Nutrient-deprived cancer cells preferentially use sialic acid to maintain cell surface glycosylation.

ABSTRACT: Cancer is characterized by abnormal energy metabolism shaped by nutrient deprivation that malignant cells experience during various stages of tumor development. This study investigated the response of nutrient-deprived cancer cells and their non-malignant counterparts to sialic acid supplementation and found that cells utilize negligible amounts of this sugar for energy. Instead cells use sialic acid to maintain cell surface glycosylation through complementary mechanisms. First, levels of key metabolites (e.g., UDP-GlcNAc and CMP-Neu5Ac) required for glycan biosynthesis are maintained or enhanced upon Neu5Ac supplementation. In concert, sialyltransferase expression increased at both the mRNA and protein levels, which facilitated increased sialylation in biochemical assays that measure sial

SUBMITTER: Badr HA 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4658327 | biostudies-literature | 2015 Nov

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature