bims-stacyt 2026-02-08 papers

Nat Commun. 2026 Jan 30.

Cancer cachexia in STK11/LKB1-mutated non-small cell lung cancer is dependent on tumor-secreted GDF15.

Cachexia is a wasting syndrome involving adipose, muscle, and body weight loss in cancer patients. Tumor loss-of-function mutations in STK11/LKB1, a regulator of AMP-activated protein kinase, induce cancer cachexia (CC) in preclinical models and are linked to weight loss in non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) patients. This study examines the role of the integrated stress response (ISR) cytokine growth differentiation factor 15 (GDF15) in regulating cachexia using patient-derived and engineered STK11/LKB1-mutant NSCLC lines. Tumor cell-derived serum GDF15 levels are elevated in mice bearing these tumors. Treatment with a GDF15-neutralizing antibody or silencing GDF15 from tumor cells prevents adipose/muscle loss, strength decline, and weight reduction, identifying tumors cells as the GDF15 source. Restoring wild-type STK11/LKB1 in NSCLC lines with endogenous STK11/LKB1 loss reverses the ISR and reduces GDF15 expression rescuing the cachexia phenotype. Collectively, these findings implicate tumor-derived GDF15 as a key mediator and therapeutic target in STK11/LKB1-mutant NSCLC-associated cachexia.

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-026-68702-y

Nat Metab. 2026 Jan 30.

Glucose deprivation drives LIF-dependent lung cancer.

Glucose deficiency promotes the secretion of cytokines and inflammatory factors to rewire the immune compartment and restore blood flow. Here we show that cancer cells subjected to glucose deprivation or hypoxia, but not to other metabolic stressors, secrete LIF, an interleukin-6 family cytokine implicated in the development of solid tumours. We find that mannose supplementation prevents LIF release by sustaining multiple metabolic pathways in the absence of glucose. Mechanistically, LIF release is associated with impairment of N-glycosylation and activation of PERK and MEK MAP kinases. In mouse models of non-small-cell lung cancer, reduction of LIF impairs angiogenesis and tumour growth, rewires the immune system toward an antitumour phenotype and inhibits tumour implantation in the lung. In individuals with non-small-cell lung cancer, LIF levels correlate with markers of hypoxia, glucose deprivation and angiogenesis. Overall, these findings identify LIF as a metabolic stress-induced cytokine that could be targeted to disrupt adaptive responses in cancer.

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/s42255-025-01437-0

PLoS One. 2026 ;21(2): e0340957

Quantitative and temporal analysis of autophagy: Differential Response to amino acid and glucose starvation.

Katie R Martin, Stephanie L Celano, Jessica D Guillaume, Ryan D Sheldon, Russell G Jones, Jeffrey P MacKeigan.

Autophagy is a highly conserved, intracellular recycling process by which cytoplasmic contents are degraded in the lysosome. This process occurs at a low level constitutively; however, it is induced robustly in response to stressors, in particular, starvation of critical nutrients such as amino acids and glucose. That said, the relative contribution of these inputs is ambiguous, and many starvation medias are poorly defined or devoid of multiple nutrients. Here, we set out to create a quantitative dataset of autophagy across multiple stages in single, living cells, measured under normal growth conditions and during nutrient starvation of amino acids or glucose. We found that autophagy is induced by starvation of amino acids, but not glucose, in U2OS cells, and that MTORC1-mediated ULK1 regulation and autophagy are tightly linked to amino acid levels. While autophagy is engaged immediately during amino acid starvation, a heightened response occurs during a period marked by transcriptional upregulation of autophagy genes during sustained starvation. Finally, we demonstrated that cells immediately return to their initial, low-autophagy state when nutrients are restored, highlighting the dynamic relationship between autophagy and environmental conditions.

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0340957

Nature. 2026 Feb 04.

Activated ATF6α is a hepatic tumour driver restricting immunosurveillance.

Xin Li, Cynthia Lebeaupin, Aikaterini Kadianaki, Clementine Druelle-Cedano, Niklas Vesper, Charlotte Rennert, Júlia Huguet-Pradell, Borja Gomez Ramos, Chaofan Fan, Robert Stefan Piecyk, Laimdota Zizmare, Pierluigi Ramadori, Luqing Li, Lukas Frick, Menjie Qiu, Cangang Zhang, Luiza Martins Nascentes Melo, Vikas Prakash Ranvir, Peng Shen, Johannes Hanselmann, Jan Kosla, Mirian Fernández-Vaquero, Mihael Vucur, Praveen Baskaran, Xuanwen Bao, Olivia I Coleman, Yingyue Tang, Miray Cetin, Zhouji Chen, Insook Jang, Stefania Del Prete, Mohammad Rahbari, Peng Zhang, Timothy V Pham, Yushan Hou, Aihua Sun, Li Gu, Laura C Kim, Ulrike Rothermel, Danijela Heide, Adnan Ali, Suchira Gallage, Nana Talvard-Balland, Marta Piqué-Gili, Albert Gris-Oliver, Alessio Bevilacqua, Lisa Schlicker, Alec Duffey, Kristian Unger, Marta Szydlowska, Jenny Hetzer, Duncan T Odom, Tim Machauer, Daniele Bucci, Pooja Sant, Jun-Hoe Lee, Jonas Rösler, Sven W Meckelmann, Johannes Schreck, Sue Murray, M Celeste Simon, Sven Nahnsen, Almut Schulze, Ping-Chih Ho, Manfred Jugold, Kai Breuhahn, Jan-Philipp Mallm, Peter Schirmacher, Susanne Roth, Nuh Rahbari, Darjus F Tschaharganeh, Stephanie Roessler, Benjamin Goeppert, Bertram Bengsch, Geoffroy Andrieux, Melanie Boerries, Nisar P Malek, Marco Prinz, Achim Weber, Robert Zeiser, Pablo Tamayo, Peter Bronsert, Konrad Kurowski, Robert Thimme, Detian Yuan, Rafael Carretero, Tom Luedde, Roser Pinyol, Felix J Hartmann, Michael Karin, Alpaslan Tasdogan, Christoph Trautwein, Moritz Mall, Maike Hofmann, Josep M Llovet, Dirk Haller, Randal J Kaufman, Mathias Heikenwälder.

Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is the fastest growing cause of cancer-related mortality and there are limited therapies1. Although endoplasmic reticulum (ER) stress and the unfolded protein response (UPR) are implicated in HCC, the involvement of the UPR transducer ATF6α remains unclear2. Here we demonstrate the function of ATF6α as an ER-stress-inducing tumour driver and metabolic master regulator restricting cancer immunosurveillance for HCC, in contrast to its well-characterized role as an adaptive response to ER stress3. ATF6α activation in human HCC is significantly correlated with an aggressive tumour phenotype, characterized by reduced patient survival, enhanced tumour progression and local immunosuppression. Hepatocyte-specific ATF6α activation in mice induced progressive hepatitis with ER stress, immunosuppression and hepatocyte proliferation. Concomitantly, activated ATF6α increased glycolysis and directly repressed the gluconeogenic enzyme FBP1 by binding to gene regulatory elements. Restoring FBP1 expression limited ATF6α-activation-related pathologies. Prolonged ATF6α activation in hepatocytes triggered hepatocarcinogenesis, intratumoural T cell infiltration and nutrient-deprived immune exhaustion. Immune checkpoint blockade (ICB)4 restored immunosurveillance and reduced HCC. Consistently, patients with HCC who achieved a complete response to immunotherapy displayed significantly increased ATF6α activation compared with those with a weaker response. Targeting Atf6 through germline ablation, hepatocyte-specific ablation or therapeutic hepatocyte delivery of antisense oligonucleotides dampened HCC in preclinical liver cancer models. Thus, prolonged ATF6α activation drives ER stress, leading to glycolysis-dependent immunosuppression in liver cancer and sensitizing to ICB. Our findings suggest that persistently activated ATF6α is a tumour driver, a potential stratification marker for ICB response and a therapeutic target for HCC.

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41586-025-10036-8

J Toxicol Sci. 2026 ;51(2): 123-130

Potential involvement of the endoplasmic reticulum stress response in the development of cisplatin-induced muscle atrophy.

Shinki Soga, Hayato Nanri, Hiroyasu Sakai, Ryunosuke Ichikawa, Yuya Chigusa, Yui Urase, Shiori Yonamine, Takayuki Ogiwara, Risako Kon, Nobutomo Ikarashi, Yoshihiko Chiba, Tomoo Hosoe, Kumiko Ogawa.

Cancer cachexia, characterized by progressive skeletal muscle loss, is common in advanced malignancies and correlates with poor prognosis. Cisplatin, a widely used chemotherapeutic, is linked to muscle atrophy, but its mechanisms remain unclear. Recent studies implicate endoplasmic reticulum (ER) stress in muscle disorders; however, its role in chemotherapy-induced muscle atrophy is unknown. This study examined the effects of five anticancer agents-cisplatin, 5-fluorouracil, vincristine, irinotecan, and cyclophosphamide-on mouse skeletal muscle. Quadriceps muscle mass, gene expression related to protein synthesis (IGF-1), degradation (MuRF1, atrogin-1), ER stress (Ddit3/CHOP, Atf4, sXbp-1), and inflammation (TNF-α, IL-1β, COX2) were analyzed. Despite similar body weight loss, cisplatin-treated mice showed a significant reduction in muscle mass compared to dietary-restricted controls. Only cisplatin upregulated MuRF1 and atrogin-1 and downregulated IGF-1. Inflammatory markers were unaffected. Notably, cisplatin induced ER stress genes Ddit3, Atf4, and sXbp1. These findings suggest cisplatin promotes muscle atrophy via ER stress activation and protein degradation, independently of reduced food intake or inflammation. Targeting ER stress may help prevent chemotherapy-induced muscle wasting. Further studies are needed to clarify mechanisms and develop protective strategies.

Keywords: Chemotherapy; Cisplatin; Endoplasmic reticulum stress response; Muscle atrophy; Skeletal muscle

DOI: https://doi.org/10.2131/jts.51.123