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Gao Y, Gong Y, Lu J, Yang Y, Zhang Y, Xiong Y, Shi X. Dihydroartemisinin breaks the positive feedback loop of YAP1 and GLUT1-mediated aerobic glycolysis to boost the CD8 + effector T cells in hepatocellular carcinoma. Biochem Pharmacol 2024; 225:116294. [PMID: 38754557 DOI: 10.1016/j.bcp.2024.116294] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/11/2024] [Revised: 05/11/2024] [Accepted: 05/13/2024] [Indexed: 05/18/2024]
Abstract
Aerobic glycolysis is a hallmark of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). Dihydroartemisinin (DHA) exhibits antitumor activity towards liver cancer. Our previous studies have shown that DHA inhibits the Warburg effect in HCC cells. However, the mechanism still needs to be clarified. Our study aimed to elucidate the interaction between YAP1 and GLUT1-mediated aerobic glycolysis in HCC cells and focused on the underlying mechanisms of DHA inhibiting aerobic glycolysis in HCC cells. In this study, we confirmed that inhibition of YAP1 expression lowers GLUT1-mediated aerobic glycolysis in HCC cells and enhances the activity of CD8+T cells in the tumor niche. Then, we found that DHA was bound to cellular YAP1 in HCC cells. YAP1 knockdown inhibited GLUT1-mediated aerobic glycolysis, whereas YAP1 overexpression promoted GLUT1-mediated aerobic glycolysis in HCC cells. Notably, liver-specific Yap1 knockout by AAV8-TBG-Cre suppressed HIF-1α and GLUT1 expression in tumors but not para-tumors in DEN/TCPOBOP-induced HCC mice. Even more crucial is that YAP1 forms a positive feedback loop with GLUT1-mediated aerobic glycolysis, which is associated with HIF-1α in HCC cells. Finally, DHA reduced GLUT1-aerobic glycolysis in HCC cells through YAP1 and prevented the binding of YAP1 and HIF-1α. Collectively, our study revealed the mechanism of DHA inhibiting glycolysis in HCC cells from a perspective of a positive feedback loop involving YAP1 and GLUT1 mediated-aerobic glycolysis and provided a feasible therapeutic strategy for targeting enhanced aerobic glycolysis in HCC.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yuting Gao
- Laboratory of Integrated Medicine Tumor Immunology, Shanxi University of Chinese Medicine, Taiyuan 030000, China; Department of Pathobiology and Immunology, Hebei University of Chinese Medicine, Shijiazhuang, 050200, China
| | - Yi Gong
- Laboratory of Integrated Medicine Tumor Immunology, Shanxi University of Chinese Medicine, Taiyuan 030000, China; Department of Pathobiology and Immunology, Hebei University of Chinese Medicine, Shijiazhuang, 050200, China
| | - Junlan Lu
- Laboratory of Integrated Medicine Tumor Immunology, Shanxi University of Chinese Medicine, Taiyuan 030000, China; Department of Pathobiology and Immunology, Hebei University of Chinese Medicine, Shijiazhuang, 050200, China
| | - Yanguang Yang
- Laboratory of Integrated Medicine Tumor Immunology, Shanxi University of Chinese Medicine, Taiyuan 030000, China; Department of Pathobiology and Immunology, Hebei University of Chinese Medicine, Shijiazhuang, 050200, China
| | - Yuman Zhang
- Laboratory of Integrated Medicine Tumor Immunology, Shanxi University of Chinese Medicine, Taiyuan 030000, China; Department of Pathobiology and Immunology, Hebei University of Chinese Medicine, Shijiazhuang, 050200, China
| | - Yajun Xiong
- Laboratory of Integrated Medicine Tumor Immunology, Shanxi University of Chinese Medicine, Taiyuan 030000, China
| | - Xinli Shi
- Laboratory of Integrated Medicine Tumor Immunology, Shanxi University of Chinese Medicine, Taiyuan 030000, China; Department of Pathobiology and Immunology, Hebei University of Chinese Medicine, Shijiazhuang, 050200, China.
