cancer metabolism group

The Cancer Metabolism Group aims to understand the anabolic and catabolic demands of mammalian cells with respect to their specific microenvironment and the key determinants that can unbalance metabolic homeostasis, thereby leading to disease.  

Activities

Cancer metabolism:  

Malignant transformation of cells goes along with profound metabolic rewiring to cope with increasing biomass and energy demands. The goal of our research is to understand these metabolic changes pinpointing metabolic bottlenecks that are specific to cancer cells and which, ultimately, might become effective targets for clinical oncotherapy.  

To measure the dynamics of cellular metabolism, we make use of stable-isotope tracers and high-resolution Mass Spectrometry. Applying these key tools with molecular and cell biology approaches allows a functional and mechanistic understanding of how metabolism impacts cancer cell proliferation, survival and dissemination. A particular focus resides at understanding the metabolic processes that allow cancer cell motility and invasion, a process essential for the onset of the metastatic cascade. Indeed, metastasis is accountable for 90 % of all cancer deaths. Yet, it remains one of the biggest challenges in cancer therapy and is currently seen as incurable.  

An example of our work includes the study of a phenomenon known as “formate overflow”, a metabolic pathway which we have identified to influence cell motility and metastasis.  

Tumour environment:  

An additional area of interest is the interaction of cancer cells with their environment. Our work in this respect focuses on immune cells, as they play an important role in shaping either a tumour-promoting or -suppressive environment. Since metabolism plays an important role during immune cell activation, we aim to understand these metabolic dependencies and seek alternative immune cell-dependent entry points to target cancer cells. 

Johannes
Meiser

Partners

Cooperation Partners

Projects & clinical trials

Featured team members

  • Björn
    Becker
    Postdoctoral Fellow
  • Mohaned
    Benzarti
    Visiting Researcher
  • Oleg
    Chen
    Postdoctoral Fellow
  • Kim
    Eiden
    PhD Student
  • Lara
    Haase
    Visiting Researcher
  • Nicole
    Kiweler
    Scientist
  • Christina
    Krötz
    Laboratory Technician
  • Petra
    Marttila
    Postdoctoral Fellow

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