Here I present: Otto Warburg, “The Oxygen-Transferring Ferment of Respiration”, Nobel Prize Lecture, 10 December 1931. PART TWO (2).
INTRODUCTION.
In oncology, the Warburg effect is the observation that most CANCER cells use aerobic glycolysis and lactic acid fermentation for energy generation rather than the mechanisms used by NORMAL cells.
This observation was first published by Otto Warburg, who was awarded the 1931 Nobel Prize in Physiology for his “discovery of the nature and mode of action of the respiratory enzyme“.
Historical Perspectives of the Warburg Effect.
During the 1920s, Otto Warburg and colleagues made the observation that tumors were taking up enormous amounts of glucose compared with what was seen in the surrounding tissue. Additionally, glucose was fermented to produce lactate even in the presence of oxygen, hence the term ‘aerobic glycolysis’. However, it was also noted that respiration alone could maintain tumor viability. Therefore, it was concluded that, to kill tumor cells by depriving them of energy, both glucose and oxygen.
Cancer cells often alter their energy metabolism to support their rapid growth and division. This phenomenon, known as the Warburg effect, involves cancer cells favoring glycolysis for energy production, even in the presence of oxygen (aerobic glycolysis). This metabolic reprogramming supports the biosynthetic needs of rapidly dividing cells and contributes to the progression of cancer.
Reference: Otto Warburg, “On the metabolism of tumors”, 1926. Kaiser Wilhelm Institute for Biology, Berlin-GERMANY.
