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. 2024 Dec;31(12):1625-1635.
doi: 10.1038/s41418-024-01394-3. Epub 2024 Oct 15.

Exploring fructose metabolism as a potential therapeutic approach for pancreatic cancer

Chengqiang Wang  1 , Lu Wang  2 , Qing Zhao  3 , Jiao Ma  1 , Yitao Li  1 , Junliang Kuang  3 , Xintong Yang  1 , Huichang Bi  4 , Aiping Lu  1 , Kenneth C P Cheung  5 , Gerry Melino  6 , Wei Jia  7   8
Affiliations

Exploring fructose metabolism as a potential therapeutic approach for pancreatic cancer

Chengqiang Wang et al. Cell Death Differ. 2024 Dec.

Abstract

Excessive fructose intake has been associated with the development and progression of pancreatic cancer. This study aimed to elucidate the relationship between fructose utilization and pancreatic cancer progression. Our findings revealed that pancreatic cancer cells have a high capacity to utilize fructose and are capable of converting glucose to fructose via the AKR1B1-mediated polyol pathway, in addition to uptake via the fructose transporter GLUT5. Fructose metabolism exacerbates pancreatic cancer proliferation by enhancing glycolysis and accelerating the production of key metabolites that regulate angiogenesis. However, pharmacological blockade of fructose metabolism has been shown to slow pancreatic cancer progression and synergistically enhance anti-tumor capabilities when combined with anti-angiogenic agents. Overall, targeting fructose metabolism may prove to be a promising therapeutic approach in the treatment of pancreatic cancer.

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Conflict of interest statement

Competing interests: The authors declare no competing interests. Ethics approval and consent to participate: All animal experiments were approved by the Research Ethics Committee of the Hong Kong Baptist University (REC/20–21/0584) and were performed in accordance with relevant guidelines and regulations. The relevant licenses were also approved by the Department of Health, Hong Kong, China (22-145 in DH/HT&A/8/2/6 Pt.6. and 21-189 in DH/HT&A/8/2/6 Pt.4.).

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