Fig. 4

Reprogramming of energy metabolism associated with cancer growth detected in plasma in a murine model of 4T1 metastatic breast cancer. Increase in glycolytic rate, evidenced as an increase of hexose phosphate (a), fructose 1,6-bisphosphate (b), glyceraldehyde 3-phosphate and dihydroxyacetone phosphate (c) concentrations measured in plasma, and a decrease of tricarboxylic acid cycle intermediate plasma concentrations of succinate (d) and fumarate (e). Increase of glutamine catabolism evidenced as an increase in glutamate-to-glutamine ratio (f) and acceleration of pentose phosphate pathway increase of erythrose 4-phosphate (g) and pentose phosphate concentrations (h). A simplified overview of 4T1 breast cancer-induced changes in energy metabolism (i). Empty bars represent control animals, and black bars represent tumour-bearing mice. Data are expressed as mean ± SEM (n = 10). The data were analysed with either analysis of variance (ANOVA) followed by Tukey’s post hoc test (GADP_DHAP, fumarate, Gln/Glu) or a non-parametric Kruskal-Wallis ANOVA (Hexose-P, fructose 1,6-bisphosphate, succinate, E4P, Pentose-5P), depending on the normality of distribution and variance homogeneity (F test), with statistical significance set at *p < 0.05, **p < 0.01, ***p < 0.001