# Adrenergic nerves activate an angio-metabolic switch in prostate cancer

Source: https://onco.cc/key-papers/paper-zahalka-science/  
OnCo record `paper-zahalka-science` (Key paper). Data CC BY-NC 4.0, attribute "Data from OnCo (onco.cc)"; commercial use needs a licence.

## TL;DR

Paper cited by one idea page, indexed on Europe PMC as PubMed record 29051371 and published in Science; the citing page links this DOI, which is how the record was matched.

## Summary

Nerves closely associate with blood vessels and help to pattern the vasculature during development. Recent work suggests that newly formed nerve fibers may regulate the tumor microenvironment, but their exact functions are unclear. Studying mouse models of prostate cancer, we show that endothelial β-adrenergic receptor signaling via adrenergic nerve-derived noradrenaline in the prostate stroma is critical for activation of an angiogenic switch that fuels exponential tumor growth. Mechanistically, this occurs through alteration of endothelial cell metabolism. Endothelial cells typically rely on aerobic glycolysis for angiogenesis. We found that the loss of endothelial Adrb2, the gene encoding the β 2 -adrenergic receptor, leads to inhibition of angiogenesis through enhancement of endothelial oxidative phosphorylation. Codeletion of Adrb2 and Cox10, a gene encoding a cytochrome IV oxidase assembly factor, prevented the metabolic shift induced by Adrb2 deletion and rescued prostate cancer progression. This cross-talk between nerves and endothelial metabolism could potentially be targeted as an anticancer therapy.

Indexed on Europe PMC as PubMed record 29051371 (DOI 10.1126/science.aah5072). Matched by DOI alone: one idea page cites this DOI among its external links (the pages are listed under Related), and this page was written so that the citation resolves inside OnCo. No figure has been checked by an editor.

## Fields

- Kind: Key paper
- Last checked: 2026-09-22
- Tags: europepmc-ingest
- Journal: Science
- Year: 2017
- DOI: 10.1126/science.aah5072
- Authors: Zahalka AH, Arnal-Estapé A, Maryanovich M, et al.
- What it means: One idea page on OnCo cites this paper by its DOI; this record gives the citation a page of its own so a reader can follow it without leaving OnCo. Read the abstract above alongside the citing page listed under Related; the record was created automatically from the Europe PMC entry and its figures have not been checked by hand.
- Caveats: Matched to the citing OnCo records by DOI alone; the summary reproduces the Europe PMC abstract and no figure has been verified against the full paper.

## Sources

- Science 2017: https://doi.org/10.1126/science.aah5072
- PubMed: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/29051371/
- Europe PMC: https://europepmc.org/article/MED/29051371

## Connected records

- ideas: [Cut the nerve supply to tumours with old drugs](https://onco.cc/ideas/idea-nerve-tumour-blockade/)
- journals: [Science](https://onco.cc/journals/science/)

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