{
  "id": 16912107,
  "title": "Glutamine-derived NADH fuels lactate production to maximize ATP yield under oxygen consumption constraints in head and neck cancer",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/10/28/glutamine-derived-nadh-fuels-lactate-production-to-maximize-atp-yield",
  "topic": "finance",
  "section": "Finance & Markets",
  "published": "2026-10-28T00:00:00.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "bioRxiv",
    "slug": "biorxiv",
    "url": "https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.64898/2026.10.25.761662v1?rss=1"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "Metabolic alterations are a defining characteristic of cancer. One notable phenomenon is the Warburg effect, wherein cancer cells exhibit high glucose consumption and lactate production, even in the presence of ample oxygen. This study reveals that head and neck squamous cell carcinoma cells emit more carbon as lactate compared to the glucose they consume, suggesting alternative carbon sources for lactate production. By analyzing amino acid uptake and [U-13C]-glutamine labeling, researchers discovered that glutamine undergoes extensive consumption and oxidation within the tricarboxylic acid (TCA) cycle. Strikingly, glutamine does not contribute to lactate carbon production. To elucidate the relationship between lactate generation and glutamine metabolism, the team constructed a cell-line-specific metabolic model. The model illustrates that limited oxygen consumption capacity can stimulate increased lactate production, with glutamine serving as the NADH source. The model posits that under reduced oxygen, glutamine oxidation yields ATP, FADH2, and NADH. Although FADH2 generates less ATP than NADH, it can only be utilized through mitochondrial respiration. NADH, however, can be exported from the mitochondria and reoxidized by lactate dehydrogenase, enabling sustained glutamine oxidation cycles and enhancing total ATP production. By inhibiting mitochondrial respiration experimentally, the researchers confirmed that alternative carbon sources, distinct from glucose, are employed for lactate production under diminished oxygen consumption. This discovery sheds light on a novel redox cycle in HNSCC cells, offering a plausible explanation for the heightened lactate production when oxygen levels are constrained.",
  "summary": "Metabolic reprogramming is one of the hallmarks of cancer. A well-known change is the Warburg effect: glucose is consumed at increased rates and fermented to lactate instead of being respired to carbon dioxide, despite the presence of sufficient oxygen (O2). We show that head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC) cells excrete more carbon in the form of lactate than is consumed as glucose,…",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 1,
    "also_reported_by": []
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}