Associate Professor Hozumi Motohashi at Center for Radioisotope Sciences, Tohoku University Graduate School of Medicine, Dr. Yoichiro Mitsuishi, Assistant Professor Keiko Taguchi, and Professor Masayuki Yamamoto at Division of Medical Biochemistry, Tohoku University Graduate School of Medicine, Professor Hiroyuki Aburatani at Research Center for Advanced Science and Technology, University of Tokyo, and Division Leader Tatsuhiro Shibata at the National Cancer Center have jointly discovered the metabolic control mechanism that drives the malignant evolution of cancer cells. A transcription factor Nrf2, which plays a key role in the oxidative stress response in normal cells, alters metabolism of glucose and glutamine, activates anabolism and promotes cell proliferation. Cancer cells need to synthesize large quantities of proteins, lipids and nucleic acids to achieve aggressive proliferation. An increasing attention has been paid to metabolic activities that are unique to cancer cells for the development of effective anti-cancer drugs. This discovery provides an important clue to the metabolic control mechanism underlying the aggressive proliferation of cancer cells. This research result has been published in the July 10th issue of the American scientific magazine Cancer Cell. The paper's title is "Nrf2 Redirects Glucose and Glutamine into Anabolic Pathways in Metabolic Reprogramming."

More information (Japanese)

[Contact]

(About the research)

Associate Professor Hozumi Motohashi

Center for Radioisotope Sciences,

Tohoku University Graduate School of Medicine

TEL: +81-22-717-8088

E-mail: hozumim*med.tohoku.ac.jp (Replace * with @)

(Public Relations)

Associate professor Fuji Nagami

Public Relations Office of Tohoku University Graduate School of Medicine

TEL: +81-22-717-7908

FAX: +81-22-717-8187

E-mail: f-nagami*med.tohoku.ac.jp (Replace * with @)

Public Relations Office

Research Center for Advanced Science and Technology, University of Tokyo

TEL: +81-3-5452-5137

E-mail: press*rcast.u-tokyo.ac.jp (Replace * with @)

Public Relations Office, National Cancer Center

TEL: +81-3-3542-2511

FAX: +81-3-3542-2545

E-mail: ncc-admin*ncc.go.jp (Replace * with @)