Cancer Biochemistry

Increase in glucose relative to the cells around it. As the glucose goes through glycolysis, instead of going through the CAC, it ferments glucose to lactate under aerobic conditions.

• Pro:
• There is an increase in ATP dependent ion pumps

• Con:
• There is actually less ATP requirements in a proliferating cell in comparison to a regular cell

• Pro:
• -There has been observed increase in serine production from 3-PG (3-phosphoglycerate)
• -It has revealed that formation of serine from Gly increase N5,N10 methylene THF. This is important for synthesis of deoxynucleotides
• -Maybe cancer needs in energy in form of reducing power
• -Biosynthesis of NADPH from ribose-5-phosphate

• Con:
• -Most of the carbon ends up in lactate
• -There is a very little change in the number of mitochondria
• -Increasing glycolysis enzymes is inefficient
• -Cell is already extremely packed

• Pro:
• -Lactate export decreases surrounding pH
• -Decreasing pH increases invasiveness
• -Increased glucose uptake in cancer can starve surrounding cells

• Con:
• -Warburg effect in cells is turned on very early, not when cells become invasive
• -Unicellular yeast prefers aerobic glycolysis and they are not cancer

Less mitochondrial use, means that the electron transport chain utilization is lowered resulting in fewer oxygen species

Cell life damaged less frequently because oxygen radicals are very damaging