Activation of glucose transporter-1 (Glut-1) gene expression is a molecular feature of cancer cells that increases glucose uptake and metabolism. Increased glucose uptake is the basis for the clinical localization of primary tumors using positron emission tomography (PET) and 2-deoxy-2-[18F]-fluoro-D-glucose (FDG) as a radiotracer. However, previous studies have demonstrated that a considerable number of cancers, which include prostate cancer (CaP), express low to undetectable levels of Glut-1 and that FDG-PET has limited clinical applicability in CaP. This observation could be explained by a low metabolic activity of CaP cells that may be overcome using different hexoses, such as fructose, as the preferred energy source. However, these hypotheses have not been examined critically in CaP. This review article summarizes what is currently known about transport and metabolism of hexoses, and more specifically fructose, in CaP and provides experimental evidences indicating that CaP cells may have increased capacity to transport and metabolize fructose in vitro and in vivo. Moreover, this review highlights recent findings that allow better understanding of how metabolism of fructose may regulate cancer cell proliferation and how fructose uptake and metabolism, through the de novo lipogenesis pathway, may provide new opportunities for CaP early diagnosis, staging, and treatment.
Prostate cancer and prostatic diseases. 2018 Aug 13 [Epub ahead of print]
Daniela Carreño, Néstor Corro, Verónica Torres-Estay, Loreto P Véliz, Rodrigo Jaimovich, Pedro Cisternas, Ignacio F San Francisco, Paula C Sotomayor, Marina Tanasova, Nibaldo C Inestrosa, Alejandro S Godoy
Department of Physiology, Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile, Santiago, Chile., Department of Nuclear Medicine, Clínica Las Condes, Santiago, Chile., Centro de Envejecimiento y Regeneración (CARE), Department of Cell Biology, Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile, Santiago, Chile., Department of Urology, Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile, Santiago, Chile., Center for Integrative Medicine and Innovative Science, Faculty of Medicine, Universidad Andres Bello, Santiago, Chile., Department of Chemistry, Michigan Technological University, Houghton, MI, 49931, USA., Department of Physiology, Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile, Santiago, Chile. .