In
cancer research, cell lines are used to explore the molecular basis of the disease as a substitute to tissue biopsies.
Breast cancer in particular is a very heterogeneous type of
cancer, and different subgroups of cell lines have been established according to their genomic profiles and
tumor characteristics. We applied GCMS metabolite profiling to five selected
breast cancer cell lines and found this heterogeneity reflected on the metabolite level as well. Metabolite profiles of MCF-7 cells belonging to the
luminal gene cluster proved to be more different from those of the basal A cell line JIMT-1 and the basal B cell lines MDA-MB-231, MDA-MB-435, and MDA-MB-436 with only slight differences in the intracellular metabolite pattern.
Lactate release into the cultivation medium as an
indicator of glycolytic activity was correlated to the metabolite profiles and physiological characteristics of each cell line. In conclusion,
pantothenic acid,
beta-alanine and
glycerophosphoglycerol appeared to be related to the glycolytic activity designated through high
lactate release. Other physiological parameters coinciding with glycolytic activity were high glyoxalase 1 (Glo1) and
lactate dehydrogenase (LDH)
enzyme activity as well as cell migration as an additional important characteristic contributing to the aggressiveness of
tumor cells. Metabolite profiles of the cell lines are comparatively discussed with respect to known
biomarkers of
cancer progression.