NMR Studies of Metabolic Differences and Adaptations in Kidney Cancer Cells under Normoxic and Hypoxic Conditions

In order to further our understanding of the metabolic adaptation of tumors, it is important to monitor cells under different conditions to see how cancer cells will survive or adapt in hostile environments. In this experiment, 13C-labeled glucose was administered 786-O renal cell carcinoma (RCC) cells to monitor the glucose consumption and lactic acid production in these cells under normoxia (20% O₂) and hypoxia (2% O₂). 13C nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy was utilized to track the 13C-glucose metabolism in these cells. In addition, sodium oxamate, an inhibitor for lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) was also administered to the RCC cells to investigate disruption of the Warburg effect under normoxic and hypoxic conditions. These NMR results will be discussed in light of the potential metabolic adaptation of these RCC cells under low-oxygen conditions.