2-deoxy-D-glucose exploits increased glucose metabolism in cancer and viral-infected cells: relevance to its use in India against SARS-CoV-2

The QBI Seminar Series is presenting Theodore Lampidis, a professor in the Department of Cell Biology at the Miller School of Medicine, and the Sylvester Comprehensive Cancer Center at the University of Miami. Dr. Lampidis graduated from Brooklyn College with a BS in chemistry, received a master’s degree from NYU in Medical Microbiology and his Ph.D. from the University of Miami in Immunology & Microbiology. He did his postdoctoral training at Harvard School of Public Health and Harvard Medical School. He is currently professor in the Department of Cell Biology at University of Miami and Sylvester Comprehensive Cancer Center. A focus of his work that he will speak about during his talk is on the molecular and cellular mechanisms responsible for exploiting increased tumor glucose metabolism (a universal trait of cancer) with the sugar analog 2-deoxy-D.glucose.

Based on PET scan results demonstrating that tumors take up more glucose than surrounding normal tissues, Dr. Lampidis and his group have been investigating and developing the sugar analog 2-deoxy-D-glucose (2-DG) for clinical use as a universal cancer treatment. Not only is glucose a vital energy source but it is the molecule that supplies the building blocks required for cell progeny. Similarly viral-infected cells increase glucose uptake to produce more virus. During his talk, Dr. Lampidis will focus on the mechanisms by which 2-DG exploits increased glucose metabolism in cancer cells and how this knowledge is being applied to viral-infected cells in general, and in particular, SARS-CoV-2-infected cells.