What does cancer and bioprocesses have in common?: The Warburg effect
Keywords:
Warburg effect, lactic acid, biopharmaceuticals.Abstract
Cancer and bioprocesses might seem unrelated. However, they are linked by a metabolic phenomenon known as the Warburg effect. When cancer cells grow, even in the presence of enough oxygen, they produce lactic acid, which makes the surrounding environment more acidic. Similarly, during bioprocesses for producing biopharmaceuticals in animal cell cultures, a similar metabolic shift happens, leading to the buildup of lactic acid that negatively affects both cell growth and the quantity and quality of the final drug. This effect was studied by the German scientist Otto Heinrich Warburg and reported in 1923, which is why it bears his name.
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