Significance of energy metabolism pathways for stimulation of DNA synthesis by cell migration and serum.

The relationships between cell locomotion, pathways of energy metabolism, and DNA synthesis were studied on chick embryo fibroblasts growing in the presence of chick or calf serum. It was shown that: (a) 2'-Deoxyguanosine (2'GdR) inhibits the DNA synthesis but does not decrease the rates of cell locomotion, lactate production, and oxygen consumption. (b) Cell locomotion is dependent on energy from either glycolysis or oxidative phosphorylation. (c) The rate of DNA synthesis is not correlated with the rate of glycolysis. In the presence of ribose and glutamine instead of glucose, DNA synthesis occurred at the same rate as in the presence of glucose despite lactate production being ten times lower. (d) 2,4-Dinitrophenol (2,4-DNP) does not decrease the rate of DNA synthesis whereas KCN inhibits it. (e) Chick serum stimulates more strongly lactate production, oxygen consumption, and DNA synthesis as well as cell locomotion than calf serum. The metabolic basis for the often observed coupling between cell locomotion and DNA synthesis in anchorage-dependent cells is discussed as well as the reasons for uncoupling of these processes in cancer cells or in normal cells under experimental conditions.