Researchers from the Department of Pathology, School of Clinical Medicine, LKS Faculty of Medicine, The University of Hong Kong (HKUMed) have identified a new metabolic mechanism in liver cancer cells, by which macropinocytosis, an endocytic process, is used to engulf extracellular proteins as fuels to support the unlimited growth of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) in hypoxia (oxygen deprivation). This discovery indicates that targeting macropinocytosis might represent a novel and effective therapeutic approach for HCC. The findings have now been published in Nature Communications. [Publication: https://www.nature.com/articles/s41467-022-28618-9]
This research was led by Dr. Carmen Wong, Associate Professor of the Department of Pathology, HKUMed, and Principal Investigator of the Centre for Oncology and Immunology.