A unique subset of glycolytic tumour-propagating cells drives squamous cell carcinoma

Choi et al. highlight the centrality of glycolysis in squamous cell carcinoma, revealing the glycolysis-dampening tumour suppressor role of Sirt6, and identifying a subset of highly glycolytic tumour-propagating cells with elevated antioxidant capacity. Head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (SCC) remains among the most aggressive human cancers. Tumour progression and aggressiveness in SCC are largely driven by tumour-propagating cells (TPCs). Aerobic glycolysis, also known as the Warburg effect, is a characteristic of many cancers; however, whether this adaptation is functionally important in SCC, and at which stage, remains poorly understood. Here, we show that the NAD(+)-dependent histone deacetylase sirtuin 6 is a robust tumour suppressor in SCC, acting as a modulator of glycolysis in these tumours. Remarkably, rather than a late adaptation, we find enhanced glycolysis specifically in TPCs. More importantly, using single-cell RNA sequencing of TPCs, we identify a subset of TPCs with higher glycolysis and enhanced pentose phosphate pathway and glutathione metabolism, characteristics that are strongly associated with a better antioxidant response. Together, our studies uncover enhanced glycolysis as a main driver in SCC, and, more importantly, identify a subset of TPCs as the cell of origin for the Warburg effect, defining metabolism as a key feature of intra-tumour heterogeneity.

Automated summary

The study highlights the important tumor suppressor role of NAD(+)-dependent histone deacetylase sirtuin 6 in squamous cell carcinoma, as well as the existence of a subset of highly glycolytic tumor-propagating cells with elevated antioxidant capacity. These findings emphasize the key role of metabolism in intra-tumor heterogeneity.