Lung cancer is by far the leading cause of cancer death. Metabolomic studies have highlighted that both tumor progression and limited curative treatment options are partly due to dysregulated glucose metabolism and its associated signaling pathways. In our previous studies, we identified caspase-4 as a novel diagnostic tool for non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). Here, we analyzed the metabolomic profile of both plasma and tumor tissues of NSCLC patients stratified as caspase-4 positive or negative. We found that circulating caspase-4 was correlated to LDH. However, this effect was not observed in caspase-4 positive tumor tissues, where instead, fatty acid biosynthesis was favoured in that the malonic acid and the palmitic acid were higher than in non-cancerous and caspase-4 negative tissues. The glycolytic pathway in caspase-4 positive NSCLC tissues was bypassed by the malonic acid-dependent lipogenesis. On the other hand, the dysregulated glucose metabolism was regulated by a higher presence of succinate dehydrogenase (SDHA) and by the gluconeogenic valine which favoured Krebs' cycle. In conclusion, we found that the recently identified caspase-4 positive subpopulation of NSCLC patients is characterized by a lipidomic profile accompanied by alternative pathways to guarantee glucose metabolism in favour of tumor cell proliferation.

Altered lung tissue lipidomic profile in caspase-4 positive non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) patients

Michela Terlizzi
Membro del Collaboration Group
;
Chiara Colarusso
Membro del Collaboration Group
;
Jacopo Troisi
Membro del Collaboration Group
;
Aldo Pinto
Membro del Collaboration Group
;
2020-01-01

Abstract

Lung cancer is by far the leading cause of cancer death. Metabolomic studies have highlighted that both tumor progression and limited curative treatment options are partly due to dysregulated glucose metabolism and its associated signaling pathways. In our previous studies, we identified caspase-4 as a novel diagnostic tool for non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). Here, we analyzed the metabolomic profile of both plasma and tumor tissues of NSCLC patients stratified as caspase-4 positive or negative. We found that circulating caspase-4 was correlated to LDH. However, this effect was not observed in caspase-4 positive tumor tissues, where instead, fatty acid biosynthesis was favoured in that the malonic acid and the palmitic acid were higher than in non-cancerous and caspase-4 negative tissues. The glycolytic pathway in caspase-4 positive NSCLC tissues was bypassed by the malonic acid-dependent lipogenesis. On the other hand, the dysregulated glucose metabolism was regulated by a higher presence of succinate dehydrogenase (SDHA) and by the gluconeogenic valine which favoured Krebs' cycle. In conclusion, we found that the recently identified caspase-4 positive subpopulation of NSCLC patients is characterized by a lipidomic profile accompanied by alternative pathways to guarantee glucose metabolism in favour of tumor cell proliferation.
File in questo prodotto:
Non ci sono file associati a questo prodotto.

I documenti in IRIS sono protetti da copyright e tutti i diritti sono riservati, salvo diversa indicazione.

Utilizza questo identificativo per citare o creare un link a questo documento: https://hdl.handle.net/11386/4753981
 Attenzione

Attenzione! I dati visualizzati non sono stati sottoposti a validazione da parte dell'ateneo

Citazioni
  • ???jsp.display-item.citation.pmc??? 4
  • Scopus 10
  • ???jsp.display-item.citation.isi??? ND
social impact