Related Experiment Video
Updated: Aug 9, 2026

09:51
Cell-Based Drug Screening for Inhibitors of Autophagy Related 4B Cysteine Peptidase
Published on: June 30, 2023
CircHECTD1 Promotes Cholangiocarcinoma Progression Through Interaction With SFPQ to Induce Autophagy
Shouwen Zhao1, Shanshan Jiang1, Xutong Wang2
1Department of Hepatobiliary Surgery, Xingtai People's Hospital, Xingtai, China.
Cancer Science
|August 8, 2026
Summary
Circular RNAs (circRNAs) like circHECTD1 promote cholangiocarcinoma (CCA) growth by enhancing autophagy. This involves circHECTD1 interacting with SFPQ to boost ATG12 expression and promote tumor progression.
Area of Science:
- Oncology
- Molecular Biology
- Biochemistry
Background:
- Cholangiocarcinoma (CCA) is a highly malignant cancer with increasing incidence.
- Circular RNAs (circRNAs) are implicated in cancer progression.
- The specific role of circHECTD1 in CCA and its regulation of autophagy are not well understood.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the role and molecular mechanisms of circHECTD1 in cholangiocarcinoma (CCA) progression.
- To elucidate the involvement of circHECTD1 in regulating autophagy in CCA.
- To identify the specific pathways targeted by circHECTD1 in CCA.
Main Methods:
- Quantitative real-time PCR to assess circHECTD1 expression.
- RNase stability assays.
- Cell proliferation, migration, and invasion assays.
- Western blotting and autophagy-related assays.
- RNA immunoprecipitation (RIP) and dual-luciferase reporter assays.
- Inhibition of autophagy and SFPQ knockdown experiments.
Main Results:
- circHECTD1 was significantly upregulated and stable in CCA cell lines.
- Increased circHECTD1 expression promoted CCA cell growth, motility, invasion, and autophagy.
- circHECTD1 acts as a scaffold for SFPQ, enhancing ATG12 transcription and mRNA stability, thereby promoting autophagy.
- Downregulation of SFPQ or inhibition of autophagy counteracted the oncogenic effects of circHECTD1.
Conclusions:
- circHECTD1 is a crucial driver of CCA progression by promoting autophagy.
- The circHECTD1/SFPQ complex enhances ATG12 expression and stability, leading to increased autophagy.
- circHECTD1 represents a potential therapeutic target for cholangiocarcinoma.
Related Concept Videos
mTOR Signaling and Cancer Progression
The mammalian target of rapamycin or mTOR protein was discovered in 1994 due to its direct interaction with rapamycin. The protein gets its name from a yeast homolog called TOR. The mTOR protein complex in mammalian cells plays a major role in balancing anabolic processes such as the synthesis of proteins, lipids, and nucleotides and catabolic processes, such as autophagy in response to environmental cues, such as availability of nutrients and growth factors.
The mTOR pathway or the...
The mTOR pathway or the...
Inhibition of Cdk Activity
The orderly progression of the cell cycle depends on the activation of Cdk protein by binding to its cyclin partner. However, the cell cycle must be restricted when undergoing abnormal changes. Most cancers correlate to the deregulated cell cycle, and since Cdks are a central component of the cell cycle, Cdk inhibitors are extensively studied to develop anticancer agents. For instance, cyclin D associates with several Cdks, such as Cdk 4/6, to form an active complex. The cyclin D-Cdk4/6 complex...
Anaphase Promoting Complex
The stepwise destruction of specific proteins is necessary for the progression and completion of the cell cycle. Such proteins are ubiquitinated by ubiquitin ligases and then subsequently destroyed by the proteasome. The SCF (Skp1/Cullin/F-box) and the anaphase-promoting complex (APC) are two important ubiquitin ligases involved in cell cycle progression. While SCF is active throughout the cell cycle, APC gets activated during metaphase to anaphase transition. Cdc20 or Cdh1 binds to APC and...
Abnormal Proliferation
Under normal conditions, most adult cells remain in a non-proliferative state unless stimulated by internal or external factors to replace lost cells. Abnormal cell proliferation is a condition in which the cell's growth exceeds and is uncoordinated with normal cells. In such situations, cell division persists in the same excessive manner even after cessation of the stimuli, leading to persistent tumors. The tumor arises from the damaged cells that replicate to pass the damage to the daughter...
Interactions Between Signaling Pathways
Signaling cascades usually lack linearity. Multiple pathways interact and regulate one another, allowing cells to integrate and respond to diverse environmental stimuli.
Convergence and divergence, and cross-talk between signaling pathways
Two distinct signaling pathways can converge on a single functional unit, which may either be a single protein or a complex of proteins. The response is either functionally distinct or synergistic between the two pathways but different from the response...
Convergence and divergence, and cross-talk between signaling pathways
Two distinct signaling pathways can converge on a single functional unit, which may either be a single protein or a complex of proteins. The response is either functionally distinct or synergistic between the two pathways but different from the response...
Autophagy
Autophagy is a self-digesting process by which a cell protects itself from threats both within and outside the cell, ranging from abnormal proteins to invading bacteria. In this process, obsolete components of the cell and invading microbes are degraded by hydrolytic enzymes active in an acidic environment of the lysosomal lumen.
An autophagic pathway consists of a series of signaling events activated in response to diverse stress and physiological conditions such as food deprivation,...
An autophagic pathway consists of a series of signaling events activated in response to diverse stress and physiological conditions such as food deprivation,...