Inhibiting polyunsaturated fatty acid metabolism for metastasis

Inhibiting the polyunsaturated lipid biosynthesis enzymes ACSL4 and ECH1 in tumor cells could help treat cancer metastasis by decreasing tumor cell membrane β-oxidation, and subsequent membrane fluidity and cell invasion that drives extravasation from the blood stream and survival in the metastatic site.

In a xenograft mouse model of ovarian cancer metastasis and a xenograft mouse model of liver cancer metastasis, a CRISPR/Cas9 loss-of-function screen of metabolism-related genes identified ACSL4 as a mediator of lung-specific metastasis. ...