Pediatric glioblastoma (pGBM) is an untreatable glioma that progresses rapidly and responds poorly to conventional treatments leading to very low survival rates. Metabolic reprogramming is known to play a key role in cancer cell growth and proliferation, as well as resistance to chemotherapeutics. Dysregulated glucose metabolism in some cancers is characterized by an increase in glycolysis and lactate production even in the presence of abundant oxygen (Warburg effect). This adaptation is associated with their ability to rapidly proliferate and metastasise. Glucose metabolism has been studied in adult GBM, however, research into metabolic dysregulation in pGBM is yet to be explored.
Methods
We sought to characterise glucose metabolism in pGBM (2 cell lines) in comparison to normal neuronal cells (2 cell lines). The metabolic phenotype of cells was analysed using the Seahorse XF analyser and oxidative and glycolytic metabolic flux were measured.
Results
The pGBM cells displayed high glycolytic and low oxidative metabolic flux compared with normal neuronal cells, consistent with a typical Warburg metabolic phenotype.
Conclusion
Our studies have shown that pGBM metabolism is altered consistent with the Warburg effect. Further studies will delineate how glycolysis is elevated in pGBM and how this metabolic reprogramming contributes to pGBM proliferation and survival. Further studies will also assess metabolic reprogramming in 3D spheroid models. These findings will be crucial for the identification of targeted therapies specific to pGBM metabolism.