Evidence map›Paper›PMID 42463639›Full record

ArticleCell death & disease2026

Dual-faced metabolic reprogramming powers proliferation: FGF21 drives lung squamous carcinoma progression via CaMKII-DRP1-mediated mitochondrial fission.

Xiao-Xin Pu, Yan Zhang, Bao-Yi Liu, Xiao-Jie Song, Yu-Wen Xue

Abstract read
In one paragraph

Article in Cell death & disease, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Not yet cited in PubMed.

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0cells of the map it votes in
0citing papers in PubMed
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1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

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The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

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Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

0 citing papers in PubMed.

No citing paper in PubMed yet.

4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

5 authors.

Xiao-Xin PuDepartment of Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine, Qilu Hospital (Qingdao), Cheeloo College of Medicine, Shandong University, Qingdao, China.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0003-2995-6586
Yan ZhangDepartment of Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine, The fourth Hospital of Jinan, Jinan, China.ORCID http://orcid.org/0009-0009-9752-5965
Bao-Yi LiuDepartment of Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine, Qilu Hospital (Qingdao), Cheeloo College of Medicine, Shandong University, Qingdao, China.
Xiao-Jie SongDepartment of Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine, Qilu Hospital (Qingdao), Cheeloo College of Medicine, Shandong University, Qingdao, China. songxiaojie53@163.com.
Yu-Wen XueDepartment of Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine, Qilu Hospital, Cheeloo College of Medicine, Shandong University, Jinan, China. xueyuwenqilu@163.com.

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Fibroblast growth factor 21 (FGF21) is upregulated in lung squamous cell carcinoma (LUSC) tissues, cell lines, and tumor-conditioned media. Functional studies using LUSC cell lines (H1703, H520) demonstrate that FGF21 promotes cancer cell proliferation, migration, invasion, and tumor sphere formation in vitro. This pro-tumorigenic effect was validated in vivo through xenograft models, where intra-tumoral FGF21 administration accelerated tumor growth. Mechanistically, FGF21 activates calcium/calmodulin-dependent protein kinase II (CaMKII), which phosphorylates dynamin-related protein 1 (DRP1, encoded by DNM1L) at Ser616. Phosphorylated DRP1 translocates to mitochondria, inducing mitochondrial fission. Metabolic analyses revealed that FGF21 remodels cellular energetics in a cell type-specific manner, enhancing glycolysis in H520 cells and oxidative phosphorylation (OXPHOS) in H1703 cells, consistent with their inherent predominant metabolic states. Knockdown of DRP1 or pharmacological inhibition of CaMKII (KN93) abolished FGF21-driven mitochondrial fission, metabolic reprogramming, and tumor-promoting effects. Collectively, FGF21 acts as a tumor-promoting factor in LUSC by activating the CaMKII/DRP1-Ser616 axis to induce pathological mitochondrial fission and metabolic reprogramming, identifying this pathway as a potential therapeutic target.

Indexed as

Calcium-Calmodulin-Dependent Protein Kinase Type 2Carcinoma, Squamous CellDynaminsFibroblast Growth FactorsLung NeoplasmsMitochondrial DynamicsAnimalsCell Line, TumorCell MovementCell ProliferationDisease ProgressionGlycolysisHumansMetabolic ReprogrammingMiceMice, NudeCalcium-Calmodulin-Dependent Protein Kinase Type 2DNM1L protein, humanDynaminsfibroblast growth factor 21Fibroblast Growth Factors

Identifiers

PMID42463639
PMCPMC13655037

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Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.