The circadian clock and cell metabolism are both dysregulated in cancer cells through intrinsic cell-autonomous mechanisms and external influences from the tumor microenvironment. The intricate interplay between the circadian clock and cancer cell metabolism exerts control over various metabolic processes, including aerobic glycolysis, de novo nucleotide synthesis, glutamine and protein metabolism, lipid metabolism, mitochondrial metabolism, and redox homeostasis in cancer cells. Importantly, oncogenic signaling can confer a moonlighting function on core clock genes, effectively reshaping cellular metabolism to fuel cancer cell proliferation and drive tumor growth. These interwoven regulatory mechanisms constitute a distinctive feature of cancer cell metabolism.

通过内在的细胞自主机制和肿瘤微环境的外部影响，癌细胞中的生物钟和细胞代谢均失调。生物钟和癌细胞代谢之间复杂的相互作用控制着各种代谢过程，包括癌细胞中的有氧糖酵解、从头核苷酸合成、谷氨酰胺和蛋白质代谢、脂质代谢、线粒体代谢和氧化还原稳态。重要的是，致癌信号可以赋予核心时钟基因兼职功能，有效重塑细胞代谢，促进癌细胞增殖并驱动肿瘤生长。这些相互交织的调节机制构成了癌细胞代谢的显着特征。