Cancer cells proliferate less when their internal pH is lowered

A new computational model has allowed researchers to identify new therapeutic targets that can attack cancer cells by lowering their intracellular pH. The study, which is the result of collaboration between IRB Barcelona, the Moffitt Cancer Center, and the University of Maryland, has been published in Nature Communications.

Cancer cells are known to acidify their environment and, consequently, the interior of the cells themselves is alkalised. In principle, this deregulation should hinder the development and proliferation of these cells. However, exactly the opposite happens in cancer. A computational study co-authored by computational chemist Miquel Duran-Frigola, from the Institute for Research in Biomedicine (IRB Barcelona), has demonstrated that cancer cells proliferate less and in a less robust manner when their internal pH is lowered, that is to say it becomes more acidic. This finding thus reveals opportunities for new therapeutic approaches to tackle the disease.