Metabolic effects of dichloroacetate administration in cultured colon cancer cells

Dichloroacetate (DCA), a modified version of acetate, is a potential drug because it inhibits the enzyme pyruvate dehydrogenase kinase. Despite being limited to clinical studies in cancer treatment, DCA has shown promise in treating diabetes and lipid and lipoprotein problems. Using 13C nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy, this study focuses on the biochemical effects of dichloroacetate on glucose metabolism in cultured colon cancer cells. Preliminary data from the examination of numerous cell lines of colon cancer cells doped with different concentrations of DCA (0 mM, 10 mM, and 50 mM) demonstrate that an increase in DCA concentrations induces a decrease in lactate production from glucose and eventually leads to cell death. These cultured cells were examined in a normoxic environment. The details of these results will be presented.