2. Academic Validation
  3. OXCT1 succinylation and activation by SUCLA2 promotes ketolysis and liver tumor growth

OXCT1 succinylation and activation by SUCLA2 promotes ketolysis and liver tumor growth

  • Mol Cell. 2025 Feb 20;85(4):843-856.e6. doi: 10.1016/j.molcel.2024.12.025.
Dong Guo 1,  Qiujing Yu 2,  Yingying Tong 3,  Xu Qian 4,  Ying Meng 1,  Fei Ye 5,  Xiaoming Jiang 1,  Lihui Wu 1,  Qingqing Yang 1,  Suyao Li 1,  Min Li 1,  Qingang Wu 1,  Liwei Xiao 1,  Xuxiao He 1,  Rongxuan Zhu 1,  Guijun Liu 1,  Dou Nie 1,  Shudi Luo 1,  Leina Ma 6,  Ren-An Jin 7,  Zhihua Liu 8,  Xiao Liang 9,  Dong Yan 10,  Zhimin Lu 11
Affiliations

Affiliations

  • 1 Zhejiang Provincial Key Laboratory of Pancreatic Disease, the First Affiliated Hospital, Zhejiang Key Laboratory of Frontier Medical Research on Cancer Metabolism, Institute of Translational Medicine, Zhejiang University School of Medicine, Hangzhou, Zhejiang 310029, China; Institute of Fundamental and Transdisciplinary Research, Cancer Center, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, Zhejiang 310029, China.
  • 2 Department of Health Management Center & Institute of Health Management, Sichuan Provincial People's Hospital, University of Electronic Science and Technology of China, Chengdu, Sichuan 611731, China. Electronic address: yuqiujing@uestc.edu.cn.
  • 3 Cancer Center, Beijing Luhe Hospital, Capital Medical University, Beijing 101149, China.
  • 4 Department of Clinical Laboratory, Zhejiang Cancer Hospital, Hangzhou Institute of Medicine (HIM), Chinese Academy of Sciences, Hangzhou, Zhejiang 310022, China.
  • 5 College of Life Sciences and Medicine, Zhejiang Sci-Tech University, Hangzhou, Zhejiang 310018, China.
  • 6 Department of Oncology, the Affiliated Hospital of Qingdao University, Qingdao Cancer Institute, Qingdao, Shandong 266071, China.
  • 7 Zhejiang Key Laboratory of Multi-omics Precision Diagnosis and Treatment of Liver Diseases, Department of General Surgery, Sir Run Run Shaw Hospital, Zhejiang University School of Medicine, Hangzhou, Zhejiang 310016, China.
  • 8 State Key Laboratory of Molecular Oncology, National Cancer Center/National Clinical Research Center for Cancer/Cancer Hospital, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences and Peking Union Medical College, Beijing 100021, China.
  • 9 Zhejiang Key Laboratory of Multi-omics Precision Diagnosis and Treatment of Liver Diseases, Department of General Surgery, Sir Run Run Shaw Hospital, Zhejiang University School of Medicine, Hangzhou, Zhejiang 310016, China. Electronic address: srrshlx@zju.edu.cn.
  • 10 Cancer Center, Beijing Luhe Hospital, Capital Medical University, Beijing 101149, China. Electronic address: yd15yt88@163.com.
  • 11 Zhejiang Provincial Key Laboratory of Pancreatic Disease, the First Affiliated Hospital, Zhejiang Key Laboratory of Frontier Medical Research on Cancer Metabolism, Institute of Translational Medicine, Zhejiang University School of Medicine, Hangzhou, Zhejiang 310029, China; Institute of Fundamental and Transdisciplinary Research, Cancer Center, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, Zhejiang 310029, China. Electronic address: zhiminlu@zju.edu.cn.
PMID: 39862868 DOI: 10.1016/j.molcel.2024.12.025
Abstract

Ketone bodies generated in hepatocytes in the adult liver are used for nonhepatic tissues as an energy source. However, ketolysis is reactivated in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) cells with largely unelucidated mechanisms. Here, we demonstrate that 3-oxoacid CoA-transferase 1 (OXCT1), a rate-limiting Enzyme in ketolysis, interacts with SUCLA2 upon IGF1 stimulation in HCC cells. This interaction results from ERK2-mediated SUCLA2 S124 phosphorylation and subsequent PIN1-mediated cis-trans isomerization of SUCLA2. OXCT1-associated SUCLA2 generates succinyl-CoA, which not only serves as a substrate for OXCT1 but also directly succinylates OXCT1 at K421 and activates OXCT1. SUCLA2-regulated OXCT1 activation substantially enhances ketolysis, HCC cell proliferation, and tumor growth in mice. Notably, treatment with acetohydroxamic acid, an OXCT1 inhibitor used clinically for urinary Infection, inhibits liver tumor growth in mice and significantly enhances lenvatinib therapy. Our findings highlight the role of SUCLA2-coupled regulation of OXCT1 succinylation in ketolysis and unveil an unprecedented strategy for treating HCC by interrupting ketolysis.

Keywords

OXCT1; SUCLA2; ketolysis; ketone body; succinyl-CoA; succinylation; tumorigenesis.

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