Communications Biology (Feb 2021)

A hexokinase isoenzyme switch in human liver cancer cells promotes lipogenesis and enhances innate immunity

  • Laure Perrin-Cocon,
  • Pierre-Olivier Vidalain,
  • Clémence Jacquemin,
  • Anne Aublin-Gex,
  • Keedrian Olmstead,
  • Baptiste Panthu,
  • Gilles Jeans Philippe Rautureau,
  • Patrice André,
  • Piotr Nyczka,
  • Marc-Thorsten Hütt,
  • Nivea Amoedo,
  • Rodrigue Rossignol,
  • Fabian Volker Filipp,
  • Vincent Lotteau,
  • Olivier Diaz

DOI
https://doi.org/10.1038/s42003-021-01749-3
Journal volume & issue
Vol. 4, no. 1
pp. 1 – 15

Abstract

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Many cancers fuel their rapid growth by replacing glucokinase with its higher affinity isoenzyme, hexokinase 2 (HK2), making HK2 an attractive drug target. In this study, Perrin-Cocon and Vidalain et al. use CRISPR/Cas-9 gene editing to reverse this enzymatic switch in human liver cancer cells, and find this restores innate immune function as well as reversing cancer-associated metabolic reprogramming.