Visual Diagnostic Strategy for Assessing the Impact of Aerobic Glycolytic Processes on Tumor Growth and Therapy

Investigating the role of nicotinamide phosphoribosyltransferase (NAMPT) in tumor growth is significant for enhancing cancer treatment outcomes. This work proposes fluorescence lifetime endoscopic microscopy (FLIME) for the real-time visualization of aerobic glycolysis in the tumor microenvironment. We investigated the effect of NAMPT inhibition using the FK866 small-molecule inhibitor in a mouse model. The results show that FK866 effectively inhibits the NAD+-induced aerobic glycolysis process and decelerates tumor growth. Moreover, the combined effect of FK866 with cisplatin can further inhibit tumor proliferation and progression. These findings indicate that the acidity of the tumor microenvironment can serve as a metric for evaluating the extent of aerobic glycolysis and its implications for tumor growth and treatment, offering a potentially valuable approach for assessing clinical drug efficacy.