OCTN2 enhances PGC-1α-mediated fatty acid oxidation and OXPHOS to support stemness in hepatocellular carcinoma

The Metabolic reprogramming of tumor cells plays a vital role in the progression of hepatocellular carcinoma. Organic cation/carnitine transporter 2 (OCTN2), a sodium-ion dependent carnitine transporter and a sodium-ion independent tetraethylammonium (TEA) transporter, has been reported to contribute tumor malignancies and metabolic dysregulation in renal and esophageal carcinoma. However, the role of lipid metabolism deregulation mediated by OCTN2 in HCC cells has not been clarified.

Bioinformatics analyses and immunohistochemistry assay were employed to identify OCTN2 expression in HCC tissues. The correlation between OCTN2 expression and prognosis was elucidated through K-M survival analysis. The expression and function of OCTN2 were examined via the assays of western blotting, sphere formation, cell proliferation, migration and invasion. The mechanism of OCTN2-mediated HCC malignancies was investigated through RNA-seq and metabolomic analyses. Furthermore, xenograft tumor models based on HCC cells with different OCTN2 expression levels were conducted to analyze the tumorigenic and targetable role of OCTN2 in vivo.

We found that gradually focused OCTN2 was significantly upregulated in HCC and tightly associated with poor prognosis. Additionally, OCTN2 upregulation promoted HCC cells proliferation and migration in vitro and augmented the growth and metastasis of HCC. Moreover, OCTN2 promoted the cancer stem-like properties of HCC by increasing fatty acid oxidation and oxidative phosphorylation. Mechanistically, PGC-1α signaling participated in the HCC cancer stem-like properties mediated by OCTN2 overexpression, which is confirmed by in vitro and in vivo analyses. Furthermore, OCTN2 upregulation may be transcriptionally activated by YY1 in HCC. Particularly, treatment with mildronate, an inhibitor of OCTN2, showed a therapeutic influence on HCC in vitro and in vivo.

Our findings demonstrate that OCTN2 plays a critical metabolic role in HCC cancer stemness maintenance and HCC progression, providing evidence for OCTN2 as a promising target for HCC therapy.