Evidence map›Paper›PMID 42778543›Full record

ArticleCell death & disease2026

The KAT8-CDK1 K33 acetylation axis drives doxorubicin resistance by suppressing ferroptosis and apoptosis in breast cancer.

Qingzhi Zhao, Qixian Zou, Jinmeng Chu, Yizhen Wang, Tiantian Xu, Haoqing Dou, Chengyu Cai, Na Zhang, Fei Wang, Yin Gao and 3 more

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.

0numbers the graph read from it
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

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3 · Its place in the literature

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0 citing papers in PubMed.

No citing paper in PubMed yet.

4 · The record

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5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

13 authors.

Qingzhi Zhao *School of Life Sciences, Jilin University, Changchun, China.
Qixian Zou *School of Life Sciences, Jilin University, Changchun, China.
Jinmeng ChuSchool of Life Sciences, Jilin University, Changchun, China.
Yizhen WangSchool of Life Sciences, Jilin University, Changchun, China.
Tiantian XuSchool of Life Sciences, Jilin University, Changchun, China.
Haoqing DouSchool of Life Sciences, Jilin University, Changchun, China.
Chengyu CaiSchool of Life Sciences, Jilin University, Changchun, China.
Na ZhangSchool of Life Sciences, Jilin University, Changchun, China.
Fei WangSchool of Life Sciences, Jilin University, Changchun, China.
Yin GaoSchool of Life Sciences, Jilin University, Changchun, China.
Yong CaiSchool of Life Sciences, Jilin University, Changchun, China. caiyong62@jlu.edu.cn.
Bing LiangSchool of Nursing, Jilin University, Changchun City, China. liangbing716@jlu.edu.cn.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0002-0048-9307
Jingji JinSchool of Life Sciences, Jilin University, Changchun, China. jjjin@jlu.edu.cn.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0001-9432-5954

Funding

National Natural Science Foundation of China (National Science Foundation of China) 32170599
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Doxorubicin (Dox) resistance severely limits therapeutic efficacy in breast cancer, yet the epigenetic mechanisms linking cell-cycle control to therapy-induced cell death remain unclear. Here, we identify the histone acetyltransferase KAT8 as a critical driver of Dox resistance. Transcriptomic analysis of neoadjuvant cohorts revealed elevated KAT8 expression in residual disease (RD) tumors, which was validated in an independent cohort of 95 patients. High KAT8 levels correlated with poor therapeutic response. Mechanistically, KAT8 directly acetylated CDK1 at lysine 33 (K33) in Dox-resistant MCF-7/ADR and MDA-MB-231/ADR cells. K33 acetylation sustained CDK1 phosphorylation at T14, Y15, and T161, maintaining kinase activity under chemotherapeutic stress. Disruption of KAT8, either by genetic silencing or pharmacological inhibition with MG149, reduced CDK1 activation, increased mitochondrial depolarization and oxidative stress, and restored Dox sensitivity. Functionally, KAT8-dependent CDK1 K33 acetylation suppressed both apoptosis and ferroptosis, two principal Dox-induced cell death pathways. Re-expression of wild-type CDK1, but not the acetylation-deficient K33R mutant, rescued chemoresistance. In vivo, MG149 co-treatment or expression of CDK1-K33R significantly enhanced Dox-mediated tumor suppression in xenograft models without overt toxicity. Together, these findings establish KAT8-dependent CDK1 K33 acetylation as a key epigenetic mechanism sustaining anthracycline resistance and suggest that targeting the KAT8-CDK1 axis may provide a therapeutic strategy to overcome refractory breast cancer.

Indexed as

ApoptosisBreast NeoplasmsCDC2 Protein KinaseDoxorubicinDrug Resistance, NeoplasmFerroptosisHistone AcetyltransferasesAcetylationAnimalsCell Line, TumorFemaleHumansMCF-7 CellsMiceMice, NudeCDC2 Protein KinaseCDK1 protein, humanDoxorubicinHistone Acetyltransferases

Identifiers

PMID42778543
PMCPMC13601616

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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.