The following is a summary of “Metabolomics of 3D cell co-culture reveals alterations in energy metabolism at the cross-talk of colorectal cancer-adipocytes,” published in the October 2024 issue of Gastroenterology by Pelosi et al. 

Colorectal cancer (CRC) is a prevalent and deadly malignancy, with obesity linked to its development. Utilizing a three-dimensional (3D) co-culture model of CRC tumor cells and adipocytes may provide insights into lipid alterations and energy metabolism changes in this context. 

Researchers conducted a prospective study to identify metabolites in a 3D co-culture of CRC tumor cells and adipocytes, focusing on the secretome’s metabolome composition. 

They cultured pre-adipocyte cells (3T3-L1), human colon carcinoma cells (HT-29), and a 3D co-culture (3T3-L1 + HT-29) to obtain the secretome and analyzed the metabolomics of each secretome using ultra-high-performance liquid chromatography coupled with high-resolution mass spectrometry (LC-HRMS). 

The results showed that 3,731 molecules were detected, independent of the cell culture. Comparison of the 3 cultures revealed 105 molecules with statistically significant differences in abundance, with 16 identified, including 6 lipids (PG 20:0, octadecenal, 3-Hydroxytetracosanoyl-CoA, 9,10-dihydroxy-octadecenoic acid, palmitoleic acid, and PA 18:4) and 1 amino acid derivative (acetylglutamic acid), which had significant scores in the partial least-squares discriminant analysis (PLS-DA). 

Investigators concluded that the impact of these molecules in the CRC microenvironment is unclear, but the findings support further research into energy metabolism interactions between CRC and adipocytes. 

Source: frontiersin.org/journals/medicine/articles/10.3389/fmed.2024.1436866/full