Chapter 15
Glycolytic Oscillations in Cancer Cells
Takashi Amemiya, Kenichi Shibata, Masatoshi Watanabe, Satoshi Nakata,
Kazuyuki Nakamura, and Tomohiko Yamaguchi
Abstract We highlight recently discovered glycolytic oscillations in HeLa cervical
and DU145 prostate cancer cells, and discuss the individual and collective behaviors
based on a mathematical model proposed previously. We found strong heterogeneities
in the oscillations, indicating that glycolytic enzymatic activities are very heterogeneous in these cells. Further, the degree of synchronisation in their oscillations was
very low, indicating that cell-to-cell interaction is very low during glycolysis in
cancer cells. Biomedical implications obtained from the analyses of the oscillatory
dynamics are also presented; more malignant cancer cells tend to exhibit glycolytic
oscillations with higher frequencies than less malignant cells. Thus, glycolytic oscillations in cancer cells can be a medical indicator to detect the malignancy of cancer
cells.
T. Amemiya (B) · K. Shibata
Graduate School of Environment and Information Sciences, Yokohama National University
(YNU), 79-7 Tokiwadai, Hodogaya-ku, Yokohama 240-8501, Kanagawa, Japan
e-mail: amemiya-takashi-jk@ynu.ac.jp
M. Watanabe
Graduate School of Medicine, Mie University, 2-174 Edobashi, Tsu 514-8507, Mie, Japan
S. Nakata
Graduate School of Integrated Sciences for Life, Hiroshima University, 1-3-1 Kagamiyama,
Higashi-Hiroshima 739-8526, Japan
K. Nakamura
School of Interdisciplinary Mathematical Sciences, Meiji University, 4-21-1 Nakano, Nakano-ku,
Tokyo 164-8525, Japan
JST, PRESTO, 4-1-8 Honcho, Kawaguchi 332-0012, Saitama, Japan
T. Yamaguchi
Meiji Institute for Advanced Study of Mathematical Sciences (MIMS), 4-21-1 Nakano,
Nakano-ku, Tokyo 164-8525, Japan
© Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2021
A. Stefanovska and P. V. E. McClintock (eds.), Physics of Biological
Oscillators, Understanding Complex Systems,
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-59805-1_15
245
Glycolytic Oscillations in Cancer Cells
Takashi Amemiya, Kenichi Shibata, Masatoshi Watanabe, Satoshi Nakata,
Kazuyuki Nakamura, and Tomohiko Yamaguchi
Abstract We highlight recently discovered glycolytic oscillations in HeLa cervical
and DU145 prostate cancer cells, and discuss the individual and collective behaviors
based on a mathematical model proposed previously. We found strong heterogeneities
in the oscillations, indicating that glycolytic enzymatic activities are very heterogeneous in these cells. Further, the degree of synchronisation in their oscillations was
very low, indicating that cell-to-cell interaction is very low during glycolysis in
cancer cells. Biomedical implications obtained from the analyses of the oscillatory
dynamics are also presented; more malignant cancer cells tend to exhibit glycolytic
oscillations with higher frequencies than less malignant cells. Thus, glycolytic oscillations in cancer cells can be a medical indicator to detect the malignancy of cancer
cells.
T. Amemiya (B) · K. Shibata
Graduate School of Environment and Information Sciences, Yokohama National University
(YNU), 79-7 Tokiwadai, Hodogaya-ku, Yokohama 240-8501, Kanagawa, Japan
e-mail: amemiya-takashi-jk@ynu.ac.jp
M. Watanabe
Graduate School of Medicine, Mie University, 2-174 Edobashi, Tsu 514-8507, Mie, Japan
S. Nakata
Graduate School of Integrated Sciences for Life, Hiroshima University, 1-3-1 Kagamiyama,
Higashi-Hiroshima 739-8526, Japan
K. Nakamura
School of Interdisciplinary Mathematical Sciences, Meiji University, 4-21-1 Nakano, Nakano-ku,
Tokyo 164-8525, Japan
JST, PRESTO, 4-1-8 Honcho, Kawaguchi 332-0012, Saitama, Japan
T. Yamaguchi
Meiji Institute for Advanced Study of Mathematical Sciences (MIMS), 4-21-1 Nakano,
Nakano-ku, Tokyo 164-8525, Japan
© Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2021
A. Stefanovska and P. V. E. McClintock (eds.), Physics of Biological
Oscillators, Understanding Complex Systems,
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-59805-1_15
245