Fatty Acid Synthesis and Mitochondrial Beta-Oxidation in Cancer

Dear Colleagues,

Metabolic reprogramming is an effective way for cancer cells to reorganize their metabolic pathways and effectively use all available resources for their high energy demand. Hybrid phenotypes allow cancer cells to utilize multiple fuels for energy and maintain moderate reactive oxygen species (ROS) signaling. Aggressively metastatic cancer cells and tumor-initiating cancer stem cells can acquire a stable ‘hybrid metabolic phenotype’ with high glycolytic and oxidative phosphorylation (OXPHOS) activity. While several proto-oncogenes and tumor suppressors are actively involved in regulating metabolism, mitochondrial metabolism is also known to regulate the activation of oncoproteins by transcriptional and post-translational regulations. Since mitochondria have energy sources other than glucose, such as fatty acid and glutamine, metabolic reprogramming allows cancer cells to utilize such alternative pathways as energy sources. Recently, several aggressive cancer models have been reported to have high energy dependency on mitochondrial fatty acid beta-oxidation (FAO). Similarly, the cellular fatty acid synthesis pathway critically contributes to tumor development and progression. A further understanding of the mechanism and significance of fatty acid synthesis and FAO in cancer development, progression, and therapy is significant in metabolically targeting cancer and repurposing existing metabolism-targeting drugs in cancer therapy.

Dr. Benny Abraham Kaipparettu
Guest Editor

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