ReviewInternational journal of biological sciences2015
Targeting Tumor Metabolism for Cancer Treatment: Is Pyruvate Dehydrogenase Kinases (PDKs) a Viable Anticancer Target?
Review in International journal of biological sciences, 2015. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 74 papers.
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Who cites it
74 citing papers in PubMed, 145 citations in OpenAlex.
- Redox Homeostasis, Metabolic Pathways and Plasticity in Uveal Melanoma Compared to Other Cancers.Cancers · 2026Review
- Drugging non-canonical kinases in cancer therapeutics: Molecular targets, underlying mechanisms and small-molecule inhibitors.Acta pharmaceutica Sinica. B · 2026Review
- Targeting Metabolic Vulnerabilities Reveals Hexokinase 2 as a Key Mediator of Resistance to Osimertinib in Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer Models.ACS pharmacology & translational science · 2025Article
- ATP deficiency triggers ganoderic acids accumulation via fatty acid β-oxidation pathway in Ganoderma lucidum.Microbial cell factories · 2025Article
- Lactylation in digestive system tumors: from mechanisms to therapeutic target.Frontiers in oncology · 2025Review
- Autocrine Fibroblast Growth Factor Receptor 1 Signaling Activates Lactate Dehydrogenase A-Aerobic Glycolysis for Advanced Human Prostate Tumor Growth.Prostate cancer · 2025Article
- Review
- Combining Photodynamic Therapy and Targeted Drug Delivery Systems: Enhancing Mitochondrial Toxicity for Improved Cancer Outcomes.International journal of molecular sciences · 2024Review
- The OGT-c-Myc-PDK2 axis rewires the TCA cycle and promotes colorectal tumor growth.Cell death and differentiation · 2024Article
- Mitochondria: a new intervention target for tumor invasion and metastasis.Molecular medicine (Cambridge, Mass.) · 2024Review
- Inhibition of Pyruvate Dehydrogenase Kinase 4 Protects Cardiomyocytes from lipopolysaccharide-Induced Mitochondrial Damage by Reducing Lactate Accumulation.Inflammation · 2024Article
- Metabolic specialization drives reduced pathogenicity in Pseudomonas aeruginosa isolates from cystic fibrosis patients.PLoS biology · 2024Article
- Importance of Michaelis Constants for Cancer Cell Redox Balance and Lactate Secretion-Revisiting the Warburg Effect.Cancers · 2024Review
- Fibroblast growth factor pathway promotes glycolysis by activating LDHA and suppressing LDHB in a STAT1-dependent manner in prostate cancer.Journal of translational medicine · 2024Article
- Review
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- Unlocking New Avenues in Breast Cancer Treatment: The Synergy of Kinase Inhibitors and Immunotherapy.Cancers · 2023Review
- Identification of Potent hDHODH Inhibitors for Lung Cancer via Virtual Screening of a Rationally Designed Small Combinatorial Library.ACS omega · 2023Article
- Article
- Targeting Cancer Metabolism to Improve Outcomes with Immune Checkpoint Inhibitors.Journal of immunotherapy and precision oncology · 2023Review
14 more citing papers are in PubMed but not listed here.
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
4 authors at 1 institution in 1 country.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
Cancer remains a lethal threat to global lives. Development of novel anticancer therapeutics is still a challenge to scientists in the field of biomedicine. In cancer cells, the metabolic features are significantly different from those of normal ones, which are hallmarks of several malignancies. Recent studies brought atypical cellular metabolism, such as aerobic glycolysis or the Warburg effect, into the scientific limelight. Targeting these altered metabolic pathways in cancer cells presents a promising therapeutic strategy. Pyruvate dehydrogenase kinases (PDKs), key enzymes in the pathway of glucose metabolism, could inactivate the pyruvate dehydrogenase complex (PDC) by phosphorylating it and preserving the substrates pyruvate, lactate and alanine for gluconeogenesis. Overexpression of PDKs could block the oxidative decarboxylation of pyruvate to satisfy high oxygen demand in cancer cells, while inhibition of PDKs could upregulate the activity of PDC and rectify the balance between the demand and supply of oxygen, which could lead to cancer cell death. Thus, inhibitors targeting PDKs represent a promising strategy for cancer treatment by acting on glycolytic tumors while showing minimal side effects on the oxidative healthy organs. This review considers the role of PDKs as regulator of PDC that catalyzes the oxidative decarboxylation of pyruvate in mitochondrion. It is concluded that PDKs are solid therapeutic targets. Inhibition of PDKs could be an attractive therapeutic approach for the development of anti-cancer drugs.
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Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.