Effects of Mitochondrial Gene Deletion on Tumorigenicity of Metastatic Melanoma: Reassessing the Warburg Effect

Metabolic flexibility is a hallmark of cancer. Although many tumors preferentially use glycolysis in the presence of oxygen for bioenergetic purposes (Warburg effect), the effects of glycolytic metabolism on tumor metastasis have not been investigated. We have employed an extreme model of glycolytic metabolism to investigate the ability of metastatic B16 mouse melanoma cells to grow as primary subcutaneous tumors and to form lung tumors when injected intravenously into syngeneic and immunocompromised mice. Mitochondrial gene-knockout B16ρ° cells showed delayed subcutaneous tumor growth and, surprisingly, failed to form lung tumors. The results suggest that mitochondrial reactive oxygen species (ROS) may be required for tumor metastasis.