ArticleCancer science2023
SREBF2-STARD4 axis confers sorafenib resistance in hepatocellular carcinoma by regulating mitochondrial cholesterol homeostasis.
Article in Cancer science, 2023. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 24 papers.
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Who cites it
24 citing papers in PubMed, 34 citations in OpenAlex.
- SREBF2 promotes mitophagy and protects against ferroptosis via Cav-1-regulated PINK1/Parkin signaling in ischemic heart failure.Journal of molecular medicine (Berlin, Germany) · 2026Article
- Crosstalk BetweenCancers · 2026Review
- Revisiting cholesterol metabolism in hepatocellular carcinoma: a hidden driver of systemic therapy response.ESMO gastrointestinal oncology · 2026Review
- SREBF2 enhances lipid metabolism and represses anti-tumor immune responses in cervical cancer by increasing ACAT2.Communications biology · 2026Article
- Metabolic reprogramming-driven resistance to multi-kinase inhibitors in hepatocellular carcinoma: molecular mechanisms and therapeutic opportunities.Molecular cancer · 2026Review
- Mitochondria-ER crosstalk via MAMS: Bridging cellular homeostasis and cancer progression.Apoptosis : an international journal on programmed cell death · 2026Review
- Novel therapeutic strategies targeting mitochondrial quality control for metabolic dysfunction-associated steatotic liver disease.Frontiers in physiology · 2026Review
- STARD4 suppresses tumorigenesis and attenuates enzalutamide resistance via lipid metabolic reprogramming and AR stabilization in prostate cancer.Journal of experimental & clinical cancer research : CR · 2025Article
- Exploring the Impact of Nanotherapeutics on Histone H3 and H4 Acetylation Enrichment in Cancer Epigenome: A Systematic Scoping Synthesis.Epigenomes · 2025Review
- Lipid metabolism in cancer cells: Its role in hepatocellular carcinoma progression and therapeutic resistance.Hepatology communications · 2025Review
- Targeting STARD4/EGFR axis inhibits growth and overcomes lenvatinib resistance in hepatocellular carcinoma.Genes & diseases · 2025Article
- Polarization of Tumor Cells and Tumor-Associated Macrophages: Molecular Mechanisms and Therapeutic Targets.MedComm · 2025Review
- Integrative analysis of cholesterol homeostasis reveals prognostic subtypes and immune features in clear cell renal cell carcinoma.Discover oncology · 2025Article
- Research progress on cholesterol metabolism and tumor therapy.Discover oncology · 2025Review
- Combination of bulk RNA and single-cell sequencing unveils PANoptosis-related immunological ecology hallmarks and classification for clinical decision-making in hepatocellular carcinoma.Scientific reports · 2024Article
- Differential regulation of STARD1, STARD4 and STARD6 in the human ovary.The Journal of endocrinology · 2024Article
- A cross-tissue transcriptome-wide association study reveals novel susceptibility genes for migraine.The journal of headache and pain · 2024Article
- METTL3 and METTL14-mediated NScientific reports · 2024Article
- Review
- Advances in Targeted Drug Resistance Associated with Dysregulation of Lipid Metabolism in Hepatocellular Carcinoma.Journal of hepatocellular carcinoma · 2024Review
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Authors and funding
9 authors at 1 institution in 1 country.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
Sorafenib resistance limits its survival benefit for treatment of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). Cholesterol metabolism is dysregulated in HCC, and its role in sorafenib resistance of HCC has not been fully elucidated. Aiming to elucidate this, in vitro and in vivo sorafenib resistant models were established. Sterol regulatory element binding transcription factor 2 (SREBF2), the key regulator of cholesterol metabolism, was activated in sorafenib resistant HepG2 and Huh7 cells. Knockdown of SREBF2 resensitized sorafenib resistant cells and xenografts tumors to sorafenib. Further study showed that SREBF2 positively correlated with StAR related lipid transfer domain containing 4 (STARD4) in our sorafenib resistant models and publicly available datasets. STARD4, mediating cholesterol trafficking, not only promoted proliferation and migration of HepG2 and Huh7 cells, but also increased sorafenib resistance in liver cancer. Mechanically, SREBF2 promoted expression of STARD4 by directly binding to its promoter region, leading to increased mitochondrial cholesterol levels and inhibition of mitochondrial cytochrome c release. Importantly, knockdown of SREBF2 or STARD4 decreased mitochondrial cholesterol levels and increased mitochondrial cytochrome c release, respectively. Moreover, overexpression of STARD4 reversed the effect of SREBF2 knockdown on mitochondrial cytochrome c release and sorafenib resistance. In conclusion, SREBF2 promotes STARD4 transcription, which in turn contributes to mitochondrial cholesterol transport and sorafenib resistance in HCC. Therefore, targeting the SREBF2-STARD4 axis would be beneficial to a subset of HCC patients with sorafenib resistance.
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