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Gao Y, Gong Y, Lu J, Hao H, Shi X. Targeting YAP1 to improve the efficacy of immune checkpoint inhibitors in liver cancer: mechanism and strategy. Front Immunol 2024; 15:1377722. [PMID: 38550587 PMCID: PMC10972981 DOI: 10.3389/fimmu.2024.1377722] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/28/2024] [Accepted: 03/04/2024] [Indexed: 04/02/2024] Open
Abstract
Liver cancer is the third leading of tumor death, including hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) and intrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma (ICC). Immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs) are yielding much for sufferers to hope for patients, but only some patients with advanced liver tumor respond. Recent research showed that tumor microenvironment (TME) is critical for the effectiveness of ICIs in advanced liver tumor. Meanwhile, metabolic reprogramming of liver tumor leads to immunosuppression in TME. These suggest that regulating the abnormal metabolism of liver tumor cells and firing up TME to turn "cold tumor" into "hot tumor" are potential strategies to improve the therapeutic effect of ICIs in liver tumor. Previous studies have found that YAP1 is a potential target to improve the efficacy of anti-PD-1 in HCC. Here, we review that YAP1 promotes immunosuppression of TME, mainly due to the overstimulation of cytokines in TME by YAP1. Subsequently, we studied the effects of YAP1 on metabolic reprogramming in liver tumor cells, including glycolysis, gluconeogenesis, lipid metabolism, arachidonic acid metabolism, and amino acid metabolism. Lastly, we summarized the existing drugs targeting YAP1 in the treatment of liver tumor, including some medicines from natural sources, which have the potential to improve the efficacy of ICIs in the treatment of liver tumor. This review contributed to the application of targeted YAP1 for combined therapy with ICIs in liver tumor patients.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yuting Gao
- Laboratory of Integrated Medicine Tumor Immunology, Shanxi University of Chinese Medicine, Taiyuan, China
| | - Yi Gong
- Laboratory of Integrated Medicine Tumor Immunology, Shanxi University of Chinese Medicine, Taiyuan, China
| | - Junlan Lu
- Laboratory of Integrated Medicine Tumor Immunology, Shanxi University of Chinese Medicine, Taiyuan, China
| | - Huiqin Hao
- Chinese Medicine Gene Expression Regulation Laboratory, State Administration of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Shanxi University of Chinese Medicine, Taiyuan, China
- Basic Laboratory of Integrated Traditional Chinese and Western, Shanxi University of Chinese Medicine, Taiyuan, China
| | - Xinli Shi
- Laboratory of Integrated Medicine Tumor Immunology, Shanxi University of Chinese Medicine, Taiyuan, China
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Wang D, Zhang B, Liu X, Kan LLY, Leung PC, Wong CK. Agree to disagree: The contradiction between IL-18 and IL-37 reveals shared targets in cancer. Pharmacol Res 2024; 200:107072. [PMID: 38242220 DOI: 10.1016/j.phrs.2024.107072] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/30/2023] [Revised: 12/28/2023] [Accepted: 01/10/2024] [Indexed: 01/21/2024]
Abstract
IL-37 is a newly discovered member of the IL-1 cytokine family which plays an important role in regulating inflammation and maintaining physiological homeostasis. IL-37 showed a close relationship with IL-18, another key cytokine in inflammation regulation and cancer development. IL-37 affects the function of IL-18 either by binding to IL-18Rα, a key subunit of both IL-37 and IL-18 receptor, or by drastically neutralizing the IL-18 protein expression of IL-18 binding protein, an important natural inhibitory molecule of IL-18. Moreover, as another subunit receptor of IL-37, IL-1R8 can suppress IL-18Rα expression, functioning as a surveillance mechanism to prevent overactivation of both IL-18 and IL-37 signaling pathways. While IL-18 and IL-37 share the same receptor subunit, IL-18 would in turn interfere with IL-37 signal transduction by binding to IL-18Rα. It is also reported that IL-18 and IL-37 demonstrated opposing effects in a variety of cancers, such as glioblastoma, lung cancer, leukemia, and hepatocellular cancer. Although the mutual regulation of IL-18 and IL-37 and their diametrically opposed effects in cancers has been reported, IL-18 has not been taken into consideration when interpreting clinical findings and conducting mechanism investigations related to IL-37 in cancer. We aim to review the recent progress in IL-18 and IL-37 research in cancer and summarize the correlation between IL-18 and IL-37 in cancer based on their expression level and underlying mechanisms, which would provide new insights into elucidating the conflicting roles of IL-18 and IL-37 in cancer and bring new ideas for translational research related to IL-18 and IL-37.
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Affiliation(s)
- Dongjie Wang
- Institute of Chinese Medicine and State Key Laboratory of Research on Bioactivities and Clinical Applications of Medicinal Plants, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, China
| | - Bitian Zhang
- Institute of Chinese Medicine and State Key Laboratory of Research on Bioactivities and Clinical Applications of Medicinal Plants, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, China
| | - Xiaolin Liu
- Institute of Chinese Medicine and State Key Laboratory of Research on Bioactivities and Clinical Applications of Medicinal Plants, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, China
| | - Lea Ling-Yu Kan
- Institute of Chinese Medicine and State Key Laboratory of Research on Bioactivities and Clinical Applications of Medicinal Plants, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, China
| | - Ping-Chung Leung
- Institute of Chinese Medicine and State Key Laboratory of Research on Bioactivities and Clinical Applications of Medicinal Plants, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, China
| | - Chun-Kwok Wong
- Institute of Chinese Medicine and State Key Laboratory of Research on Bioactivities and Clinical Applications of Medicinal Plants, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, China; Department of Chemical Pathology, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Prince of Wales Hospital, Hong Kong, China; Li Dak Sum Yip Yio Chin R & D Centre for Chinese Medicine, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, China.
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