Assay Name
Oxygen Consumption Assay (Energy Metabolism)
Short Description
Caco-2-cell based Oxygen Consumption Assay (Energy Metabolism)
Assay Description
Oxygen consumption (OC) of cells has been identified as a mitochondrial respiration indicator. OC has widely been used as an intracellular marker for mitochondrial function and aerobic glycolysis in tumors.
Assay Type
Energy Metabolism Detection Assays
Assay Type Details
Cells require energy to grow, replicate and maintain internal cellular environment. Cells acquire energy need through a series of metabolic reactions known as respiration. Energy is stored as ATP in cells and when cells require energy, ATP can be broken down to fulfil the energy needs of cells. Aerobic and anaerobic respirations are two main forms of cellular respiration. Aerobic respiration requires oxygen to break down glucose into pyruvate, ATP and carbon dioxide and in anaerobic respiration, cells break glucose into lactic acid instead of pyruvate. Production of ATP is higher in the aerobic respiration (38 ATPs) than in anaerobic respiration. Glycolysis is the first step in cellular respiration, which involves production of pyruvate from glucose molecules. Enhanced rate of glycolysis is one of the main observations in cancer cells compared to normal cells, which is known as the Warburg effect. The consumption of glucose is reported to be higher in cancer cells than in normal cells. It has been reported that cancer cells can secrete lactic acid rather than converting glucose molecules into carbon dioxide. When considering the rate of ATP production in cancer cells, it has been reported that cancer cells can produce ATP about hundred-fold faster than normal cells. High expression of glucose receptors on the cell surface and enzymes controlling glucose influx into cancer cells have been identified as the main reasons for increased uptake of glucose by cancer cells. Measuring metabolites and enzymes in energy metabolism of cancer has been pivotal in medical research and a wide range of manual assay procedures and kits are available to measure changes in energy metabolism in cancer cells.
Assay Subtype
Oxygen Consumption Assay