Fig. 3
From: Essential roles of mitochondrial and heme function in lung cancer bioenergetics and tumorigenesis
Nutrient exchange in tumor microenvironment. Tumor cells receive metabolites from the neighboring stromal cells. Blood vessels supply nutrients to the cancer cells. Fibroblasts secrete lactate and ketone bodies as a result of metabolic shift to glycolysis in response to hydrogen peroxide released by cancer cells. They undergo autophagy to secrete glutamine. Adipocytes secrete fatty acids that are taken up by cancer cells for synthesizing membranes. Skeletal muscles undergo proteolysis and secrete amino acids in response to pro-inflammatory cytokines released by cancer cells