Non-coding RNAs in the reprogramming of glucose metabolism in cancer

Proliferating cancer cells reprogram their metabolic circuitry to thrive in an environment deficient in nutrients and oxygen. Cancer cells exhibit a higher rate of glucose metabolism than normal somatic cells, which is achieved by switching from oxidative phosphorylation to aerobic glycolysis to meet the energy and metabolites demands of tumour progression. This phenomenon, which is known as the Warburg effect, has generated renewed interest in the process of glucose metabolism reprogramming in cancer cells. Several regulatory pathways along with glycolytic enzymes are responsible for the emergence of glycolytic dependence. Non-coding (nc)RNAs are a class of functional RNA molecules that are not translated into proteins but regulate target gene expression. NcRNAs have been shown to be involved in various biological processes, including glucose metabolism. In this review, we describe the regulatory role of ncRNAs–specifically, microRNAs and long ncRNAs–in the glycolytic switch and propose that ncRNA-based therapeutics can be used to inhibit the process of glucose metabolism reprogramming in cancer cells. •Glucose metabolism reprogramming occurs to meet cancer cell energy and metabolite requirements.•NcRNAs play a critical role in glucose metabolism reprogramming in cancer.•NcRNAs directly regulate the expression of glycolytic proteins and enzymes.•NcRNAs regulate glucose metabolism by targeting cancer-related signalling pathways.•NcRNA-based therapeutics can potentially reverse aerobic glycolysis.