Publications by authors named "Xuedan Sun"

Glutamine addiction represents a metabolic vulnerability of cancer cells; however, effective therapeutic targeting of the pathways involved remains to be realized. Here, we disclose the critical role of interferon-related developmental regulator 1 (IFRD1) in the adaptive survival of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) cells during glutamine starvation. IFRD1 is induced under glutamine starvation to inhibit autophagy by promoting the proteasomal degradation of the key autophagy regulator ATG14 in a TRIM21-dependent manner.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

In response to adverse environmental conditions, embryonic development may reversibly cease, a process termed diapause. Recent reports connect this phenomenon with the non-genetic responses of tumors to chemotherapy, but the mechanisms involved are poorly understood. Here, we establish a multifarious role for SMC4 in the switching of colorectal cancer cells to a diapause-like state.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF
Article Synopsis
  • Sestrins are gene factors that help cells adapt to stress, with Sestrin2 (SESN2) specifically regulating glycolysis in low-glucose situations.
  • In liver cancer cells, glucose removal reduces glycolysis by lowering the enzyme hexokinase 2 (HK2) and increasing SESN2 levels, which destabilizes HK2 mRNA.
  • SESN2 competes with a protein (IGF2BP3) for binding to HK2 mRNA, leading to lower HK2 levels that reduce glucose uptake, inhibiting cancer cell growth and protecting against cell death from glucose starvation.
View Article and Find Full Text PDF

The long noncoding RNA GUARDIN functions to protect genome stability. Inhibiting GUARDIN expression can alter cell fate decisions toward senescence or apoptosis, but the underlying molecular signals are unknown. Here, we show that GUARDIN is an essential component of a transcriptional repressor complex involving LRP130 and PGC1α.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF