Rewiring Lipid Metabolism by Targeting PCSK9 and HMGCR to Treat Liver Cancer

Simple Summary We targeted abnormalities in lipid metabolism of liver cancer cells and showed that tumoral addiction to lipids can be potentially overridden by available drugs. Anti-PCSK9 alone or in combination with statin treatment can live up to this challenge and disrupt the process of oncogenesis opening up new avenues for potential drug repositioning for the treatment of liver cancer. Alterations in lipid handling are an important hallmark in cancer. Our aim here is to target key metabolic enzymes to reshape the oncogenic lipid metabolism triggering irreversible cell breakdown. We targeted the key metabolic player proprotein convertase subtilisin/kexin type 9 (PCSK9) using a pharmacological inhibitor (R-IMPP) alone or in combination with 3-hydroxy 3-methylglutaryl-Coenzyme A reductase (HMGCR) inhibitor, simvastatin. We assessed the effect of these treatments using 3 hepatoma cell lines, Huh6, Huh7 and HepG2 and a tumor xenograft in chicken choriorallantoic membrane (CAM) model. PCSK9 deficiency led to dose-dependent inhibition of cell proliferation in all cell lines and a decrease in cell migration. Co-treatment with simvastatin presented synergetic anti-proliferative effects. At the metabolic level, mitochondrial respiration assays as well as the assessment of glucose and glutamine consumption showed higher metabolic adaptability and surge in the absence of PCSK9. Enhanced lipid uptake and biogenesis led to excessive accumulation of intracellular lipid droplets as revealed by electron microscopy and metabolic tracing. Using xenograft experiments in CAM model, we further demonstrated the effect of anti-PCSK9 treatment in reducing tumor aggressiveness. Targeting PCSK9 alone or in combination with statins deserves to be considered as a new therapeutic option in liver cancer clinical applications.

Automated summary

We investigated lipid metabolism abnormalities in liver cancer cells and found that targeting lipid addiction can be achieved with available drugs. Anti-PCSK9 treatment alone or in combination with statins can disrupt oncogenesis and potentially be repurposed for liver cancer treatment.