Cancer cells can disrupt a metabolic pathway that breaks down fats and proteins to boost the levels of a byproduct called methylmalonic acid, thereby driving metastasis, according to research led by scientists at Weill Cornell Medicine. The findings open a new lead for understanding how tumors metastasize, or spread to other tissues, and hints at novel ways to block the spread of cancer by targeting the process.
The new results, published March 31 in Nature Metabolism, show that metastatic tumors suppress the activity of a key enzyme in propionate metabolism, the process by which cells digest certain fatty acids and protein components. Suppressing the enzyme increases production of methylmalonic acid (MMA). That, in turn, causes the cells to become more aggressive and invasive.
Cancer is the second leading cause of death worldwide, and metastasis drives much of that mortality. Once a…
