SLC27A4-mediated selective uptake of mono-unsaturated fatty acids promotes ferroptosis defense in hepatocellular carcinoma

Causal Effect of Immunocytes, Plasma Metabolites, and Hepatocellular Carcinoma: A Bidirectional Two-Sample Mendelian Randomization Study and Mediation Analysis in East Asian Populations

Background: Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is a primary malignant liver tumor characterized by a low survival rate and high mortality. This study aimed to investigate the causal effect of immune cell phenotypes, plasma metabolites, and HCC in East Asian populations. Methods: The summary results for 731 immunocytes, 1400 plasma metabolites, and HCCs were acquired from publicly available genome-wide association studies (GWASs). This study utilized two-sample Mendelian randomization (MR) analysis to establish causal relationships, which was achieved by employing various statistical methods including inverse variance-weighted, simple mode, MR-Egger, weighted median, and weighted mode. Multiple sensitivity analyses were conducted to confirm the reliability of the MR data. Ultimately, mediation analysis was employed to ascertain the path that leads from immunocytes to plasma metabolites. Results: Among the 20 immune cells and HCC for East Asians, causal links were found, with one showing an inverse correlation. In addition, 36 metabolites were significantly associated with HCC for East Asians. Through analysis of established causative metabolites, we identified a strong correlation between the glycerophospholipid metabolic pathway and HCC for East Asians. By employing a two-step MR analysis, we identified 11 immunocytes that are causally linked to HCC for East Asians through the mediation of 14 plasma metabolites, with Linolenate [α or γ; (18:3n3 or 6)] levels showing the highest mediation proportion (19.3%). Conclusions: Our findings affirm the causal links among immunocytes, plasma metabolites, and HCC in eastern Asia populations by calculating the percentage of the impact that is influenced by plasma metabolites. This study offers innovative perspectives on the early detection, diagnosis, and therapy of HCC.

The solute carrier transporters (SLCs) family in nutrient metabolism and ferroptosis

Ferroptosis is a novel form of programmed cell death caused by damage to lipid membranes due to the accumulation of lipid peroxides in response to various stimuli, such as high levels of iron, oxidative stress, metabolic disturbance, etc. Sugar, lipid, amino acid, and iron metabolism are crucial in regulating ferroptosis. The solute carrier transporters (SLCs) family, known as the "metabolic gating" of cells, is responsible for transporting intracellular nutrients and metabolites. Recent studies have highlighted the significant role of SLCs family members in ferroptosis by controlling the transport of various nutrients. Here, we summarized the function and mechanism of SLCs in ferroptosis regulated by ion, metabolic control of nutrients, and multiple signaling pathways, with a focus on SLC-related transporters that primarily transport five significant components: glucose, amino acid, lipid, trace metal ion, and other ion. Furthermore, the potential clinical applications of targeting SLCs with ferroptosis inducers for various diseases, including tumors, are discussed. Overall, this paper delves into the novel roles of the SLCs family in ferroptosis, aiming to enhance our understanding of the regulatory mechanisms of ferroptosis and identify new therapeutic targets for clinical applications.

Programmed cell death in hepatocellular carcinoma: mechanisms and therapeutic prospects

Hepatocellular Carcinoma (HCC), the most common primary liver cancer, ranks as the third most common cause of cancer-related deaths globally. A deeper understanding of the cell death mechanisms in HCC is essential for developing more effective treatment strategies. This review explores programmed cell death (PCD) pathways involved in HCC, including apoptosis, necroptosis, pyroptosis, ferroptosis, and immunogenic cell death (ICD). These mechanisms trigger specific cell death cascades that influence the development and progression of HCC. Although multiple PCD pathways are involved in HCC, shared cellular factors suggest a possible interplay between the different forms of cell death. However, the exact roles of different cell death pathways in HCC and which cell death pathway plays a major role remain unclear. This review also highlights how disruptions in cell death pathways are related to drug resistance in cancer therapy, promoting a combined approach of cell death induction and anti-tumor treatment to enhance therapeutic efficacy. Further research is required to unravel the complex interplay between cell death modalities in HCC, which may lead to innovative therapeutic breakthroughs.

