Chapter 6 - microRNAs and metabolism

Abstract

Cancer cells reprogram their metabolic circuits to proliferate even in hostile microenvironments. Cancer cells are known to exhibit a higher rate of glucose metabolism than normal somatic cells. In addition, most cancer cells exhibit a high rate of glycolysis with lactic acid production, rather than pyruvate oxidation in the mitochondria, as usually occurs in normal cells. This phenomenon, known as the Warburg effect, has generated interest in understanding the role of glucose metabolism in tumor biology and in the possible recognition of potential therapeutic targets. There are various molecular pathways involved in the metabolic reprogramming and glycolytic dependence of cancer cells. In this chapter, we will describe the regulatory role played by noncoding RNAs (ncRNAs), in particular microRNAs, in glucose metabolism, thus suggesting how they could be used to influence the metabolic reprogramming process of tumor cells for therapeutic purposes.