From Electrons to Cancer : Redox Shift as a Driving Force of Tumorigenesis
Résumé
Cancer cells are very diverse but mostly share a common metabolic property: they are strongly glycolytic even though oxygen is available. Herein, the metabolic abnormalities of cancer cells are interpreted as modifications of the electric currents in redox reactions. A lower current in the electron transport chain, an increase of the concentration of reduced cofactors and a partial reversal of the tricarboxylic acid cycle are physical characteristics of several forms of cancer. The existence of electric short-circuits between oxidative branches and reductive branches of the metabolic network argue in favor of an electronic approach of cancer in the nanoscopic scale. These changes of electron flows induce a pseudo-hypoxia and the Warburg effect through succinate production and divert electrons from oxygen to biosynthetic pathways. This new look at cancer may have potential therapeutic applications.
Domaines
Biologie moléculaire| Origine | Fichiers éditeurs autorisés sur une archive ouverte |
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