Harnessing Porphyrin Accumulation in Liver Cancer: Combining Genomic Data and Drug Targeting.

ABSTRACT: The liver, a pivotal organ in human metabolism, serves as a primary site for heme biosynthesis, alongside bone marrow. Maintaining precise control over heme production is paramount in healthy livers to meet high metabolic demands while averting potential toxicity from intermediate metabolites, notably protoporphyrin IX. Intriguingly, our recent research uncovers a disrupted heme biosynthesis process termed 'porphyrin overdrive' in cancers that fosters the accumulation of heme intermediates, potentially bolstering tumor survival. Here, we investigate heme and porphyrin metabolism in both healthy and oncogenic human livers, utilizing primary human liver transcriptomics and single-cell RNA sequencing (scRNAseq). Our investigations unveil robust gene expression patterns in heme biosynthesis in

SUBMITTER: Adapa SR 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC11352895 | biostudies-literature | 2024 Aug

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature