Recent high-profile reports have reignited an interest in acetate metabolism in cancer. Acetyl-CoA synthetases that catalyse the conversion of acetate to acetyl-CoA have now been implicated in the growth of hepatocellular carcinoma, glioblastoma, breast cancer and prostate cancer. In this Review, we discuss how acetate functions as a nutritional source for tumours and as a regulator of cancer cell stress, and how preventing its (re)capture by cancer cells may provide an opportunity for therapeutic intervention.
Nature reviews. Cancer. 2016 Aug 26 [Epub ahead of print]
Zachary T Schug, Johan Vande Voorde, Eyal Gottlieb
Cancer Metabolism Research Unit, Cancer Research UK Beatson Institute, Switchback Road, Glasgow G61 1BD, Scotland, UK.