Metabolic Reprogramming in Cancer: Non-Coding RNAs as Regulators and Biomarkers
A special issue of International Journal of Molecular Sciences (ISSN 1422-0067). This special issue belongs to the section "Molecular Biology".
Deadline for manuscript submissions: 30 September 2026 | Viewed by 229
Editor
Interests: drug development; small-molecule inhibitors; miRNAs; antimicrobial compounds
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Special Issue Information
Dear Colleagues,
Cancer cells undergo significant metabolic reprogramming to support rapid growth, survival, and adaptation to the tumor microenvironment. One well-known example is the Warburg effect, where cancer cells prefer aerobic glycolysis over oxidative phosphorylation even when oxygen is available. This metabolic shift results from the deregulation of key enzymes and signaling pathways that change cellular metabolism to promote tumor growth, metastasis, and therapy resistance. In recent years, non-coding RNAs (ncRNAs), including microRNAs, long non-coding RNAs, and circular RNAs, have become crucial regulators of cancer metabolism. These molecules influence the expression and activity of enzymes and pathways involved in glycolysis, the tricarboxylic acid cycle, lipid metabolism, and redox balance, thus enabling metabolic flexibility in tumor cells. This Special Issue highlights recent advances in understanding how ncRNAs control metabolic reprogramming in cancer and how these networks can be used for diagnosis and treatment. Particular focus will be on ncRNA regulation of metabolic enzymes and pathways, along with identifying circulating ncRNAs associated with cancer metabolism that could serve as minimally invasive biomarkers. Additionally, combining molecular biology, multi-omics data, and AI-driven analysis is increasingly helping to uncover new regulatory networks and metabolic biomarkers in cancer. This Special Issue invites original research articles and reviews exploring the molecular links between ncRNAs and metabolic reprogramming, as well as studies translating these insights into better cancer diagnostics, prognosis, and therapies.
- Molecular mechanisms of metabolic reprogramming in cancer, including the Warburg effect;
- Regulation of cancer metabolism by microRNAs, long non‑coding RNAs, and circular RNAs;
- NcRNA‑mediated control of metabolic enzymes and signaling pathways;
- Roles of ncRNAs in glycolysis, TCA cycle activity, lipid metabolism, and redox homeostasis;
- Circulating ncRNAs associated with cancer metabolism as minimally invasive biomarkers;
- Liquid biopsy approaches for detecting metabolism‑related ncRNA signatures;
- Crosstalk between ncRNAs, metabolic pathways, and the tumor microenvironment;
- NcRNA‑driven metabolic adaptation linked to metastasis and therapy resistance;
- Multi‑omics approaches integrating transcriptomics, metabolomics, and epigenomics to map ncRNA–metabolism networks;
- Artificial intelligence and machine learning strategies for identifying ncRNA–metabolism regulatory circuits and novel metabolic biomarkers;
- Therapeutic targeting of ncRNA–metabolism interactions.
Prof. Dr. Christos Papaneophytou
Guest Editor
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Keywords
- metabolic enzymes
- circulating biomarkers
- non-coding RNAs
- circulating free DNA
- liquid biopsy
- metabolic reprogramming
- artificial intelligence
- biomarker discovery
- precision medicine
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