The Warburg effect is the well-known observation that cancer cells tend to favor fermentation of sugar over respiration. While the effect has been extensively observed, why this occurs has remained unclear. Scientists have now clarified how this effect stimulates tumor growth and published their results in Nature Communications. These findings point to a correlation between sugar and cancer and could have applications in creating tailor-made diets for cancer patients.
The team used yeast cells for their research as they contain the same ‘Ras’ protein commonly found in tumor cells. Their observations in yeast showed that sugar degradation is linked through the intermediate fructose 1,6-biophosphate to the activation of Ras protein which stimulates cancer and yeast cell multiplication.
This indicates that the Warburg effect creates a looped effect, whereby rapid fermentation creates heightened activation of Ras leading to more aggressive tumors.
The researchers note that the use of yeast cells in this study provided an advantage as they did not have to take additional regulatory mechanisms of mammalian cells into account, allowing them to pinpoint a precise mechanism. However, further research is necessary to identify the primary cause of the Warburg effect and find out if this cause is conserved in yeast cells.