Nature Cancer: Zhang Huafeng/Gao Ping collaborated to reveal a new mechanism for ENO1 to promote liver cancer by inhibiting iron death

Abnormal metabolism is one of the important characteristics of tumors

Recently, the University of Science and Technology of China Zhang Huafeng Task Force and the Task Force Gaoping (now South China University of Technology) in Nature Cancer journal published online entitled: ENOl suppresses the Cell Cancer ferroptosis by degrading at The Iron Regulatory Protein 1 mRNA of research papers

This study reported the mechanism by which ENO1 is used as an RNA-binding protein to degrade mRNA, and clarified that ENO1 binds and degrades the mRNA of the iron regulatory protein (Ironregulatoryprotein 1, IRP1) gene, thereby regulating the metabolic homeostasis of iron ions in cells, affecting iron death and promoting liver cancer.

The research team first discovered that ENO1, which is highly expressed in liver cancer cells, can act as RNA binding protein (RNA binding protein, RBP).

Further research found that ENO1 protein binds to IRP1 mRNA, and promotes the degradation of IRP1 mRNA by recruiting the RNA degradation factor CNOT6, combined with previous findings about ENO1 degrading RNA in prokaryotes, the results of the study revealed the conservation of ENO1 function among species

Further analyzing the iron metabolism-related proteins in the mitochondria, the research team found that the channel protein Mfrn1, which is responsible for transporting iron from the cytoplasm to the mitochondria, was significantly up-regulated by IRP1

Analysis of clinical patient samples showed that IRP1 and Mfrn1 showed a low expression trend in liver cancer, and the lower the expression of IRP1 and Mfrn1, the worse the survival prognosis of patients

In summary, this study clarified the new function of the metabolic enzyme ENO1 to bind and degrade RNA, combined with its previous findings in the degradation of RNA in prokaryotes, and revealed the conservation of ENO1 in the function of RNA degradation; at the same time, this study analyzed ENO1/ The role of the IRP1/Mfrn1 regulatory axis in tumors reveals a new mechanism of tumor pathogenesis and provides potential new targets for the treatment of liver cancer and other related diseases

Model diagram: Metabolic enzyme ENO1 promotes liver cancer by exerting RNA binding function to inhibit iron death

Dr.

Original source:

Zhang, T.