The utilisation of glutamine and glucose by a 3-D tumour model trapped in quiescence

Abstract

Solid tumours modify their metabolic strategy to ensure sufficient biomass and energy to maintain a high rate of proliferation. However, solid tumours are characterised by a high proportion of quiescent cells and little is known about their metabolic profile. A tumour spheroid model with DLD1 cells was used to investigate the influence of a quiescent state on the cellular utilisation of glucose and glutamine. Quiescent DLD1 spheroids displayed increased depletion of both nutrients from the bathing medium compared to their proliferative counterparts and displayed highly active overall metabolism. A combination of biochemical and metabolomics approaches demonstrated that glucose utilisation re..