SCD1 promotes the stemness of gastric cancer stem cells by inhibiting ferroptosis through the SQLE/cholesterol/mTOR signalling pathway

Cancer stem cells (CSCs) play a substantial role in cancer onset and recurrence. Anomalous iron and lipid metabolism have been documented in CSCs, suggesting that ferroptosis, a recently discovered form of regulated cell death characterised by lipid peroxidation, could potentially exert a significant influence on CSCs. However, the precise role of ferroptosis in gastric cancer stem cells (GCSCs) remains unknown. To address this gap, we screened ferroptosis-related genes in GCSCs using The Cancer Genome Atlas and corroborated our findings through quantitative polymerase chain reaction and western blotting. These results indicate that stearoyl-CoA desaturase (SCD1) is a key player in the regulation of ferroptosis in GCSCs. This study provides evidence that SCD1 positively regulates the transcription of squalene epoxidase (SQLE) by eliminating transcriptional inhibition of P53. This mechanism increases the cholesterol content and the elevated cholesterol regulated by SCD1 inhibits ferroptosis via the mTOR signalling pathway. Furthermore, our in vivo studies showed that SCD1 knockdown or regulation of cholesterol intake affects the stemness of GCSCs and their sensitivity to ferroptosis inducers. Thus, targeting the SCD1/squalene epoxidase/cholesterol signalling axis in conjunction with ferroptosis inducers may represent a promising therapeutic approach for the treatment of gastric cancer based on GCSCs.

Unveiling the role of ferroptosis in the progression from NAFLD to NASH: recent advances in mechanistic understanding

Non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) is a prevalent and significant global public health issue. Nonalcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH) represents an advanced stage of NAFLD in terms of pathology. However, the intricate mechanisms underlying the progression from NAFLD to NASH remain elusive. Ferroptosis, characterized by iron-dependent cell death and distinguished from other forms of cell death based on morphological, biochemical, and genetic criteria, has emerged as a potential participant with a pivotal role in driving NAFLD progression. Nevertheless, its precise mechanism remains poorly elucidated. In this review article, we comprehensively summarize the pathogenesis of NAFLD/NASH and ferroptosis while highlighting recent advances in understanding the mechanistic involvement of ferroptosis in NAFLD/NASH.

Role of lipid metabolism in hepatocellular carcinoma

Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), an aggressive malignancy with a dismal prognosis, poses a significant public health challenge. Recent research has highlighted the crucial role of lipid metabolism in HCC development, with enhanced lipid synthesis and uptake contributing to the rapid proliferation and tumorigenesis of cancer cells. Lipids, primarily synthesized and utilized in the liver, play a critical role in the pathological progression of various cancers, particularly HCC. Cancer cells undergo metabolic reprogramming, an essential adaptation to the tumor microenvironment (TME), with fatty acid metabolism emerging as a key player in this process. This review delves into intricate interplay between HCC and lipid metabolism, focusing on four key areas: de novo lipogenesis, fatty acid oxidation, dysregulated lipid metabolism of immune cells in the TME, and therapeutic strategies targeting fatty acid metabolism for HCC treatment.

Epigenetics Meets CAR-T-Cell Therapy to Fight Cancer

Based on the impressive success of Car-T-cell therapy in the treatment of hematological malignancies, a broad application for solid tumors also appears promising. However, some important hurdles need to be overcome. One of these is certainly the identification of specific target antigens on cancer cells. Hypomethylation is a characteristic epigenetic aberration in many tumor entities. Genome-wide screenings for consistent DNA hypomethylations in tumors enable the identification of aberrantly upregulated transcripts, which might result in cell surface proteins. Thus, this approach provides a new perspective for the discovery of potential new Car-T-cell target antigens for almost every tumor entity. First, we focus on this approach as a possible treatment for prostate cancer.

