Browsing by Author "Cheng, J-X."

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    Abrogating cholesterol esterification suppresses growth and metastasis of pancreatic cancer
    (SpringerNature, 2016-12-15) Li, J.; Gu, D.; Lee, SS-Y.; Song, B.; Bandyopadhyay, S.; Chen, S.; Konieczny, SF.; Ratliff, TL.; Liu, X.; Xie, J.; Cheng, J-X.; Department of Pediatrics, IU School of Medicine
    Cancer cells are known to execute reprogramed metabolism of glucose, amino acids and lipids. Here, we report a significant role of cholesterol metabolism in cancer metastasis. By using label-free Raman spectromicroscopy, we found an aberrant accumulation of cholesteryl ester in human pancreatic cancer specimens and cell lines, mediated by acyl-CoA cholesterol acyltransferase-1 (ACAT-1) enzyme. Expression of ACAT-1 showed a correlation with poor patient survival. Abrogation of cholesterol esterification, either by an ACAT-1 inhibitor or by shRNA knockdown, significantly suppressed tumor growth and metastasis in an orthotopic mouse model of pancreatic cancer. Mechanically, ACAT-1 inhibition increased intracellular free cholesterol level, which was associated with elevated endoplasmic reticulum stress and caused apoptosis. Collectively, our results demonstrate a new strategy for treating metastatic pancreatic cancer by inhibiting cholesterol esterification.