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. 2023 Feb 7;24(4):3337.
doi: 10.3390/ijms24043337.

A Thermodynamic Approach to the Metaboloepigenetics of Cancer

Umberto Lucia  1 , Thomas S Deisboeck  2 , Antonio Ponzetto  3 , Giulia Grisolia  1   4
Affiliations

A Thermodynamic Approach to the Metaboloepigenetics of Cancer

Umberto Lucia et al. Int J Mol Sci. .

Abstract

We present a novel thermodynamic approach to the epigenomics of cancer metabolism. Here, any change in a cancer cell's membrane electric potential is completely irreversible, and as such, cells must consume metabolites to reverse the potential whenever required to maintain cell activity, a process driven by ion fluxes. Moreover, the link between cell proliferation and the membrane's electric potential is for the first time analytically proven using a thermodynamic approach, highlighting how its control is related to inflow and outflow of ions; consequently, a close interaction between environment and cell activity emerges. Lastly, we illustrate the concept by evaluating the Fe2+-flux in the presence of carcinogenesis-promoting mutations of the TET1/2/3 gene family.

Keywords: cancer; epigenetics; metaboloepigenetics; thermodynamics; transport phenomena.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no conflict of interest.

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