Some Cancer Cells are Dependent on Sugar, New Study Finds
Sugar is touted as the main culprit behind many types of diseases. And cancer is one of them. In a new study carried out by scientists at The University of Texas in Dallas, it was found that a specific type of cancer cell – squamous cell carcinoma – is more dependent on sugar than the rest.
For the study, researchers studied the differences between two major subtypes of non-small cell lung cancer—adenocarcinoma (ADC) and squamous cell carcinoma (SqCC). About one quarter of all lung cancers are SqCC, which has been difficult to treat with targeted therapies.
Their investigation involved 33 types of cancer gathered from more than 11,000 patients, data of which were taken from the large government database The Cancer Genome Atlas.
The research team found that a protein responsible for transporting glucose—a kind of sugar—into cells was present in significantly higher levels in lung SqCC than in lung ADC. The protein, called glucose transporter 1, or GLUT1, takes up glucose into cells, where the sugar provides a fundamental energy source and fuels cell metabolism. GLUT1 is also necessary for normal cell function, such as building cell membranes.
"Prior to this study, it was thought that the metabolic signatures of these two types of lung cancers would be similar, but we realized that they are very different," said Dr Jung-whan "Jay" Kim, senior author of the study and an assistant professor of biological sciences in the university.
"We looked at this from several different experimental angles, and consistently, GLUT1 was highly active in the squamous subtype of cancer. Adenocarcinoma is much less dependent on sugar," He added that their study is the first to show systematically that the metabolism of these two subtypes are indeed distinct and unique.
"These are very different organs and tissues in the body, but somehow squamous cell cancers have a very similar commonality in terms of glucose uptake," Kim said. "This type of cancer clearly consumes a lot of sugar. One of our next steps is to look at why this is the case."
"Excessive sugar consumption is not only a problem that can lead to complications like diabetes, but also, based on our studies and others, the evidence is mounting that some cancers are also highly dependent on sugar. We’d like to know from a scientific standpoint whether we might be able to affect cancer progression with dietary changes."
The new findings were published in the Nature Communications journal.
Source of this article:
The distinct metabolic phenotype of lung squamous cell carcinoma defines selective vulnerability to glycolytic inhibition
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