• Title/Summary/Keyword: Metabolism.

Search Result 7,298, Processing Time 0.034 seconds

Malonate Metabolism: Biochemistry, Molecular Biology, Physiology, and Industrial Application

  • Kim, Yu-Sam
    • BMB Reports
    • /
    • v.35 no.5
    • /
    • pp.443-451
    • /
    • 2002
  • Malonate is a three-carbon dicarboxylic acid. It is well known as a competitive inhibitor of succinate dehydrogenase. It occurs naturally in biological systems, such as legumes and developing rat brains, which indicates that it may play an important role in symbiotic nitrogen metabolism and brain development. Recently, enzymes that are related to malonate metabolism were discovered and characterized. The genes that encode the enzymes were isolated, and the regulation of their expression was also studied. The mutant bacteria, in which the malonate-metabolizing gene was deleted, lost its primary function, symbiosis, between Rhizobium leguminosarium bv trifolii and clover. This suggests that malonate metabolism is essential in symbiotic nitrogen metabolism, at least in clover nodules. In addition to these, the genes matB and matC have been successfully used for generation of the industrial strain of Streptomyces for the production of antibiotics.

Cancer Metabolism: Strategic Diversion from Targeting Cancer Drivers to Targeting Cancer Suppliers

  • Kim, Soo-Youl
    • Biomolecules & Therapeutics
    • /
    • v.23 no.2
    • /
    • pp.99-109
    • /
    • 2015
  • Drug development groups are close to discovering another pot of gold-a therapeutic target-similar to the success of imatinib (Gleevec) in the field of cancer biology. Modern molecular biology has improved cancer therapy through the identification of more pharmaceutically viable targets, and yet major problems and risks associated with late-phase cancer therapy remain. Presently, a growing number of reports have initiated a discussion about the benefits of metabolic regulation in cancers. The Warburg effect, a great discovery approximately 70 years ago, addresses the "universality" of cancer characteristics. For instance, most cancer cells prefer aerobic glycolysis instead of mitochondrial respiration. Recently, cancer metabolism has been explained not only by metabolites but also through modern molecular and chemical biological techniques. Scientists are seeking context-dependent universality among cancer types according to metabolic and enzymatic pathway signatures. This review presents current cancer metabolism studies and discusses future directions in cancer therapy targeting bio-energetics, bio-anabolism, and autophagy, emphasizing the important contribution of cancer metabolism in cancer therapy.

Effects of Chitosan Treated with Enzymatic Methods on Glucose and Lipid Metabolism in Rats (키토산의 효소분해물질이 흰쥐의 당 및 지방대사에 미치는 영향)

  • 이종미;조우균;박혜진
    • Journal of Nutrition and Health
    • /
    • v.31 no.7
    • /
    • pp.1112-1120
    • /
    • 1998
  • This study was conducted to investigate the effets of chitosan and beef tallow at different level on glucose and lipid metabolism in rats. Dietary fot level was 20% and 40%, and chitosan was given at levels of 0%, 3%, and 5%(wt/wt) of diet. Chitosan supplement tended to decrease the serum total lipids, total cholesterol, and triglycerides. HDL cholesterol and HDL cholesterol : total cholesterol ratio tended to increase with 5% chitosan supplementation. LDL cholesterol and VLDL triglyceride tended to decrease with chitosan supplementation. Lipid concentration of liver and epididymal fat pad(EEP) tended to decrease with medium dietary fat and chitosan treatment. fecal excretion of total lipid and triglyceride exhibited a tendency to increase with high fat levels and chitosan. Length of small intestine and gastrointestinal transit time were not affected by dietary fit levels or chitosan supplements. Therefore, it could be suggested that chitosan supplement had beneficial effects on lipid metabolism. (Korean J Nutrition 31(7) : 1112-1120, 1998)

  • PDF

The Role of Autophagy in Systemic Metabolism and Human-Type Diabetes

  • Kim, Jinyoung;Lim, Yu-Mi;Lee, Myung-Shik
    • Molecules and Cells
    • /
    • v.41 no.1
    • /
    • pp.11-17
    • /
    • 2018
  • Autophagy is critical for the maintenance of organelle function and intracellular nutrient environment. Autophagy is also involved in systemic metabolic homeostasis, and its dysregulation can lead to or accelerate the development of metabolic disorders. While the role of autophagy in the global metabolism of model organisms has been investigated mostly using site-specific genetic knockout technology, the impact of dysregulated autophagy on systemic metabolism has been unclear. Here, we review recent papers showing the role of autophagy in systemic metabolism and in the development of metabolic disorders. Also included are data suggesting the role of autophagy in human-type diabetes, which are different in several key aspects from murine models of diabetes. The results shown here support the view that autophagy modulation could be a new modality for the treatment of metabolic syndrome associated with lipid overload and human-type diabetes.

Targeting Glutamine Metabolism for Cancer Treatment

  • Choi, Yeon-Kyung;Park, Keun-Gyu
    • Biomolecules & Therapeutics
    • /
    • v.26 no.1
    • /
    • pp.19-28
    • /
    • 2018
  • Rapidly proliferating cancer cells require energy and cellular building blocks for their growth and ability to maintain redox balance. Many studies have focused on understanding how cancer cells adapt their nutrient metabolism to meet the high demand of anabolism required for proliferation and maintaining redox balance. Glutamine, the most abundant amino acid in plasma, is a well-known nutrient used by cancer cells to increase proliferation as well as survival under metabolic stress conditions. In this review, we provide an overview of the role of glutamine metabolism in cancer cell survival and growth and highlight the mechanisms by which glutamine metabolism affects cancer cell signaling. Furthermore, we summarize the potential therapeutic approaches of targeting glutamine metabolism for the treatment of numerous types of cancer.

Metabolic Signaling to Epigenetic Alterations in Cancer

  • Kim, Jung-Ae;Yeom, Young Il
    • Biomolecules & Therapeutics
    • /
    • v.26 no.1
    • /
    • pp.69-80
    • /
    • 2018
  • Cancer cells reprogram cellular metabolism to support the malignant features of tumors, such as rapid growth and proliferation. The cancer promoting effects of metabolic reprogramming are found in many aspects: generating additional energy, providing more anabolic molecules for biosynthesis, and rebalancing cellular redox states in cancer cells. Metabolic pathways are considered the pipelines to supply metabolic cofactors of epigenetic modifiers. In this regard, cancer metabolism, whereby cellular metabolite levels are greatly altered compared to normal levels, is closely associated with cancer epigenetics, which is implicated in many stages of tumorigenesis. In this review, we provide an overview of cancer metabolism and its involvement in epigenetic modifications and suggest that the metabolic adaptation leading to epigenetic changes in cancer cells is an important non-genetic factor for tumor progression, which cooperates with genetic causes. Understanding the interaction of metabolic reprogramming with epigenetics in cancers may help to develop novel or highly improved therapeutic strategies that target cancer metabolism.