Adapted suspension tumor cells rewire metabolic pathways for anchorage-independent survival through AKT activation.

Metastatic spread of cancer cells is the main cause of cancer-related death. As cancer cells adapt themselves in a suspended state in the blood stream before penetration and regrowth at distal tissues, understanding their survival strategy in an anchorage-independent condition is important to develop appropriate therapeutics. We have previously generated adapted suspension cells (ASCs) from parental adherent cancer cells to study the characteristics of circulating tumor cells. In this study, we explored metabolic rewiring in MDA-MB-468 ASCs to adapt to suspension growth conditions through extracellular flux analyses and various metabolic assays. We also determined the relationship between AKT activation and metabolic rewiring in ASCs using the AKT inhibitor, MK2206. ASCs reprogramed metabolism to enhance glycolysis and basal oxygen consumption rate. RNA-sequencing analysis revealed the upregulation in the genes related to glycolysis, tricarboxylic acid cycle, and oxidative phosphorylation. The changes in the metabolic program led to a remarkable dependency of ASCs on carbohydrates as an energy source for proliferation as compared to parental adherent cells (ADs). AKT activation was observed in ASCs and those generated from pancreatic and other breast cancer cells, and AKT activation inhibition in ASCs decreased glycolysis and oxygen consumption. AKT activation is an important strategy for obtaining energy through the enhancement of glycolysis in ASCs. The regulation of AKT activity and/or glycolysis may provide a strong therapeutic strategy to prevent the metastatic spread of cancer cells.