Tolerance of cancer cells against amino acids deprivation in tumour microenvironments

Abstract

New approaches for treating cancers are required and advances in 'omics' technologies including genomics, epigenomics, transcriptomics could provide valuable treatment options. Associate Professor Tsuyoshi Osawa, Research Center for Advanced Science and Technology (RCAST), University of Tokyo, believes that integrative techniques are essential in combating cancer. Osawa's lab is utilising a pioneering approach called nutriomics that involves applying multiple omics technologies to cancer biology. These omics approaches can be used to generate detailed genetic and molecular profiles of whole tumours, allowing researchers to discover important information about the tumour cells. In addition, they provide an opportunity to explore the healthy cells surrounding the tumour, thereby establishing a picture of the interactions between the tumour and the microenvironment in which it exists, which is important information that could be exploited for treatments methods. Using the omics approach, the researchers have been able to identify and describe the functions of the metabolites contributing to the malignant progression of cancer cells. They found that hypoxia, nutrient starvation and acidic pH all induce tumour aggressiveness by epigenetic regulation. Osawa and the team now want to identify further cancer metabolites that lead to malignancy and, ultimately, develop therapeutics for metastasis and recurrent advanced cancer from the viewpoint of an integrative multiomics approach.