Vishal Rastogi1,#, Deepak Verma2,#, Saurabh Verma3, Prakash Haloi1, Shruti Kapoor4, Havagiray R. Chitme1, Nethaji Muniraj5,*, Priyanka Saroj1,*
Oncology Research, Vol.34, No.3, 2026, DOI:10.32604/or.2026.072620
- 24 February 2026
Abstract Metastatic brain tumors undergo profound metabolic–epigenetic reprogramming driven by the unique constraints of the brain microenvironment. Hypoxia-inducible factor-1α (HIF1α) enhances glycolytic flux, lactate accumulation, and histone lactylation, collectively supporting metastatic colonization and immune evasion. Key metabolites including acetyl-CoA, S-adenosylmethionine (SAM), α-ketoglutarate (α-KG), fumarate, and 2-hydroxyglutarate (2-HG)—directly modify chromatin states by regulating histone acetyltransferases, DNA/histone methyltransferases, and α-KG dependent dioxygenases such as Ten-Eleven Translocation (TET) enzymes and lysine demethylases (KDMs). These metabolic shifts result in aberrant DNA methylation, histone lysine residue at position 27 on Histone H3 (H3K27) trimethylation, and depletion of 5-hydroxymethylcytosine (5hmC), all of… More >