The interplay of the circadian clock and metabolic tumorigenesis

Zheng Wang; Leina Ma; Ying Meng; Jing Fang; Daqian Xu; Zhimin Lu

doi:10.1016/j.tcb.2023.11.004

The interplay of the circadian clock and metabolic tumorigenesis

Trends Cell Biol. 2023 Dec 6:S0962-8924(23)00237-4. doi: 10.1016/j.tcb.2023.11.004. Online ahead of print.

Authors

Zheng Wang¹, Leina Ma², Ying Meng¹, Jing Fang³, Daqian Xu⁴, Zhimin Lu⁵

Affiliations

¹ Zhejiang Provincial Key Laboratory of Pancreatic Disease, The First Affiliated Hospital, Institute of Translational Medicine, Zhejiang University School of Medicine, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, Zhejiang 310029, China; Cancer Center, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, Zhejiang 310029, China.
² Department of Oncology, The Affiliated Hospital of Qingdao University and Qingdao Cancer Institute, Qingdao, Shandong 266003, China.
³ Department of Oncology, The Affiliated Hospital of Qingdao University and Qingdao Cancer Institute, Qingdao, Shandong 266003, China. Electronic address: jfang@qdu.edu.cn.
⁴ Zhejiang Provincial Key Laboratory of Pancreatic Disease, The First Affiliated Hospital, Institute of Translational Medicine, Zhejiang University School of Medicine, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, Zhejiang 310029, China; Cancer Center, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, Zhejiang 310029, China. Electronic address: xudaqian@zju.edu.cn.
⁵ Zhejiang Provincial Key Laboratory of Pancreatic Disease, The First Affiliated Hospital, Institute of Translational Medicine, Zhejiang University School of Medicine, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, Zhejiang 310029, China; Cancer Center, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, Zhejiang 310029, China. Electronic address: zhiminlu@zju.edu.cn.

PMID: 38061936
DOI: 10.1016/j.tcb.2023.11.004

Abstract

The circadian clock and cell metabolism are both dysregulated in cancer cells through intrinsic cell-autonomous mechanisms and external influences from the tumor microenvironment. The intricate interplay between the circadian clock and cancer cell metabolism exerts control over various metabolic processes, including aerobic glycolysis, de novo nucleotide synthesis, glutamine and protein metabolism, lipid metabolism, mitochondrial metabolism, and redox homeostasis in cancer cells. Importantly, oncogenic signaling can confer a moonlighting function on core clock genes, effectively reshaping cellular metabolism to fuel cancer cell proliferation and drive tumor growth. These interwoven regulatory mechanisms constitute a distinctive feature of cancer cell metabolism.

Keywords: cancer metabolism; dysregulated circadian clock; moonlighting function.

Publication types

Review