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 of the hallmarks of the development of the early mammalian embryo; a metabolic switch with many parallels to the Warburg effect of cancers. The present review provides a brief overview of this and other similarities between the metabolism in tumours and early embryos and proposes whether knowledge of early embryo metabolism can help us to understand metabolic regulation in cancer cells.
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Conference Article|
March 21 2013
Parallels between embryo and cancer cell metabolism
Danielle G. Smith;
Danielle G. Smith
*Children's Cancer Research Group, Leeds Institute of Molecular Medicine, St. James's University Hospital, Beckett Street, Leeds LS9 7TF, U.K.
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Roger G. Sturmey
Roger G. Sturmey
1
†Hull York Medical School, Centre for Cardiovascular and Metabolic Research, University of Hull, Hull HU6 7RX, U.K.
1To whom correspondence should be addressed (emailroger.sturmey@hyms.ac.uk).
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Publisher: Portland Press Ltd
Received:
December 14 2012
Online ISSN: 1470-8752
Print ISSN: 0300-5127
© The Authors Journal compilation © 2013 Biochemical Society
2013
Biochem Soc Trans (2013) 41 (2): 664–669.
Article history
Received:
December 14 2012
Citation
Danielle G. Smith, Roger G. Sturmey; Parallels between embryo and cancer cell metabolism. Biochem Soc Trans 1 April 2013; 41 (2): 664–669. doi: https://doi.org/10.1042/BST20120352
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