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. Author manuscript; available in PMC: 2015 Feb 1.
Published in final edited form as: Trends Biochem Sci. 2014 Jan 2;39(2):91–100. doi: 10.1016/j.tibs.2013.12.004

Figure 6.

Figure 6

KRAS-driven transcriptional reprogramming contributes to the utilization of autophagy and macropinocytosis to meet the metabolic needs of PDAC cells. Macropinocytosis is utilized to transport extracellular protein into the cell. Following degradation, the internalized protein yields amino acids such as glutamine, which can enter the mitochondria to fuel central carbon metabolism. Autophagy recycles cellular components to basic building blocks such as nucleosides, sugars, and amino acids that can be exploited to fuel nucleic acid biosynthesis and glutaminolysis. Through mitophagy, Ras-driven tumor cells can remove damaged mitochondria, which would otherwise increase ROS stress.