Department of Pathology, School of Medicine, College of Medicine, Taipei Medical University, Taipei, Taiwan.
Department of Pathology, School of Medicine, College of Medicine, Taipei Medical University, Taipei, Taiwan; Graduate Institute of Clinical Medicine, College of Medicine, Taipei Medical University, Taipei, Taiwan; International Master/Ph.D. Program in Medicine, College of Medicine, Taipei Medical University, Taipei, Taiwan.
J Lipid Res. 2024 Nov;65(11):100660. doi: 10.1016/j.jlr.2024.100660. Epub 2024 Sep 26.
Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) poses significant treatment challenges due to high postoperative recurrence rates and the limited effectiveness of targeted medications. Researchers have identified the unique metabolic profiles of cancer stem cells (CSCs) as the primary drivers of cancer recurrence, metastasis, and drug resistance. Therefore, to address the therapeutic conundrum, this study focused on rewinding metabolic reprogramming of CSCs as a novel therapeutic strategy. HCC CSCs exhibited elevated fatty acid (FA) metabolism compared with parental cells. To specifically target FA metabolism in CSCs, we utilized cerulenin, a fatty acid synthase (FASN) inhibitor. Surprisingly, cerulenin can diminish CSC-like characteristics, including stemness gene expression, spherogenicity, tumorigenicity, and metastatic potential. In addition, sorafenib, a multikinase inhibitor used as targeted therapy for advanced HCC, was employed in combination with cerulenin, demonstrating a great synergistic effect, particularly in CSCs. Importantly, our RNA sequencing analysis disclosed that the amyloid protein precursor (APP) is a crucial downstream effector of FASN in regulating CSC properties. We found that APP plays a crucial role in CSCs' characteristics that can be inhibited by cerulenin. By focusing on FA metabolism, this study identified the FASN/APP axis as a viable target to develop a more potent therapy strategy for advanced HCC.
肝细胞癌 (HCC) 由于术后复发率高和靶向药物疗效有限,给治疗带来了巨大挑战。研究人员已经发现癌症干细胞 (CSC) 的独特代谢特征是癌症复发、转移和耐药的主要驱动因素。因此,为了解决治疗难题,本研究专注于逆转 CSC 的代谢重编程作为一种新的治疗策略。与亲本细胞相比,HCC CSC 表现出升高的脂肪酸 (FA) 代谢。为了特异性地靶向 CSC 中的 FA 代谢,我们使用了一种脂肪酸合酶 (FASN) 抑制剂——杆菌肽。令人惊讶的是,杆菌肽可以减少 CSC 样特征,包括干细胞基因表达、球体形成能力、致瘤性和转移潜力。此外,索拉非尼是一种用于晚期 HCC 的多激酶抑制剂,与杆菌肽联合使用时表现出很大的协同作用,特别是在 CSC 中。重要的是,我们的 RNA 测序分析揭示了淀粉样蛋白前体 (APP) 是 FASN 调节 CSC 特性的关键下游效应物。我们发现 APP 在 CSC 特性中发挥着关键作用,而 CSC 特性可以被杆菌肽抑制。通过关注 FA 代谢,本研究确定了 FASN/APP 轴作为开发更有效的晚期 HCC 治疗策略的可行靶点。
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