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Understanding the Metabolic Cross Talk Between Cancer Cells and Cancer-Associated Fibroblasts

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Book cover Cancer Cell Metabolism: A Potential Target for Cancer Therapy

Abstract

The tumor microenvironment (TME) is a heterogeneous, complex, and dynamic setting in which both invading tumor and local stromal cells reside, coevolve, and form a metabolic symbiosis that dictates downstream steps of cancer development and progression. Besides tumor cells, cancer-associated fibroblasts (CAFs) are the predominant cell type found in the majority of solid tumor microenvironment. It is recognized that cancer cells induce a metabolic phenotype in CAFs that is conducive to cancer progression. In addition, CAFs produce nutrients and metabolites, which are utilized by the tumor for energy production, proliferation, invasion, and migration. However, the precise mechanisms whereby CAFs contribute to the process remain uncertain. CAFs are believed to contribute to tumor metabolism through the production of high energy intermediates to fuel glycolytic, oxidative, amino acid, and fatty acid metabolism of cancer cells. This chapter consolidates recent findings regarding the metabolic cross talk occurring between CAFs and cancer cells within the tumor microenvironment.

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Acknowledgments

This work was supported by the NIH grant CA227838 to S.M.T. and The National Cancer Institute Cancer Center Support Grant to the University of Kansas Cancer Center, P30CA168524.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Neurosurgery, University of Kansas Medical Center, Kansas City, KS, USA

    Anthony Michael Alvarado

  2. Department of Otolaryngology, University of Kansas Medical Center, Kansas City, KS, USA

    Levi Kent Arnold & Sufi Mary Thomas

  3. Department of Cancer Biology, University of Kansas Medical Center, Kansas City, KS, USA

    Levi Kent Arnold & Sufi Mary Thomas

  4. Department of Anatomy and Cellular Biology, University of Kansas Medical Center, Kansas City, KS, USA

    Sufi Mary Thomas

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  1. Anthony Michael Alvarado
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  2. Levi Kent Arnold
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Correspondence to Sufi Mary Thomas .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Amity Institute of Molecular Medicine & Stem Cell Research (AIMMSCR), Amity University Uttar Pradesh (AUUP), Noida, Uttar Pradesh, India

    Dhruv Kumar

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Alvarado, A.M., Arnold, L.K., Thomas, S.M. (2020). Understanding the Metabolic Cross Talk Between Cancer Cells and Cancer-Associated Fibroblasts. In: Kumar, D. (eds) Cancer Cell Metabolism: A Potential Target for Cancer Therapy. Springer, Singapore. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-15-1991-8_4

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