MYB proto-oncogene like 2 promotes hepatocellular carcinoma growth and glycolysis via binding to the promoter and activating its expression.

Optic atrophy 3 (OPA3) is an integral protein of the mitochondrial outer membrane. The current study explored the expression of in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), its association with the prognosis and its involvement in HCC cell proliferation and aerobic glycolysis. In addition, the transcription factors that activate its expression were screened and validated. Gene expression data in normal liver and liver cancer were acquired from the Genotype-Tissue Expression Project (GTEx) and The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA)-Liver Hepatocellular Carcinoma (TCGA-LIHC). Chromatin immunoprecipitation-seq data (GSM1010876) in Cistrome Data Browser was used for searching transcriptional factors binding to the promoter. HCC cell lines HLF and JHH2 were used for and studies. Results showed that is significantly upregulated in HCC and associated with unfavorable prognosis. knockdown impaired HCC cell growth and . Besides, it decreased glucose uptake, lactate production, intracellular ATP levels, and extracellular acidification rate (ECAR) of HLF and JHH2 cells. MYB Proto-Oncogene Like 2 (MYBL2) can bind to the promoter of and enhance its transcription. knockdown decreased aerobic glycolysis in HCC cells. overexpression reversed these alterations. In conclusion, this study revealed a novel MYBL2-OPA3 axis that enhances HCC cell proliferation and aerobic glycolysis.