CS-NO suppresses inhibits glycolysis and gastric cancer progression through regulating YAP/TAZ signaling pathway

Gastric cancer (GC) is a significant contributor to global mortality and is recognized for its elevated prevalence and fatality rates. Nitric Oxide (NO) plays a role in multiple aspects of cancer metastasis and progression. CS-NO is a polysaccharide-based biomaterial with NO-releasing properties that shows promising therapeutic potential. Nonetheless, the action mechanism of CS-NO in GC is still largely unclear.

The present study employed various experimental techniques, including CCK-8 assay, colony formation assay, EdU staining, and transwell assays, to evaluate the proliferation, migration, and invasion of GC cells. Additionally, ELISA was utilized to measure glucose uptake, lactate production, and cellular ATP levels in GC cells. In vivo investigations on nude mice were conducted to validate the in vitro results.

The present study aimed to examine the potential anti-tumor properties of CS-NO on GC through in vitro and in vivo investigations, while also exploring the underlying mechanisms involved.

Our data suggested that CS-NO might prevent GC cell invasion and migration. Decreased expressions of GLUT1, HK2, and LDHA further demonstrated that CS-NO significantly suppressed aerobic glycolysis in GC cells. The administration of CS-NO resulted in a significant reduction of YAP and TAZ levels in GC cells. Our data further show that CS-NO treatment could inhibit GC cancer growth in mice, consistent with the significant decrease in Ki67, GLUT1 and YAP expression levels.

These findings could reveal the good effects of CS-NO therapy on inhibiting GC.