M. Vander Heiden

Effects of aging on glucose and lipid metabolism in mice

This study examines how aging affects glucose and lipid metabolism in mice, finding that NAD+ levels remain stable but lipid metabolism increases in aged tissues.

An RNA Damage Response Network Mediates the Lethality of 5-FU in Clinically Relevant Tumor Types

This paper shows 5-FU's lethality in tumors is due to an RNA damage response, not DNA damage, and that targeting this response could improve cancer therapy.

Oncogenic metabolic rewiring independent of proliferative control in human mammary epithelial cells

The paper compares metabolic flux in cancerous and normal human mammary epithelial cells using 13C-tracing and MFA, finding distinct metabolic pathways activated in cancer cells.

Cancer cells depend on environmental lipids for proliferation when electron acceptors are limited

This study shows that cancer cells rely on environmental lipids for proliferation under conditions of limited electron acceptors, such as hypoxia or mitochondrial inhibition.

Loss of malate-aspartate shuttle component SLC25A12 induces pulmonary metastasis

This study shows that loss of SLC25A12 reduces cytosolic aspartate and impairs tumor growth and metastasis in vivo, but not in vitro.

N-acetylaspartate improves cell survival when glucose is limiting

The paper shows N-acetylaspartate (NAA) supports cell survival in low-glucose conditions by maintaining UDP-GlcNAc levels and reducing ER stress, independent of its breakdown into aspartate or acetate.

Dissecting cell type-specific metabolism in pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma

The paper uses isotope tracing to compare metabolism between cancer cells and fibroblasts in pancreatic tumors, identifying key metabolic dependencies in cancer cells.

Caloric restriction alters lipid metabolism to contribute to tumor growth inhibition

This study shows caloric restriction inhibits tumor growth by reducing lipid availability and impairing stearoyl-CoA desaturase activity in cancer cells.