Tracking of the metabolic effects of dichloroacetate in colorectal cancer cells using NMR

Colorectal cancer, also known as colon cancer is the fourth most common cause of cancer-related deaths in the United States and its incidence is growing. In this study, the effects of dichloroacetate on the metabolism in cultured colorectal cancer cells have been studied. Cancer cells utilize glucose at a higher rate under the glycolytic pathway for ATP production as compared to normal cells. 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 in cultured Colo-205 and LoVo colorectal cancer cell lines. The details of these results will be presented.