Altered glucose metabolism is an important characteristic of cancer cells, which is referred to as Warburg effect or aerobic glycolysis. Ewing sarcoma (EWS) is a highly malignant tumor that occurs in children and adolescents. However, the functions of aerobic glycolysis in EWS remain to be elucidated. The present study identified a transcription factor, E2F transcription factor 1 (E2F1), as a new regulator of cancer the aerobic glycolysis and progression in EWS. The present study showed that E2F1 modulated aerobic glycolysis in EWS cells by effecting glucose uptake, lactate production and ATP generation. Altered E2F1 expression increased or decreased cell viability and invasion in EWS. Mechanistically, the results demonstrated that E2F1 may promote the Warburg effect and cancer progression in EWS via upregulating enolase 2 expression. Generally, these findings indicated that E2F1 involvement in the progression of EWS and could serve as a clinical therapeutic target in EWS.
Keywords: E2F transcription factor 1; Ewing sarcoma; aerobic glycolysis; cancer progression.