Breast cancers utilize hypoxic glycogen stores via PYGB, the brain isoform of glycogen phosphorylase, to promote metastatic phenotypes.

ABSTRACT: In breast cancer, tumor hypoxia has been linked to poor prognosis and increased metastasis. Hypoxia activates transcriptional programs in cancer cells that lead to increased motility and invasion, as well as various metabolic changes. One of these metabolic changes, an increase in glycogen metabolism, has been further associated with protection from reactive oxygen species damage that may lead to premature senescence. Here we report that breast cancer cells significantly increase glycogen stores in response to hypoxia. We found that knockdown of the brain isoform of an enzyme that catalyzes glycogen breakdown, glycogen phosphorylase B (PYGB), but not the liver isoform, PYGL, inhibited glycogen utilization in estrogen receptor negative and positive breast cancer cells; whereas both independ

SUBMITTER: Altemus MA 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6752868 | biostudies-literature | 2019

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature