the biosynthesis of immune and inflammatory p...

Hypoxic tumor microenvironment (HTM) is considered to promote metabolic changes, oncogene activation and epithelial mesenchymal transition, and resistance to chemo- and radio-therapy, all of which are hallmarks of aggressive tumor behavior. Cancer cells within the HTM acquire phenotypic properties that allow them to overcome the lack of energy and nutrients supply within this niche. These pheno...

Colorectal cancer is the second leading killer cancer worldwide and presently the most common cancer among males in Singapore. The study aimed to detect changes of protein profiles associated with the process of colorectal tumorigenesis to identify specific protein markers for early colorectal cancer detection and diagnosis or as potential therapeutic targets. Seven pairs of colorectal cancer t...