Abstract 2887: Impact of ionizing radiation on the energy metabolism of normal and tumor cells in the brain
Authors: Kreuzer Marvin , Imseng Pascal , Weber Bruno , Pruschy Martin 
Published: March 2024

This study aims to analyze irradiation-induced metabolic alterations in glioblastoma cells and astrocytes to enhance understanding of cellular responses and facilitate the development of more effective radiotherapeutic strategies. Metabolic reprogramming of tumor cells is considered one of the hallmarks of cancer. Studies have shown that abnormal activation of oncogenes and cancer-related signaling pathways, as well as the inactivation of tumor suppressor genes can induce metabolic reprogramming. These metabolic aberrations facilitate rapid proliferation, continuous growth, invasion, metastasis, and immune evasion. Following the application of radiotherapy, the activity of several metabolic pathways significantly changes, potentially leading to the development of radioresistance. However, a differential effect of ionizing radiation on tumor and normal cells is not well understood. Hence, quantifying irradiation-induced metabolic changes in glioblastoma cells and astrocytes is of high importance. We have developed a novel approach to measure dynamic metabolite changes upon irradiation, in vivo, in situ, and in real-time. This tool combines imaging of recently developed fluorescent biosensors via 2-photon microscopy and millimeter-scaled irradiation. Murine glioblastoma cells and astrocytes were generated with stable expression of biosensors for the quantification of intracellular concentrations of various metabolites, including lactate. Cytosolic concentrations of lactate depend on the balance between glycolytic production, mitochondrial consumption of pyruvate and lactate, and the exchange with the extracellular lactate pool via monocarboxylate transporters. Many cancer cells are characterized by an excessive conversion of glucose to lactate even under normoxic conditions. We quantified this so-called Warburg Effect in glioblastoma cells and astrocytes as the ratio between basal lactate production and the lactate increase after OXPHOS inhibition and determined irradiation-induced metabolic changes on the single-cell level. Complementarily, we used metabolomics and Seahorse analyses before and after irradiation. Our data indicate that irradiation increases oxygen consumption in glioblastoma cells but not in astrocytes. Also, we established an orthotopic glioblastoma mouse model via injection of sensor-expressing tumor cells for in vivo measurements of metabolite changes during and after irradiation. These data are expected to significantly advance the understanding of the cellular response to irradiation on a molecular level in situ and in real-time. This knowledge will help to develop combination treatments and increase the efficiency of radiotherapy.

Citation Format: Marvin Kreuzer, Pascal Imseng, Bruno Weber, Martin Pruschy. Impact of ionizing radiation on the energy metabolism of normal and tumor cells in the brain [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the American Association for Cancer Research Annual Meeting 2024; Part 1 (Regular Abstracts); 2024 Apr 5-10; San Diego, CA. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2024;84(6_Suppl):Abstract nr 2887.