Metabolic rewiring of stem cells and differentiated cells in cancer: the hypothetical consequences of a GABA deficiency in endocrine pancreas

Abstract

The carcinogenic mechanism proposed considers that stem cells committed to repair tissues and differentiated cells, acquire different metabolic properties, if there is an associated GABA deficiency suppressing a control system of the endocrine pancreas. This control system mediated by GABA, released with insulin, normally turns off glucagon and somatostatin release when insulin is released. A consequence of the GABA deficiency in pancreas and adrenals is a hybrid insulin-glucagon-somatostatin message, received by new mitotic stem cells displaying then a hybrid metabolic rewiring. This gives them a selective metabolic advantage over differentiated cells that become insulin resistant and only receive the glucagon- somatostatin part of the hormonal message. Indeed, their insulin receptors are desensitized by the persistent leakage of insulin resulting from the GABA deficiency that fails to close the insulin release mechanism. Thus differentiated cells are simply rewired to be plundered by stem cells. The metabolic advantage gained by stem cells blocks their own differentiation and maintains their mitotic capacity. Inevitable mutations of mitotic cells follow, the immune system is unable to eliminate a geometrically increasing number of altered stem cells, a selection of the most aggressive but metabolically successful population takes place when cancer is declared.

Keywords

Cancer metabolism / endocrine pancreas / adrenals / GABA / stem cells / differentiated cells

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