G6PD: A hub for metabolic reprogramming and redox signaling in cancer

• Main Authors: Hung-Chi Yang, Arnold Stern, Daniel Tsun-Yee Chiu
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: Elsevier 2021-06-01
• Series: Biomedical Journal
• Subjects: Cancer; Oncogene; G6PD; Metabolic reprogramming; Redox; Oxidative stress
• Online Access: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2319417020301347

Metabolic hubs play a major role in the initiation and development of cancer. Oncogenic signaling pathways drive metabolic reprogramming and alter redox homeostasis. G6PD has potential oncogenic activity and it plays a pivotal role in cell proliferation, survival and stress responses. Aberrant activation of G6PD via metabolic reprogramming alters NADPH levels, leading to an antioxidant or a pro-oxidant environment which can either enhance DNA oxidative damage and genomic instability or initiate oncogenic signaling. Nutrient deprivation can rewire metabolism, which leads to mutations that determine a cancer cell's fate. Deregulated G6PD status and oxidative stress form a vicious cycle, which paves the way for cancer progression. This review aims to update and focus the potential role of G6PD in metabolic reprogramming and redox signaling in cancer.