Metabolite activation of tumorigenic signaling pathways in the tumor microenvironment

The role of metabolites exchanged in the tumor microenvironment is largely thought of as fuels to drive the increased biosynthetic and bioenergetic demands of growing tumors. However, this view is shifting as metab-olites are increasingly shown to function as signaling molecules that directly regulate oncogenic pathways. Combined with our growing understanding of the essential role of stromal cells, this shift has led to increased interest in how the collective and interconnected metabolome of the tumor microenvironment can drive ma-lignant transformation, epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition, drug resistance, immune evasion, and metastasis. In this review, we discuss how metabolite exchange between tumors and various cell types in the tumor micro-environment-such as fibroblasts, adipocytes, and immune cells-can activate signaling pathways that drive cancer progression.

Automated summary

Metabolite exchange in the tumor microenvironment is not only a source of energy and nutrients for growing tumors, but also plays a crucial role as signaling molecules in regulating oncogenic pathways. Understanding how the interconnected metabolome of the tumor microenvironment drives cancer progression is of great importance for cancer treatment and prevention.