Hepatobiliary Center, The First Affiliated Hospital of Nanjing Medical University, Key Laboratory of Liver Transplantation, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences, NHC Key Laboratory of Hepatobiliary Cancers (The First Affiliated Hospital of Nanjing Medical University), Nanjing, Jiangsu Province, China.
Department of Anesthesiology and Perioperative Medicine, The First Affiliated Hospital of Nanjing Medical University, Nanjing, 210029, China.
Cancer Lett. 2024 Jul 1;593:216935. doi: 10.1016/j.canlet.2024.216935. Epub 2024 May 3.
Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is a prevalent malignancy characterized by complex heterogeneity and drug resistance. Resistance to ferroptosis is closely related to the progression of HCC. While HCC tumors vary in their sensitivity to ferroptosis, the precise factors underlying this heterogeneity remain unclear. In this study, we sought to elucidate the mechanisms that contribute to ferroptosis resistance in HCC. Whole-genome CRISPR/Cas9 screen using a subtoxic concentration (IC20) of ferroptosis inducer erastin in the HCC cell line Huh7 revealed TRIM34 as a critical driver of ferroptosis resistance in HCC. Further investigation revealed that TRIM34 suppresses ferroptosis in HCC cells, promoting their proliferation, migration, and invasion both in vitro and in vivo. Furthermore, TRIM34 expression is elevated in HCC tumor tissues, correlating with a poor prognosis. Mechanistically, TRIM34 directly interacts with Up-frameshift 1 (UPF1), a core component of the nonsense-mediated mRNA decay (NMD) pathway, to promote its ubiquitination and degradation. This interaction suppresses GPX4 transcript degradation, thus promoting the protein levels of this critical ferroptosis suppressor in HCC. In light of the close crosstalk between ferroptosis and the adaptive immune response in cancer, HCC cells with targeting knockdown of TRIM34 exhibited an improved response to anti-PD-1 treatment. Taken together, the TRIM34/UPF1/GPX4 axis mediates ferroptosis resistance in HCC, thereby promoting malignant phenotypes. Targeting TRIM34 may thus represent a promising new strategy for HCC treatment.
肝细胞癌(HCC)是一种常见的恶性肿瘤,其特征是具有复杂的异质性和耐药性。对铁死亡的抵抗与 HCC 的进展密切相关。尽管 HCC 肿瘤对铁死亡的敏感性存在差异,但这种异质性的具体因素尚不清楚。在这项研究中,我们试图阐明导致 HCC 对铁死亡产生抵抗的机制。使用低毒性浓度(IC20)的铁死亡诱导剂 erastin 在 HCC 细胞系 Huh7 中进行全基因组 CRISPR/Cas9 筛选,发现 TRIM34 是 HCC 中铁死亡抵抗的关键驱动因素。进一步的研究表明,TRIM34 抑制 HCC 细胞中的铁死亡,促进其体外和体内的增殖、迁移和侵袭。此外,TRIM34 的表达在 HCC 肿瘤组织中升高,与预后不良相关。从机制上讲,TRIM34 直接与 UPF1(无意义介导的 mRNA 降解(NMD)途径的核心成分)相互作用,促进其泛素化和降解。这种相互作用抑制了 GPX4 转录本的降解,从而促进了这个关键的铁死亡抑制剂在 HCC 中的蛋白水平。鉴于铁死亡与癌症中的适应性免疫反应之间的紧密相互作用,靶向敲低 TRIM34 的 HCC 细胞对抗 PD-1 治疗的反应得到改善。总之,TRIM34/UPF1/GPX4 轴介导 HCC 中的铁死亡抵抗,从而促进恶性表型。因此,靶向 TRIM34 可能代表 HCC 治疗的一种有前途的新策略。
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