Ferroptosis resistance in cancer: recent advances and future perspectives

Ferroptosis is an iron-dependent, non-apoptotic form of regulated cell death and has been implicated in the occurrence and development of various diseases, including heart disease, nervous system diseases and cancer. Ferroptosis induction recently emerged as an attractive strategy for cancer therapy. Ferroptosis has become a potential target for intervention in these diseases or injuries in relevant preclinical models. This review summarizes recent progress on the mechanisms of ferroptosis resistance in cancer, highlights redox status and metabolism's role in it. Combination therapy for ferroptosis has great potential in cancer treatment, especially malignant tumors that are resistant to conventional therapies. This review will lead us to have a comprehensive understanding of the future exploration of ferroptosis and cancer therapy. A deeper understanding of the relationship between ferroptosis resistance and metabolism reprogramming may provide new strategies for tumor treatment and drug development based on ferroptosis.

A Comprehensive Metabolism-Related Gene Signature Predicts the Survival of Patients with Acute Myeloid Leukemia

(1) Background: Acute myeloid leukemia (AML) is a clonal malignancy with heterogeneity in genomics and clinical outcome. Metabolism reprogramming has been increasingly recognized to play an important role in the leukemogenesis and prognosis in AML. A comprehensive prognostic model based on metabolism signatures has not yet been developed. (2) Methods: We applied Cox regression analysis and the least absolute shrinkage and selection operator (LASSO) normalization to establish a metabolism-related prognostic gene signature based on glycolysis, fatty acid metabolism, and the tricarboxylic acid cycle gene signatures. The Cancer Genome Atlas-Acute Myeloid Leukemia-like (TCGA-LAML) cohort was set as the training dataset for model construction. Three independent AML cohorts (GSE37642, GSE10358, and GSE12417) combined from Gene Expression Omnibus (GEO) datasets and the Beat-AML dataset were retrieved as two validation sets to test the robustness of the model. The transcriptome data and clinic information of the cohorts were enrolled for the analysis. (3) Results: Divided by the median value of the metabolism risk score, the five-year overall survival (OS) of the high-risk and low-risk groups in the training set were 8.2% and 41.3% (p < 0.001), respectively. The five-year OS of the high-risk and low-risk groups in the combined GEO cohort were 25.5% and 37.3% (p = 0.002), respectively. In the Beat-AML cohort, the three-year OS of the high-risk and low-risk groups were 16.2% and 40.2% (p = 0.0035), respectively. The metabolism risk score showed a significantly negative association with the long-term survival of AML. Furthermore, this metabolism risk score was an independent unfavorable factor for OS by univariate analysis and multivariate analysis. (4) Conclusions: Our study constructed a comprehensive metabolism-related signature with twelve metabolism-related genes for the risk stratification and outcome prediction of AML. This novel signature might contribute to a better use of metabolism reprogramming factors as prognostic markers and provide novel insights into potential metabolism targets for AML treatment.

Understanding sorafenib-induced ferroptosis and resistance mechanisms: Implications for cancer therapy

Sorafenib is an important first-line treatment option for liver cancer due to its well-characterized safety profile. While novel first-line drugs may have better efficacy than Sorafenib, they also have limitations such as worse safety and cost-effectiveness. In addition to inducing apoptosis, Sorafenib can also trigger ferroptosis, which has recently been recognized as an immunogenic cell death, unleashing new possibilities for cancer treatment. However, resistance to Sorafenib-induced ferroptosis remains a major challenge. To overcome this resistance and augment the efficacy of Sorafenib, a wide range of nanomedicines has been developed to amplify its pro-ferroptotic effects. This review highlights the mechanisms underlying Sorafenib-triggered ferroptosis and its resistance, and outlines innovative strategies, particularly nanomedicines, to overcome ferroptosis resistance. Moreover, we summarize molecular biomarkers that signify resistance to Sorafenib-mediated ferroptosis, which can assist in predicting therapeutic outcomes.