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Oxygen metabolism and a potential role for cytochrome c oxidase in the Warburg effect

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Abstract

By manipulating the physical properties of oxygen, cells are able to harvest the large thermodynamic potential of oxidation to provide a substantial fraction of the energy necessary for cellular processes. The enzyme largely responsible for this oxygen manipulation is cytochrome c oxidase, which resides at the inner mitochondrial membrane. For unknown reasons, cancer cells do not maximally utilize this process, but instead rely more on an anaerobic-like metabolism demonstrating the so-called Warburg effect. As the enzyme at the crossroads of oxidative metabolism, cytochrome c oxidase might be expected to play a role in this so-called Warburg effect. Through protein assay methods and metabolic studies with radiolabeled glucose, alterations associated with cancer and cytochrome c oxidase subunit levels are explored. The implications of these findings for cancer research are discussed briefly.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Pathology, Loma Linda University, School of Medicine, Loma Linda, CA, 92354, USA

    Paul C. Herrmann

  2. Department of Biochemistry, Loma Linda University, School of Medicine, Loma Linda, CA, 92354, USA

    E. Clifford Herrmann

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  1. Paul C. Herrmann
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  2. E. Clifford Herrmann
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Correspondence to Paul C. Herrmann.

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Herrmann, P.C., Herrmann, E.C. Oxygen metabolism and a potential role for cytochrome c oxidase in the Warburg effect. J Bioenerg Biomembr 39, 247–250 (2007). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10863-007-9084-z

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10863-007-9084-z

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