Grant: Operating Grant

Cancer is essentially a disease in which cells lose their normal restraints on cell division. However, the ability of a cell to successfully grow and divide depends significantly on the cell having enough energy and building blocks to complete the task. Fundamentally all cells need energy to survive. Interestingly, cancer cells commonly display changes in how they generate energy, and often use metabolic pathways that are distinct from normal cells. Understanding how cancer cells generate energy may provide new ways to specifically target cancer cells while leaving normal cells untouched. We have found a key regulator of energy metabolism in cancer cells known as the AMP-activated protein kinase, or AMPK. We have found that AMPK acts as an energy sensor in cells, and stops cell growth when it senses changes in energy levels. AMPK does so in part by interacting with several well-known tumour suppressors, suggesting to us that AMPK plays a key role in cancer. This proposal aims to study the role of AMPK in cancer progression and to understand how AMPK regulates energy use in cancer cells. Ultimately we would like to determine whether AMPK is a suitable therapeutic target for the treatment of cancer.