Serine de novo synthesis in glioma patients studied through 13C isotopomer analysis

Motivation: The TCGA database reveals that gliomas exhibit the presence of phosphoglycerate dehydrogenase (PHGDH), a crucial enzyme in the generation of serine through de novo biosynthesis. Goal(s): Our objective was to measure the serine biosynthesis flux in glioma patients. Approach: We used 13C-glucose intravenous infusion during the surgical resection and 13C isotopomer analysis to track serine biosynthesis in patients. Results: We detected 19.2% ± 6.5% of serine biosynthetic flux relative to lactate production and the generation of glycine to produce one-carbon units in both low-grade gliomas and GBMs. Impact: These results indicate that targeting serine de novo synthesis may be of therapeutic value. We are currently working on developing PHGDH knockdown cell line from a GBM patient to test the effects of serine synthesis on cellular viability.