[BK21 Plus Seminar]
         
           
        ▶Subject: From nutrient to poison: the role of serine and glycine metabolism in cancer
                   
        ▶Speaker: Dohoon Kim, Ph.D.

                        (Postdoctoral Associate at Whitehead Institute for Biomedical Research, MIT)
                                
        ▶Date: 14:00PM/Apr./30(Thur.)/2015
                
        ▶Place: Life Science Bldg. #104

                     
               *Abctract
            Alterations in cellular metabolism can provide distinct advantages to cancer cells but also introduce liabilities that can be exploited for therapeutic effect. Here, we identify a key role for serine and glycine metabolism in the survival of brain cancer cells within the ischemic zones of gliomas. In human glioblastoma multiforme (GBM), mitochondrial serine hydroxymethyltransferase (SHMT2) and glycine decarboxylase (GLDC) are highly expressed in the pseudopalisading cells that surround ischemic foci. We find that SHMT2 activity limits that of pyruvate kinase (PKM2) and reduces oxygen consumption, eliciting a metabolic state that confers a profound survival advantage to cells in poorly vascularized tumor regions. However, GLDC inhibition selectively impairs cells with high SHMT2 levels as the excess glycine not metabolized by GLDC can be converted to the toxic molecules aminoacetone and methylglyoxal. Thus, SHMT2 is required for cancer cells to adapt to the tumor environment, but at the same time renders these cells sensitive to glycine cleavage system inhibition. Building on this example, I propose a novel approach in cancer therapy in which metabolic pathways can be manipulated to poison cells with their own metabolites.

        ▶Inquiry: Prof. Park, Sang Ki (279-2349)
               
         
         * This seminar will be given in English.
please refrain from taking photos during seminars. *