Insulin promotes hepatocarcinoma tumorigenesis by up-regulating PKM2 expression

Exp Cell Res. 2021 Oct 11:112872. doi: 10.1016/j.yexcr.2021.112872. Online ahead of print.ABSTRACTInsulin, as a growth factor, can increase the risk of certain types of cancer. The present study showed that insulin promoted the proliferation of hepatocellular carcinoma cells in vitro and in vivo throughpyruvate kinase M2 (PKM2), which is a rate-limiting enzyme in the process of glycolysis. Moreover, the expression of PKM2 was up-regulated by insulin at the posttranslational levelin a nuclear orphan receptor TR3-dependent manner. In addition, insulin could enhance the interaction between PKM2 and TR3 and protect PKM2 from degradation. Our results identified a specific mechanism of insulin affecting cancer metabolism and thus promoting cancer progression, and they contribute to a better understanding of the observation that insulin is linked to an increased cancer risk under hyperinsulinemic conditions.PMID:34648844 | DOI:10.1016/j.yexcr.2021.112872

Source: Experimental Cell Research - October 14, 2021 Category: Cytology Authors: Jingjing Liu Qiang Zhi Yunpeng Liu Ying Wang Linlin Chen Yuhao Ke Lingsu Zeng Xiaoling Wu Xiaoning Yang Bayasi Guleng Hao Liu Jianlin Ren Source Type: research