Dynamic Quantification of Cancer Cell Metabolism Using Live-Cell Analysis

Rewiring of core metabolic pathways is fundamental for the survival and dysregulated proliferation of cancer cells within the hostile tumor microenvironment. To fuel their growth throughout the body, cancer cells employ metabolic adaptions to meet their increased bioenergetic, biosynthetic, and redox needs.

Given the role of metabolism in drug resistance, there is an increasing need to better understand vulnerabilities to drive more targeted treatment strategies. Furthermore, assessing mitochondrial activity is important not only for elucidating cancer cell dynamics, but also due to its implication in the etiology of drug-induced toxicity.

Traditional approaches for assessing metabolic perturbations rely heavily on end-point assays that provide limited kinetic information, require secondary normalization, and are unable to provide cell- or population-specific data in complex cancer cell models. Live-cell analysis therefore speaks to the need for a practical, consistent, and physiologically relevant method to assess dynamic cell changes in translational models.