NMR tracking of the metabolic effects of dichloroacetate in colorectal cancer cells

Colorectal cancer is the fourth most common cause of cancer-related deaths in the United States and its incidence is growing. In this study, we have studied the effects of dichloroacetate on the metabolism in cultured colorectal cancer cells. Compared to normal cells, cancer cells utilize glucose at a higher rate under the glycolytic pathway for ATP production. In particular, this study used carbon-13 nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy to track the glucose metabolism in the presence of dichloroacetate at different concentrations cultured Colo-205 and LoVo colorectal cancer cell lines. The details of these results will be presented.