Yan Yu-Chuan, Shao Li-Juan, Meng Guang-Xiao, Pan Guo-Qiang, Li Rui-Zhe, Xiong Chen, Liu Shi-Jia, Ding Zi-Niu, Zhang Xiao-Lu, Dong Xiao-Feng, Qu Ying, Dong Zhao-Ru, Li Tao
Department of General Surgery, Qilu Hospital of Shandong University, Jinan, China.
Research Center for Basic Medical Sciences, Qilu Hospital of Shandong University, Jinan, China.
Cell Death Dis. 2025 Aug 25;16(1):645. doi: 10.1038/s41419-025-07941-1.
Lenvatinib resistance significantly limits its clinical efficacy and application in the treatment of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). Mitofusin 2 (MFN2) is an important GTPase involved in mitochondrial fusion, energy balance and mitophagy. The role and regulatory mechanism of MFN2 in HCC progression and lenvatinib resistance remain unclear. Herein, we demonstrated that the family with sequence similarity 111 member B (FAM111B) regulated the stability of MFN2 and the sensitivity to lenvatinib in HCC. Mechanistically, FAM111B promoted MFN2 ubiquitination by recruiting RAN-binding protein 9 (RANBP9), a core subunit of the C-terminal to LisH (CTLH) E3 ligase complex. Targeting FAM111B generated hyperfused mitochondria, driving a metabolic shift from glycolysis to oxidative phosphorylation (OXPHOS) and antagonising cytoprotective mitophagy. Clinically, FAM111B protein levels were inversely correlated with MFN2 expression in HCC samples, with patients who exhibited high FAM111B levels having a worse prognosis and reduced sensitivity to lenvatinib treatment. More importantly, we developed glypican-3 (GPC3)-targeted lipid nanoparticles for efficient delivery of siFAM111B, which demonstrated strong efficacy in combination with lenvatinib. Together, our findings uncover a novel regulatory mechanism for MFN2 posttranscriptional regulation and highlight the therapeutic potential of targeting FAM111B in HCC treatment.
乐伐替尼耐药性显著限制了其在肝细胞癌(HCC)治疗中的临床疗效和应用。线粒体融合蛋白2(MFN2)是一种参与线粒体融合、能量平衡和线粒体自噬的重要GTP酶。MFN2在HCC进展和乐伐替尼耐药中的作用及调控机制尚不清楚。在此,我们证明了序列相似性家族111成员B(FAM111B)调节HCC中MFN2的稳定性和对乐伐替尼的敏感性。机制上,FAM111B通过招募RAN结合蛋白9(RANBP9)促进MFN2泛素化,RANBP9是C末端至LisH(CTLH)E3连接酶复合体的核心亚基。靶向FAM111B可产生过度融合的线粒体,促使代谢从糖酵解转变为氧化磷酸化(OXPHOS)并拮抗细胞保护性线粒体自噬。临床上,FAM111B蛋白水平与HCC样本中MFN2的表达呈负相关,FAM111B水平高的患者预后较差,对乐伐替尼治疗的敏感性降低。更重要的是,我们开发了靶向磷脂酰肌醇蛋白聚糖-3(GPC3)的脂质纳米颗粒,用于高效递送siFAM111B,其与乐伐替尼联合使用时显示出强大的疗效。总之,我们的研究结果揭示了MFN2转录后调控的一种新机制,并突出了靶向FAM111B在HCC治疗中的治疗潜力。