Browsing by Subject "Cholesterol metabolism"

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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.
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    Metabolic Network Analysis Reveals Altered Bile Acid Synthesis and Metabolism in Alzheimer’s Disease
    (Cell Press, 2020-11-17) Baloni, Priyanka; Funk, Cory C.; Yan, Jingwen; Yurkovich, James T.; Kueider-Paisley, Alexandra; Nho, Kwangsik; Heinken, Almut; Jia, Wei; Mahmoudiandehkordi, Siamak; Louie, Gregory; Saykin, Andrew J.; Arnold, Matthias; Kastenmüller, Gabi; Griffiths, William J.; Thiele, Ines; Kaddurah-Daouk, Rima; Price, Nathan D.; Radiology and Imaging Sciences, School of Medicine
    Increasing evidence suggests Alzheimer's disease (AD) pathophysiology is influenced by primary and secondary bile acids, the end product of cholesterol metabolism. We analyze 2,114 post-mortem brain transcriptomes and identify genes in the alternative bile acid synthesis pathway to be expressed in the brain. A targeted metabolomic analysis of primary and secondary bile acids measured from post-mortem brain samples of 111 individuals supports these results. Our metabolic network analysis suggests that taurine transport, bile acid synthesis, and cholesterol metabolism differ in AD and cognitively normal individuals. We also identify putative transcription factors regulating metabolic genes and influencing altered metabolism in AD. Intriguingly, some bile acids measured in brain tissue cannot be explained by the presence of enzymes responsible for their synthesis, suggesting that they may originate from the gut microbiome and are transported to the brain. These findings motivate further research into bile acid metabolism in AD to elucidate their possible connection to cognitive decline.