Cancer cells display high rates of aerobic glycolysis, a phenomenon known historically as
the Warburg effect. Lactate and pyruvate, the end products of glycolysis, are highly produced
by cancer cells even in the presence of oxygen. Hypoxia-induced gene expression in cancer
cells has been linked to malignant transformation. Here we provide evidence that lactate
and pyruvate regulate hypoxia-inducible gene expression independently of hypoxia by
stimulating the accumulation of hypoxia-inducible Factor 1α (HIF-1α). In human gliomas and …