Redox and Metabolic Profile of Cancer

Dear Colleagues,

Life is a unity of opposites, and so is the case with aerobic organisms and their evolutionary expansion. With the presence of oxygen, organisms could maximally produce energy in metabolic processes, but reactive species (oxygen, nitrogen, sulfur, etc.) - which are formed as a metabolic ”by”-product, can be lethal - not only damaging major macromolecules but also potentially killing the cell. On the other hand, reactive species play a plethora of regulatory roles within cells and tissues. The evolutionarily conserved interplay between redox and cellular metabolism is strongly manifested in cancer growth.

Metabolic reprogramming of the tumor, discovered by Warburg about 100 years ago, is more relevant today than ever before. Nowadays, cancer is considered a metabolic disease, tightly coupled with redox homeostasis and characterized by an extraordinary capacity for redox-metabolic reprogramming. Metabolic reprogramming, either as a cause or a consequence of the tumorigenesis, is a hallmark characteristic of cancer from tumor initiation and progression to metastasis. Intriguingly, this metabolic switch is a feature not only of cancer cells but also of the surrounding cells in its microenvironment, which they shape together as they re-establish a new tissue homeostasis. To allow cancer growth, cancer cells have an increased need not only for energy but also for the biosynthesis of building blocks, and they generate a unique redox environment not simply to control oxidative stress but also to control the resources necessary for cancer survival.

This Special Issue, entitled “Redox and Metabolic Profile of Cancer”, invites original research and review articles to contribute to the elucidation of the molecular mechanisms of redox-metabolic reprogramming in cancer and the discovery of new therapeutic and research avenues.

Dr. Bato Korac
Guest Editor

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• cancer
• metabolism
• redox biology
• redox-metabolic reprogramming
• reactive species: oxygen, nitrogen, sulfur, etc
• cancer microenvironment
• cancer-tissue cooperation
• mitochondria