  Cancer cells maintain a high level of aerobic glycolysis (the Warburg
effect), which is associated with their rapid proliferation. Many studies have
reported that the suppression of glycolysis and activation of oxidative
phosphorylation can repress the growth of cancer cells through regulation of
key regulators. Whether Warburg effect of cancer cells could be switched by
some other environmental stimulus? Herein, we report an interesting phenomenon
in which cells alternated between glycolysis and mitochondrial respiration
depending on the type of radiation they were exposed to. We observed enhanced
glycolysis and mitochondrial respiration in HeLa cells exposed to 2-Gy X-ray
and 2-Gy carbon ion radiation, respectively. This discovery may provide novel
insights for tumor therapy.
